The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1920-06-04
MR.. FORDNEY AND THE TARIFF

been having quite ali animated ex-
change of views in regard TO Con-
gresham Fordney anil Protective
Tariff. We do not desire to prottract
these articles and wear out the, pa
tience of Herald readers, but mas
much as we asked Bro Lord FOR a
direct expression of his views on Pro,
lection, it seems but fair to HIM that
we should give publication to his
letter.
As some clauses in Bro. Lords let
ter seem to call for comment and
this is to be the last of the series. We
will reply clause by clause.
May 1, 1920.
Mr.. j. N. Mccall, Editor.
Gratiot County Herald,
Ithaca, Michigan.
Dear Mr.. Mccall:
You need not pause long for a re-
ply to the concluding query in your
editorial of April 29th, "Is the Mich
igan Business Farmer in favor of an
out and out general protection policy
such as has always been advocated by
the Republican party?" For in an
swer thereto, l can say freely and
truthfplly that the Business Farmer
is in flavor of a general protection
policy l know of no reason aside
from your preconceived and unsup-
ported notion that this publication is
dominated by partisan Democratic in
Huences, why you should question our
attitude on protection. l am sure
that none of our Gratiot County sub
scribers would think of asking such
a question. Whether this protection
policy to which we subscribe is the
same policy, "that has. always been
advocated by the Republican party"
/ cannot say, for the simple reason
that the various factions of the Re-
publican party do not all recommend
the same brand of protection.
We are glad to note that the Bus
mess Farmer is in favor of a general
protection policy. AS Bro. Lord is
well aware, while there may be indi-
vidual members of the Republican
party who are little shaky in their
protection ideas, they constitute as
small a minority in the Republican
party as the "out and out protection.
lists do in the Democratic party. The
platform utterances of the Republi-
can party and the laws enacted in
conformity Herewith, such as the
Morrill, law, the Mckinley law, tho
Dingley law constitute the Republican
party's declaration of principles as
opposed to the Morrison Horizontal
cut law, the Wilson law which pre-
ceeded the panic of 1893 and the pres
ent law advocated by Woodrow Will
son, passed by a Democratic congress
which puts tariff of 25c bushel on
beans and other farm products in
about the same proportion. We take
it, then, as a fair inference, that the
Michigan Business Farmer, favors
such a general protection policy as is
advocated by the only party of pro-
lection in the United States, the Re-
publican party and of which policy
Joseph w. Fordney is the foremost
exponent.
There are high protectionists and
low protectionists. There are some
who believe the higher you build your
tariff walls the greater will be the
prosperity of the country. The Busi-
ness Farmer is not that kind of a pro-
tectionist, for the Business Farmer
realizes that some kind of balancS
must be maintained between export
and import trade. The export trade
of the nation has been enormous and
is one of the greatest factors in the
prosperity of the nation. But this
export trade and this prosperity can
not continue unless we buy some
things of Europe to offset our export
business. Never in the history of the
nation was the truth of this state
ment more evident than it is today.
The excess of our exports over i'm
ports has drained Europe of its gold
and depleted its credit. AS a result
Europe is not buying one-half the
goods it needs and would buy had we
returned some of her coin by the pur-
chase of imports. Europe is there
fore going without or else encourag-
ing her people to develop manufac-
tories to produce things which she
might under more favorable condi-
tions purchase from the United States
So there is as much danger in ia tariff
that shuts out all European goods as
there is in a tariff that floods our
markets with foreign goods to the de-
triment of our domestic industry. Both
are extremes to be avoided.
Mr.. Lord, in this paragraph, seems
to oppose high protective tariff be-
cause "the excess of our exports over
our imports has drained Europe of its
gold and depleted its credit" Later
on, he concludes, $50 there is as much
danger in tariff that shuts out all
European goods as there is in tariff
that floods our markets with foreign
goods" Granted. OF course there is
limit to how high a protective tariff
should he. but certainly BRO. Lord