. ? L
Conservative.
fNcw York EvoniiiK Post. ]
liMI'ICIlIAT INM ANI > I'JtOTKVTION.
The reports from Quebec concerning
the influences that Jiro brought to bear
on the high commissioners from the
United States are full of portent. The
representatives of great protected inter
ests have boon there in force , insisting
that no matter what concessions the Ca
nadians may offcrtho duties which foster
American industries shall bo retained.
The American people , they argue , pro
nounced emphatically in favor of the
policy of protection at the last election ,
and no wave of sentiment in favor of
England must bo allowed to affect our
proceedings in matters of business. The
old arguments in favor of protective
tariffs are as valid as ever. It is as
true now as it over was that the "for
eigner pays the tax , " that the high stand-
dard of living attained by the American
laborer is duo to the duties which he
pays on imported goods , and that unless
those duties are retained the English
will flood our markets with their pro
ducts. It would be difficult for a repub
lican administration to disregard these
arguments , oven if it wore so disposed.
It is especially difficult for President
McKinley to disregard them , for ho has
dwelt on them with such passionate ve
hemence as to make it evident that ho
was sincere. Circumstances have
changed , but they cannot have changed
to such an extent within two years as to
convert a bigoted protectionist into a
free-trader. That involves not only a
change of mind , but a change of heart
also.
It is , of course , nothing unusual for a
protectionist to become convinced that
certain protective duties are unwise and
unnecessary. Manufacturers generally
arc quite ready to contend that the raw
materials which they use arc not pro
perly subject to tariff taxes , and it is
quite probable that some of them are
now satisfied that the duties on their
products for which they formerly cla
mored are not indispensable. But when
it comes to the point , even these manu
facturers will be likely to shrink from
the plan of the "open door. " What shall
it profit us , they will say , if , after all
our sacrifices in the cause of humanity ,
we are not to monopolize the trade of
Cuba and Porto Rico ? We have spent
a great deal of money in driving the
Spaniards out of these islands , and as
they are unfortunately too poor to bo
able to pay us an indemnity for having
been expelled , we ought to reward our
selves with the exclusive trade of their
former possessions. Our manufacturers
are patriotically paying their war taxes ,
and it will seem to them Quixotic liber
ality to permit English and German
manufacturers , who are not handicapped
by these taxes , to sell their wares to the
Cubans on equal terms. Gratitude ,
they will think , should impel the Cubans
to grant a preferential tariff to this
country. As to Porto Rico , it would
I1LeTJr ' * * ' -
scorn that our constitution requires our
system of duties and imposts to bo extended -
tended to that island , and that only ves
sels flying our flag should carry on our
commerce with it. On the whole , it is
certainly probable that our manufac
turers , as a class , will demand some
protection for their exports in the West-
Indian market.
While it is conceivable that this view
is mistaken , there is no doubt whatever
concerning the at-
FARMKIC8 AND
1'KOTKCTION.
to a great extent , protectionists , and
they change their convictions very
slowly. They have been taught the
doctrine of protection so thoroughly by
the republican politicians as to identify
it in their minds with the republican
party. They have sometimes been per
plexed to find out where their gain from
tariff taxes came in , but their faith has
been robust , and the production of cer
tain articles has no doubt been stimu
lated by the exclusion of foreign compe
tition. Our tariff has kept out some
Canadian products , such as oggsf and
potatoes , and hay , and grain , and it has
made it possible to raise cane and even
beets for making sugar. There is plenty
of evidence that any attempt to take off
the duties on sugar and tobacco will
arouse the most violent opposition. The
American Agriculturist has a large cir
culation among fanners , and in their
interest it contended vigorously against
the annexation of now territory. If the
territory is to bo annexed , it serves
notice that the farmers of this country
do not. intend to submit to the compe
tition of the planters of the. tropics.
Our farmers have hoard all about the
cheap labor employed by those planters ,
and how our tariff has been the only
thing that has kept us from being ruined
by their cheap products , and they will
uplift their voices in protest just so soon
as the first movement is made to lower
the duties on the staples of agriculture.
As The Agriculturist says , if free trade
in the "money crops" of the American
farmer is to bo fostered , "then he will
batter down every custom house in order
that there may also be free trade in the
money crops of manufacturers. "
The demolition of custom hrnises may
not seem to our readers a very alarming
contingency ,
TIIB MANUFACTURERS jfc
AND PROTECTION.
protected manufacturers. While a few
of them are ready to meet foreign com
petitors on equal terms , not only in the
West Indies , but in our own coxintry ,
the great , mass are quite unprepared to
go to such lengths. Provided the far
mers have the power to * carry out their
threat , the manufacturers will yield to
them. There can bo no question that
the farmers have this power , or at least
that they can veto any measure for
reducing protective duties. With the
loss of their old leaders , the democrats
of the southern states lost their old prin
ciples and became at once populists and
protectionists. The free trade sentiment -
mont appears to bo practically extinct
in those regions , and the farmers have
plainly shown that they expect to have
the tariff adjusted so as to protect their
interests. The indications arc certainly
very strong that any party that proposes
to admit the products of our now pos
sessions free of duty will bo defeated by
the votes of the farmers.
Under these circumstances it is ex
tremely probable that an attempt will
bo made to placate the farmers by offer
ing them bounties. The rich men that
are planning the exploitation of Cuba
and Porto Rico must secure the admis
sion of their products to this country
free of duty if they are to succeed in
their schemes , and they will be quite
ready to give countervailing bounties
to the producers of beet sugar and to
bacco if they can bring them to terms
in this way. This compromise was
adopted in the McKinley tariff in order
to pacify the sugar planters of Louisi
ana , and there are many signs that the
same thing will be done in the case of'
beet sugar. To determine what this
means for our country , it is only neces
sary to look at the European states that
have undertaken to develop the beet
sugar industry. They have , indeed ,
succeeded , but their people cannot afford
to consume the sugar which they are
taxed to produce. A Frenchman is able
to consume , on an average , scarcely a
third as much sugar as an Englishman.
Is wo follow the French example , and
there is little reason to hope thnt we
shall not , we shall produce beet sugar
abundantly , it will bo apparently cheap ,
and wo shall also have cheap cane
sugar. But the cheapness will bo delu
sive , for the money paid out in bounties
must como out of the pockets of the
people. Wo shall not only bo taxed to
support a larger army and a larger navy
and largo colonial establishments ,
but wo shall bo taxed also to
support the protective system in its most
outrageous form. Such will be the
price of empire , and while certain in
terests will prosperit will be through the
suffering of the common people. Should
these anticipations seem too gloomy to
anyone , he needs only to oak himself
what other policy than that outlined
above can the republican party pursue.
It cannot exploit our conquests success
fully by abandoning protection , because
the farmers will not permit it , and if
protection is to continue after wo enter
on our new estates , it must bo under the
form of bounties on homo products.
The two Cincinnati youths who are
arranging for a battle-ship to bo pre
sented to the nation by its collective
school-boys , having raised $35,000 have
proceeded to name their boat. As they
have only $3,465,000 yet to secure , they
should at once select a young person to
do the christening , and decide upon the
liquid to bo used in that ceremony. We
would suggest buck-wheat cake batter.