The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1916-05-04
WAR DEMONSTRATES VALUE
OF PROTECTIVE TARIFF


in this country which are engaged in
supplying the European belligerents
with munitions of war, handling sub
contracts, or indirectly benefting
from the abnormal conditions caused
by the European holocaust, are getting
a concrete example of what it means
to their pay envoleps if the mills in
which they labor are running at full
time capacity. Wages were never SO
high in our history.
The Democratic theory, as expound-
ed by Mr.. Underwood in presenting his
law to Congress, was to provide rates
of duty so low that they would en-
courage the importation of foreign
made goods to an extent which would
cause active competition with goods
made in America. These increased i'm
portations were expected to yield in
creased revenues even at the lower
duties. Underwood's desire was to split
our domestic market "ffty-ffty' be-
tween American and foreign producers.
The Underwood idea became in part
a condition and not a theory very
shortly after the passage of the Dem
ocratic law, and imports for eonsump-
ton according to Secretary Red
fields fgures) increased during the
period October 3, 1913, to June 30,
1914, (nine months) $145, 000, 900 yer
the record for the period October |,
1912, to June 80, 1913, under the Re-
publican tariff law, or at the rate or
over SIC, 1000 a month. But the
ratio of duties to imports had been SO
reduced by the Democratic law that
in spite of the huge increase in the
volume of imports the revenues de-
clined so alarmingly that Secretary of
the Treasury McAdoo was prompted
to befuddle the public by devising an
entirely new system of accounting, and
no sooner did the war break out than
the Democrats seized upon that oppor-
tunity to saddle us with a war tax
to hide the deficiencies of their tariff
law.
The Republican policy of protection
is designed to give our manufacturers
first consideration in our home market.
If the foreigners wish to enter our
market they must pay rates Of duty
measured by the difference between the
very low wages paid by them to labor
and the wages we pay to our ~workmen.
That they are willing to do this to a
reasonable extent is proved by the
fact that Republican tariff laws, with
out injuring American industries and
putting laboring men out Of employ
ment, have been uniformly adequate
revenue producers. They nave given
our workmen jobs and have not sub
traeted from their pay checks by levy
ing direct taxes.
The Democratic argument of goods
for goods" is unsoupd under the pre-
vailing differences in labor costs. Let
the foreigners take our goods and bal
anee the account with cash. The man
who sells groceries may pay out part
of his net profits for clothes, rent, etc,
but he would be a poor business man
who could not make his business credit
him with a bank account. If Ameri-
can manufacturers can be assured Of
the home market they can proceed
confidently to the conquest Of foreign
markets. This means that they can
keep the mills going at full blast,
keep labor continuously employed and
the resulting higher efficiency win
mean better wages and bigger divid-
ends land thousands of small stock
holders should appreciate this.
If running at full capacity results
in the piling up of a surplus, let our
manufacturers sell it abroad, at re-
duced prices if necessary, to capture
foreign trade. 1t will hurt nobody but
our competitors, and trade has not yet
reached the philanthropic stage. When
commercial war and actual war have
ceased we will disarm and have free
trade, but the time is not yet. Biding
the arrival of that Utopian period it
will be good horse sense to nave a
party in power which will protect
American industries and uphold Amer
lean honor, and that party is most EN-
phatically not the Democratic party.
he wise workmen will look to the flu
ture and vote the Republican ticket
this fall.
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