Jasper County Democrat, Volume 6, Number 17, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 August 1903 — POLITICS OF THE DAY [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

POLITICS OF THE DAY

Free Trade and Hard Time*. The Kansas City Star Is quoted in the American Economist as saying: “The resolution which England has practically reached, of departing from her Immemorial principles of free trade, is a valuable object lesson to the United States, and has already had a beneficial eeffet In bringing to a halt those statesmen who were contemplating a drastic overhauling and revision of our tariff schedules. England Is now suffering all the evils of five trade, while this country is enjoying the advantages of a protective tariff, and perhaps undergoing some of Its mischiefs also. * * * If protection causes wealth and trusts, the (Converse is also true—free trade produces hard times and panics.” Here is an admission that protection causes trusts. We need then discuss only the proposition that free trade produces hard time§. Protectionists seldom look past England and delight in contrasting conditions in England and America. They find day wages considerably higher here than in -England, and they begin tp crow about the tariff as a means of taxing ourselves rich. They neglect to observe that a laborer here produces so much more in a day that piece wages here are usually lower than in England, as James G. Blaine found when, as Secretary of State, he made a report on this subject. They also neglect to observe that because of free trade the cost of living is lower

in England, and to allow for this In estimating real wages; that is, what a man can buy with his day’s work. But this is not all. The protectionists forget to tell us that England Is the only free trade country in Europe, and that times are even harder in protected Germany, Italy and Russia and other countries than in England; that, Indeed, It is mainly from the protected countries of Europe that the flood of Immigrants is now coming. They are being driven out by excessive tariff and other taxes. Those who remain are rapidly becoming socialists and threatening to overturn protection and perhaps the government with it. The socialists made great gains in the German elections a few weeks ago because of hard times, which their speakers attributed largely to high tariff taxes and merciless tariff trusts In steel, coal, coke, etc. In this connection, It may be noted that five years ago the German writers, editors and business men were “whooping it up” for protection and trusts (cartels) there, jus as our learned commercial writers have been doing here for three years. They said that the great syndicates controlling the'‘industries of Germany could regulate production, adjust supply to demand and all the rest of It, so that there could be no over production and therefore no real depression in business/. Most Germans were optimistic then. Now all Is changed. Three years of severe depression aneb hard times have developed a big crop of pessimists and “croakers.” They are cursing high tariff duties and trusts “to beat the band.” They are ridiculing the optimists of five years ago and parading their prophesies before the people. The trust-footers In Germany just now are very meek and bumble specimens of mankind. They have had their day and are now having their night. Is there not a lesson In Germany’s experience with trusts for us? Why will our great heads not learn this lesson? The Iron Age contains a long editorial entitled. “A Theory of Industrial Depressions.” It says: “There Is good reason to believe that panics, followed by periods of industrial depression of greater or less duration, were formerly due to causes rather psychological than material,” and that owing to recent greater changes In Industry, designated “co-ordinations” by Mr. Carfcegie, we have ‘a series of entirely

new economic postulates, which confuse statistics and silence prophecy.” It, however, suggests strongly that our trusts and banks, by working harmoniously together, cau avert panics and depression, and asserts “It will be dangerous to attempt to formulate law's which are Intended to explain what may never again happen.” This editorial may have been copied from some German magazine of 1898. Possibly within two years this same Iron Age may be blaming our tariff and trusts for hard times and be quoting some of to-day's strong anti-trust articles In German papers. It Is even now uncertain If our trusts are making friends of all. Our present day trust-tooters should not forget that those who laugh best laugh last.—Byron W. Holt. Protection rnd Bounties in Canada The close connection between protection and bounties and the beauties of both. If you want to squander money, is evident from what we can now* see in Canada. Two or three years ago Canada began tp pay bounties to her manufacturers of Iron and steel. These amounted to $5 or s<> per ton but were to diminish each year and to disappear in seven years. Besides these bounties there was a protective', tariff averaging about $5 per ton or one-half the average American duty on steel goods. Of course, the steel Industry began to flourish in Canada. Big mills sprang into exist-

ence and stocks brirufull of water were put upon the market. Great earnings were necessary to pay dividends on all this watered capital. Now that the bounties are being scaled down some of the steel companies there are beginning to worry about their dividends. A big movement Is on foot to induce the Canadian government to increase the tariff duties on iroii and steel to about the American rates. It Is said that jthe big infant steel industry will not abide permanently In Canada unless treated more liberally by the government. When the Minister of Finance, Hon. Mr. Fielding, introduced the bounty system in 1899, It was practically promised that the industry would soon be able to produce iron at $0 a ton. The manufacturers claim that the promising infant has not fulfilled expectations, but refuse to submit figures showing exact cost of production, which the Premier, Sir Wilfred Laurier, is mean enough to Insist on having before he is willing to grant the extra duty to the howling Infant. Such unkind treatment will surely drive this infant Industry out of Canada. If it will but come to us wo will spread our protecting wings ov« it and let it share the tariff pap with our steel trust, as long as we can stand the strain. But the billion-dol-’ lar infant is not leaving much for our common million-dollar babies.—Byron W. Holt.

Puzzle: Locate the “lowa Idea!"— SL Taul Globe.

Postmaster General Payne—" The investigation is nearly ended." —Willi amsport (Pa.) Grit.