Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 March 1893 — LOOKING BACKWARD. [ARTICLE]

LOOKING BACKWARD.

SOCIETY ORGANIZED TO DELVE INTO THE MUSTY PAST. An Attempt tn 1920 to Study the Strange Economic Belief of a Peculiar Sect Known u McKlnleyltee—A Pew Tips for the Society. "The McKinley Historical Society.” Id about the year 1920 will be formed the “McKinley Historical Society,” the object of which will ,be to delve into the mysteries of McKinleyism, that absurd economic belief that obtained sway in the United States about 1870 and culminated in 1890 in that monstrosity—the McKinley tariff bilL To study the causes and the effects of the growth of the idea that a nation can “protect* itself by making laws in the interests of a few, and can tax itself into prosperity by constructing artificial barriers across nature’s highway of commerce and civilization; and to record and preserve in the public archives, alongside of the history of witchcraft and otherstrange ideas that have fascinated men’s minds in this country, the history of the delusive teaching of McKinleyism and the dime museum features of the tariff act of 1890. Here are a few “tips” that may serve ajs a starter for the McKinley Historical Society. First, on the BIBE OF “PROTECTION. ” The Walker tariff of 1846 and the “Free Trade” tariff of 1857 had given such general satisfaction that no party advocated, or would have advocated, higher duties had not the necessities of a civil war turned the attention of Congress to this stealthy way of raising a big revenue. The high duties levied gave great protection to the manufacturers of such goods as competed with those imported, and when, after the war, the country began to try to get relief from the exceedingly heavy burdens of taxation, these home manufacturers were willing to have dutleslowered on all non-competing, but not at all on competing imports. They knew full well that if they based their claims entirely upon selfish motives the country would not allow them. Hence they set to work to invent terms and catch phrases to conceal their selfishness and to appeal to the prejudices of the unthinking voters. Their success was unparalleled and must have astonished even themselves. To be sure, they had to modify and shift their terms between Presidential elections and to invent new phrases when they and their political allies were being hard pressed, but for twenty-five years they held sway and dictated the financial policy of “their” country, until fully half of the property had been taxed out of the 65,000,000 inhabitants and into the safes and vaults of a few thousand manufacturers and monopolists. The rapidly accumulating wealth of the manufacturers gave them increasing importance and powers, and made it easier for them to hoodwink the masses of povertyites into believing that black is white. From the hundreds of unsound and sophistical economic ideas promulgated by the manufacturers and their set we make the following selections: protectionists’ unsound theories.

1. Protective duties on imports will protect manufacturers by taxing their raw materials, increasing home competition, lowering prices and profits, and by keeping wages high. 2. If a manufacturer is protected and can afford to pay higher wages he always does so; he thus turns over to his employes nearly all that he gets from tariff duties. 3. Manufacturers organize themselves into trusts and combines so that they can raise wages and lower prices without opposition. 4. If free trade would compel the manufacturers to pay high wages they would favor free trade. 5. Protected manufacturers 6ell goods cheaper to foreign than to home consumers, so that they can have plenty of work for their employes at high wages. 6. Competition will work swifter and lower prices faster when restricted to one country than when spread out over the world. 7. Free trade between states will benefit all; but free trade between countries, even if no larger than states, will ruin all. By annexation or division and a slight change of names these effects may be reversed. 8. Both parties are benefited by a trade if they live in the same country; otherwise at least one will get fleeced, and the trade should be prohibited by law. 9. Countries where wages are low—like Germany, Spain, Italy, or China —need protection against countries where wages are high, like England and the United States. Some highwage countries also need protection against low-wage countries, as the United States against the pauper labor of Europe. 10. High duties on tin plate, pearl buttons, and manufactured products will lower prices in the interest of commerce; but high duties on wool, barley, eggs, and farm products will raise prices in the interest of the producers. 11. A duty on sugar is a tax upon the consumer, but duties upon tin plates, clothing, and glassware are taxes upon foreigners. 12. “A cheap coat makes a cheap man.” Protection is to avoid the curse of cheapness and to overcome the evils of machinery, railroads, and steamships in tending to make things cheaper. 13. “American Wages for American Workmen” is secured by high duties on the necessaries of life—what the workmen have to buy, and by free trade in labor—wbat the workmen have to sell. This is obvious to all who never stop to think. 14. “American Markets for American People” are had by high duties on what they must take in exchange for their surplus agricultural products, which must be sold in foreign markets at free trade prices. 15. “Protection for American Homes” is also to be had by taxing the house, furniture, utensils, clothing, and everything else needed by a newly married couple This is axiomatic and needs no demonstration. 16. Free trade will ruin countries unless they tie a string to it and call it “reciprocity.” 17. All of the prosperity, including

good crops, in a protection country, is due to high tariffs; and all of the poverty and misery of free trade countries is the direct result of low tariffs. This rule does not apply to any countries of the world exoept England and the United States. Some other time I will record some more tips for the McKinley Society in regard to the curious things actually accomplished by the McKinley bill. Only a few of these can bo briefly mentioned now. M’KINLEY BILL TRICKB. While pretending to lower the duty on borax, McKinley raised the duty on boracic acid, the thing actually Imported, from 4 to 5 cents per pound; and the Borax Trust raised prices accordingly. By McKinley construction genuine “American” tin plates are made from imported steel sheets, coated by imported tin with the use of imported olive oil and imported machinery, all carried on by imported workmen. Aided by the political shepherds, McKinley fixed his bill so that goat hair costing two or three cents per pound became wool, and was dutiable at twelve cents per pound. By changing “goods" to “fabrics” (a change not noticed by most Congressmen who voted for the bill), “knit goods” became “ready-made clothing,” and dutiable at much higher rates. By juggling with phrases McKinley took sago-flour, which competes with dextrine, out of the free list and put a duty of 2 cents per pound on it to the advantage of the Starch Trust, which soon advanced the .price of dextrine. To benefit a few manufacturers who sew together rufflings and other trimmings, the duty was increased 50 per cent, on the hundred or more articles that compose the biggest schedule under cotton goods. According to McKinley, “felts not woven” are “ready-made clothing,” dutiable at nearly 100 per cent., instead of 60 per cent, as formerly. By inserting a little clause five pages from the paragraphs it was intended to modify, the duty on fine wire was raised from 80 to 280 per cent, contrary to the expectations of nearly ev&ry one responsible for the McKinley bill. Dozensof other apparently unimportant clauses raised the duties on flint and window glass, sanitary ware, linseed oil, lead ores, cutlery, etc. Somehow these hidden clauses always, raised duties and somehow there was always a trust to take advantage of higher duties. The McKinley bill has also done many other curious things, such as taxing the ends of cables between this country and Canada, where they protrude out of the water; and calves dropped on foreign soil by stray American cows. But there is no end to the absurd and wicked features of the McKinley bill, and the historical society will have its hands full for several years.—Byron W. Holt.