The Medina sentinel. [volume] (Medina, Ohio) 1888-1961, 1921-03-25

CariH is lHVohtu, fcindhiS W Dc SSSai.1
Whichever it is, it goes without say
ing that it will not prove a universal
Republican harmonizer.
In the past Republican farmers
were never quite content to accept the
few stray crumbs which fell from the
protectionists' table, but their resent
ment burned out when they saw to 1T
that the direct beneficiarfes Of pro-
lection supplied the necessary party
funds. There was always the threat
that if the tariff barons were not gem
erous enough in campaign contribu-
tions, the woolly West would rise up
and smash the whole system of high
duties on manufactured goods and
make a wilderness out Of Wall street.
Now the Republican farmers have
learned much neater and more eff
fective trick. They are more than
willing to go in for tariff taxes that
will raise prices, provided they can
get their own products boosted The
farmers are now after their "pouud
of fesh"-after their share of the
tariff swag. They are not going to
"split hairs" over fine-spun questions
about any burden which will result
from a tax ON food. Food is what
they deal in-what they sell-and If
a tariff will shove up the prices Of
what others have to sell, why should
the farmer be left out. If anybody
is to get anything it is high time the
farmer got his portion Of protection
list bounty.
The Fordney tariff act, introduced
in the last session Of Congress, has
been pronounced a failure by nearly
Everyone, and if "stop-gap" tariff is
enacted it will have to differ radically
from the Fordney measure, else it will
prove a gap-opener in the party. The
Payne-Aldrfch tariff might be tenn
porarily placed in service. If it is,
many alterations will be necessary
before it will cover present-day speci-
fications. One may rest assured that
| il this odorous bill is dug up the farm
ers will load it down with food taxes
of all sorts and will threaten split
| in the Republican party to- gain their
ends. Thus the last state Of the
tariff bill might be no better than the
first.
Republicans insist that the country
could not survive industrially under
the Underwood tariff. That it has
done so for the past seven years is
claimed to be due to the fact that
times were abnormal, that a war in
tervened, etc. Without entering intt
this controversy, it is an indisputabl
fact that American technical pro
cesses have improved more in the pas
five years than they had in the pre-
yious fifty. The result is that th'
American manufacturer is now pre-
occupied with a single thought, ans
that is to fight !, for, foreign markets
i Modern manufacturing methods hav'
branded as a myth the old protection
list claim of the home market as
be-all and end-all Of fiscal legislation
President Harding recently declar
ed: "No nation was ever great, M
nation ever. achieved eminence tina
did not develop trade with the world.
Others in the "know all" also content
that this country cannot survive in
dustrially unless it can win and keel
a strong foreign trade demand. An,
tariff which tends to prevent this will
not only be fatal economic policy
at our present stage of manufactur
ing development, but will rend tn
Republican party asunder.