The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1910-11-09
HOW TARIFF HITS PARTIES.

HOW TARIFF HITS PARTIES.
In estimating the chances of the re.
publicans In this campaign it is we'll
to point out that every party which
~revises q tariff is hit hard in the fol.
lowing congressio nal election. Not
always does that party lose its control
Of congress, but it invariably loses
m any seats in it.. The republican con.
gress which was elected in 1880 With
Garfield and Arthur, and which re.
vised the tariff just before the end of
the term, was badly beaten as regards
the house Of representatives in 1882.
The republican congress which was
elected in 1883 with Harrison altered
the tariff in 1890 by passing the Nc.
Kinley act. and the democrats carried
the house q few weeks later by q ire.
mendous majority.
Now comes the democrats turn to
suffer. They passed the Wilson, Tor.
man law In the summer of 1894, and
In November of that year the republi.
cans captured both house and senate,
winning the former by q majority OF
over 140. Just as soon as the repub.
licans gained power in all branches
Of the government in the election OF
1896 they planned to displace the dem.
ocrstic act of 1894 by one Of their own.
They did this in 1897, when they enacted
the Dingley law. In the election of
1898 the republican margin In the
house of representatives was cut to
almost q quarter of that OF two
years earlier. Moreover, had it not
been for the successful war against
Spain, which ended q few months be-
fore the election, the republicans might
have been beaten, and Mckinley might
have had q hostile house of represen.
tatives on his hands during the second
hall of his term.
This backward glance into history
10 taken so as to show that any party
which revises q tariff has q hard task
before 1t In the congressional cam.
paign Immediately afterward. Re-
gardless of whether the revision is
wise or unwise, the party which makes
it is assaulted at the polls on account
of it. No tariff has ever yet been
framed which pleased everybody. Nor
will any such ever be framed. 1t is
more difficult, too, to shape a tariff
now than 1t was ever as recently as
1897, when the Dingley law was passed.
The foreign trade of the country was
far larger in 1909, when the Payne
law was enacted, than it was twelve
years earlier. Many lev commodities
had made their advent in the interval,
and some old commodities had taker
new forms. The percentage of in
creases in the number Of items in The
Payne over the Dingley law is large
and the chances for provoking attack
on schedules here and there are cor
respondingly increased.
The combined wisdom of Alexander
Hamilton, Robert j. Walker, justin
S. Morrill, and Nelson Dingley coul6
not have shaped a tariff bill In 1909
and could not shape one in 1910, which
, would gain the appreciation of every
body.
The republican tariff act of 1928
was a we'll balanced measure. Ever.
intelligent, unbiased person who take
q look at it today will say this. Tn
same is true of the act of 1890, TO
= which the republicans were %lercel,
assailed. Although the republican
lost many seats in the house Of repre-
sentatives on account Of the Dingle
law, that act gave satisfaction to tn
country. It had 9 longer life tina
any other of the statutes from ths
which Washington signed on July
; 1889, down to today. During th
Z twelve years of its career the cour
try's industries expanded faster an
e farther than they ever did before l
any equal period. A little less by
terra on the part OF the assailants
o the Payne act. insurgents and demo
9 Gratis, would be conducive to soupde
u judgment.-Globe Democrat.
r The Art Of Longevity,