The Delta independent., 1924-09-12
MR.. BRYAN ON THE TARIFF

Washington, D. C.-Hon. William 7
Bryan contributes an article to i
syndicate of newspapers in which he
says:
There is only one side to the tariff
proposition. The historic attitude of
the Democratic party is against a
protective tariff. There were former
ly a few weakened tariff reformers
among the Democrats in the manu-
featuring states, but the prosperity
that followed tariff reduction under
| the Wilson administration exposed the
shallowness of the arguments of
/ protectionists and convinced the coun-
/ try that panics do not necessarily fol.
low tariff reduction.
The present tariff law is the sum
of denominations; it lays a burden
estimated at s4,OOO,OOO,OOO a year up
on the consumers of the United
States, four-fifths of which goes into
the pockets of the protected interests.
High tariff will be executed with.
out benefit of clergy"
What was the prosperity under
the Wilson administration following
tariff reduction" to which Mr.. Bryan
refers?
From October, 1918, to August, 1914.
(the first year of the Underwood tar
iff), business declined. imports in.
creased, unemployment increased.
President Wilson undertook to at
tribute the bad times to the failure
of the United States to enter the
League of Nations.
Then the President said bad bust
ness was simply an Imagination; it 4
did not exist.
Then the administration demanded
more revenue from internal taxes to
make up the losses at the customs
houses. Customs receipts increased,
but volume of imports increased.
Then the. free trade administration
repealed the free sugar clause of the
1913 tariff, in order to obtain enough
money to keep the Treasurer solvent.
The World War saved the low I'm
derwood tariff law of 1913 from uni
versal reputation in 1915. War was
protection of the best sort.
Protection (that is, curtailment OF
competitive imports) from 1915 to
1917 and foreign demand for American
merchandise saved the industries and
the farmers of the country from un-
paralleled disaster. Mr. Bryan, you
know that the war alone was respon-
sible for the excessive exports from
1916 to 1918
Mr.. Bryan, what proof have you
that the present tariff lays a burden
of $4,000 100000 a year upon the
American consumers?
Mr.. Bryan, what proof have you
that four-fifths of this alleged tax
goes into the pockets of protected in
terests?
The time has come when Mr.. Bryan
must prove the truth of this oft-re-
peated statement
Mr.. Bryan and his associates in 1913
claimed that the average duties of
the 1913 tariff were only slightly
greater than the duties in the 1909
tariff; and the average duties in the
1922 tariff are about the same as the
1909 duties
If the 1922 tariff "robs" the con-
Sumers OF 81, OOOOO,OOO annually then
the reform" tariff OF 1913 robbed"
the consumers of about 50 SOC, 900 900.
Mr. Bryan, all this talk about the
1922 tariff taxing" or "robbing' the
F., people of s4,OOO.OOO,OOO is bunk"
Not word of truth in it.
Mr.. Bryan, in your famous free
trade speech of March 16. 1892, in
the National House of Representativ-
es, you said at is false economy
and vicious in policy to attempt to
raise at a high price in this country
that which we can purchase abroad at
a low price in exchange for the prod
ucts OF our soil"
In other words, Mr.. Bryan. you
then urged that the United States
become a purely agricultural coun-
try, exchanging the products of our
soil for foreign manufactured goods
This is precisely what Great Britain
wanted us to do years ago Had
your policy been followed, the United
States would have been purely
az -