Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 21, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 June 1891 — A New-Fangled Protection Theory. [ARTICLE]

A New-Fangled Protection Theory.

The protectionists profess to hate theories and theorists, but they are now so bud y rattled that they have bocoine groat theorists themselves, and some'of their new theories are amusing enough. One of their latest is that wo must put a high tiirilf on foreign goods, not In order to keep thoso goods out of the country, but in order that wo may liny all the more of them. Senator Aldrich put forth this theory at the great protection banquet in New York, and already the high tariff organs aro taking to it as a restful variation upon the old familiar theory of keeping up a high tarfff la order to shut out foreign goods. The Boston Unitt and shoe Recorder has so much confidence in the now theory that it ovpn ventures to apply it to Mexico. as follows: “Wo know from our own oxperionce that just in proportion as our industries develop wo have the means for buying more foreign goods, and wo find that our imports aro greater per capiti after thirty years protection than they were previous to 18(51 with a low tariff. The tamo will be true of Mexico. They have a tariff that is excessively high on many articles, but it is operating to develop industries there, and in addition to this is the steadily growing demand from this country for the tropical products which Mexico has in such abundance. The Moxican people must therefore gain rapidly in wealth, and their imports from otuer countries will increase in proportion. ” This means that Mexico must keep up a high tariff in order to become rich enough to buy our goods, and yet the Recorder wants reciprocity with that country—i. e., wants Mexico to lower its duties on our goods, in order that wo may sell more there. What a baso jewel of inconsistency! Against this new-fangled theory the great and only McKinley himself must bo quoted. In his speech introducing his high tariff bill he said: “Thero is not a member of the Committee of Ways and Means, thero 13 not a member of the minority of that committee, there is not a member of the House on either side, who does not know that the very instant that you have increased the duties to a fair protective point, putting them above the highest revenue point, that very instant you diminish importations, and to that extent diminish the revonuo. Nobody can well dispute this proposition ” Certainly not; you are right for once!