East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1909-03-23
(By Frederic ], Haskin in the Port
land Journal.

! NbN tTtNtIlN - tldShllA ii NiAS 4 NAN-
land Journal,
Washington.-No other question of
government policy has been so per-
sistently a political issue as the tariff
BY refusing to remain down it has
made every other question of Ameri-
can politics seem but shortlived af-
fair. 1t began by fighting as prom
inent factor in the breaking down of
the confederation; two colonies would
mot submit TO national tariff law, and
each colony wanted to have a tariff
against the others products. Then it
proved TO be prominent argument
for the making and adoption of the
United States constitution. From that
day TO this it has been more or less an
issue. Sometimes 1t has been over
shadowed by other questions, but its
eclipse has always been temporary.
Well might the tariff be an issue
From the time when the first law
went into effect down TO the present
date it has put nearly $1,000, 100000
into the Golfers of Uncle Sam. There
is much dispute as to where this comes
from The high tariff man declares
with conviction that the" foreigner
pays the tax" and the consumer
pays the freight" Whatever the truth
of the matter is. the fact remains that
foreign goods coming into the United
States have had to pay s11, 100000, 900
for the privilege of getting in-exact-
ly like one has to pay to get into the
theater
Interest Effects Still Greater.
That is the direct result of the tar
if. But greater even than this has
been the indirect result. The high
tariff man believes that it has made
the country richer by multiplied mil
lions of dollars. He looks at the sup
er-abounding prosperity of the nation
and says that it is the result of the
protective tariff. He says that while
il has yielded $1,000, ,OOO, 100000 in
revenue. it has yielded five times as
much in increased national wealth.
The low tariff advocate comedies
that we are a rich nation. but with
a positiveness equal to that of his high
tariff friend. he asserts that it is in
spite of the tariff and not at all be-
cause of it. John Sharp Williams dis
claims the idea of high tariff being
: responsible for prosperity by telling
! the story of a wOodpecker that was
pecking at tree when the wind rose
and blew the tree down. He says thai
I to this day the woodpecker believes
that it felled the tree.
Between these two extreme views
one finds the doctrine of President
Garfield When in congress, and
chairman of the ways and means COM
mittee. he discussed the tariff and an
allied these two views, following the
ANALYSIS with the declaration that the
truth lay between them in the shape
of a protective tariff that leads tc
ultimate fire trade" He wanted
the infant industries to be nourished
up to the point where they could hus-
tie for themselves and then withdraw
the government stimulant.
Two Deadly Parallels.
Inc redSOQdDlt man hubNS ina
there is argument on both sides, but
he is scarcely prepared for the strength
of the arguments each side can mus
ter. An incident which happened last
winter will illustrate this. The pre-
: sent vice-president, Mr.. Sherman, had
printed in the Congressional Recorc
parallel columns Of figures, comparing
the condition of the country under
Democratic rule from 1898 to 1897
and under Republican rule since then
II was an pressive array Of statistics
and seemed convincing enough fol
anyone.
" The eye of Representative Lloyd o.
Missouri fell on the campaign docu'
ment. and he proceeded to counter II
true political prize ring style. He made
some calculations as to the relative
growth of the country from 1850 tc
1860. under a low tariff and from lS'
81 10 1907, under a high tariff. He
presented figures showing that saving
banks deposits had increased 246 pei
cent in the low tariff decade as against
20 per cent during the high tariff de-
cade: all bank deposits 166 per cent
as compared with 100 per cent; ex
ports 1872 per cent as compared with
70 per cent. His figures set up the
claim that the national wealth hac
increased 100 per cent during the ter
free trade years, as compared witt
less than 50 per cent during the ter
high tariff years. According to th'
Llovd figures wheat was worth al
average Of more than double as much
and corn more than a half more.
J To all this the Republicans answe
/ that the 1S5O-1S6O period was hap
- py accident; that the country wa
simply enjoying that prosperity whicl
resulted from the Mexican war an
the discovery Of gold in California, jus
as the Democrats insist that the pani
Of 1893 came from Republican misrul
in the Harrison administration. >
there you are. This series Of article
will not attempt 10 settle even a sin
gle point of this muti-sided cOntro
versy, but to tell the history Of tn
tariff from the time that it first begai
showing its interdependence with al
other questions and portraying tn
many changes Of front by men an
parties It Is the most thrilling stor
" American politics, a story tina
reaches to every home and every poe
ket book in this broad land.
Customs in Ancient Times.
N.g.I tagfr faHHuf ~