-Us
Conservative.
AFKAID OF
FJIKE THADE. protection
made visible and
italicised by the acquisition and annexa
tion of insular depondonoios. Already
the Oxnard combine howls aloud in
gre'edy harmony
licet Sugar : . . . , .
the admission
syndicate. against
sion duty free of
sugar from Porto Rico and the Philip
pines. These sweet citizens are eagerly ,
with tobacco , rico and semi-tropical
fruit growers , protesting that their pet
industries cannot compete with thorn-
solves in the now possessions of this
great republic.
On Tuesday , December 5th , 1899 , at a
mooting in Omaha , Herbert Myriok , an
old-time philosopher and propagator of
protection , made a speech declaring that
the industries alluded to above as part
of the agriculture and horticulture of
the United States , were in "a fight for
life. "
Secretary Root , at the head of the
war department , gave My rick and his
. , , school of econo-
The Root of War. ,
mists a tremendous
deus fright and threw them into spasms ,
by advocating free trade with Porto
Rico and a marked reduction of the
tariff on sugar from Onba. And the
fright and fits of these protectionists
have been made chronic by the phenom
enal and fearful fact that President
MoKinley indorses the position of Root.
In the presence of those indications of
economic sanity Mr. Myriok , with tears ,
proclaims the possibility of free trade ,
in the near future , with Onba and the
Philippines.
And when that catastrophe swats the
infant industry of the sugar beet , lands
its leveling fist on
Heat a Sad Farewell. .
the tobacco inter
ests and mauls the citric fruit culture ,
Mr. Myrick says wo may bid a sad and
long farewell to saccharine success and
sweet profits in tobacco , oranges and
lemons. Therefore , Myriok calls lustily
for farmers who raise those things to
make a combine with cigar manu
facturers and the proprietors of truck
patches and suburban greenhouses , and
prevent prices of these commodities
being lowered for consumers. Verily
Myriok and many more who have wit
nessed the recent incandescent illumi
nation of the fallacies of the protective
tariff are coming around to exhort for
universal free trade. Even the New
York Press established out of money
made by the artificial prices which had
been put upon things by the American
system of protecting certain manu
facturers indulge in woes and between
sobs convulsively remarks , as to the
smooth back-sliding , by MoKinley , from
the religion of protection , that it is "the
greatest victory for free trade since
George M. Dallas , as vice-president of
the United States , gave the deciding
vote for the adoption of the Walker
tariff. " In another article the same
paper says that "President MoKinley
las struck the heaviest blow at the
American tariff system which it has
over received from a republican. " If
this policy is to prevail , it predicts dis
aster to the republican party in all the
western agricultural states , including
Ohio.
It scores Secretary Wilson for his
'wretched juggling play on the word
imported. ' " The
The PrcHH. ,
secretary of agri
culture seems to think that $200,000,000
of tropical productions coming to our
markets from Porto Rico and the Philip
pines will do us no harm , if our flag
waves over those islands , but if they
were free , or if they belonged to Spain ,
; ho damage would be immense , because ,
n the latter case , they would bo "im
ported. "
Secretary Wilson believed in protoo-
ion. Ho did not merely pretend to bo
. , , , . but really was a
„ . . .
Ilelloved It. , , ,
devotee to the pro-
; eotivo tariff. Ho thought'and said and
so did MoKinloy , Pig-iron Kelly , Horace
Greeley and Dingloy that it would bo
disastrous to import Oauadian barley
and Canadian lumber while that country
remains attached to Great Britain , but
it would be beneficial to receive thorn if
Canada wore a part of the United States.
That was the orthodox doctrine a little
while ago.
The only fault of Secretary Wilson is
that he adheres to these earlier lessons.
His political economy was interwoven
with his patriotism in a manner that
was likely to prove 'disadtrous in an
emergency like the present , and to call
for reproof from wiser and cooler heads
like the editor of the Press. We
are glad to see that the hitter is alive to
the occasion and does not hesitate to ap
ply the rod both to the secretary and his
chief.
Back of the question of the tariff
polioy'.to bo applied to the islands lies the
question of con-
The U. S. Con- \ , ,
Htitiiuon. stitutional law.
The constitution of
the United States provides [ that "all
duties , imposts , and excises shall be nni
form throughout the United States. "
Language could not bo plainer than this.
If we agree that Porto Rico and the
Philippines became a part of the United
States immediately on the ratification oi
the treaty with Spain , then the levying
of any duties in those islands different
from those of our tariff , or the levying
of any duties at all on goods from the
United States , has been illegal. If wo
turn to the decisions of the supreme courl
we shall find cases where it has been
held that a treaty of cession of foreign
territory to the United States does ipso
facto spread our customs laws over such
territory. On the other hand , it may
be said that these decisions are fifty
years old , that all the judges who con
curred in pronouncing them are dead
that the circumstances of the nation are
now different , and that the law must
adapt itself to the nation's progress
Notwithstanding those old decisions , it
s not unlikely that the courts today
would uphold any action that congress
might adopt , or any that the executive
might adopt in the absence of action by
congress. Therefore , it must not bo
considered settled that our customs
luties necessarily apply to Porto Rico
and the Philippines as a consequence of
the treaty with Spain. Nor is it desir
able that they should so apply. We are
committed to the policy of the ' 'open
door" in the East Indies , and it is diffi
cult to see how we can adopt a different
one in the West. If our tariff is spread
over the Philippines and Porto Rico wo
are estopped from complaining against
any discriminating policy which Euro
pean powers may choose to apply in
Chinese territory controlled by them.
The rates for ad-
11ATKS OF . . . . mlri ,
TlIE
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advertised for sale. With a reading
patronage of between seven and eight
thousand first-class American citizens
in all sections , THE CONSERVATIVE
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class rates. Every advertisement in
its columns pays full rates. There is
no journal or other periodical , of its age ,
in the United States which is read by a
more intelligent and well-to-do aggre
gation of citizens. Therefore THE CON
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purchase.
Everywhere the
THE DEAD.
ted with graves ; in countless cameos ,
emerald mounds stand out from the
earth's surface to tell us that beneath is
a tranquil and painless rest. The illus
trious and the obscure , the rich and the
poor sleep side by side , for there is
neither caste , class nor discrimination
among the dead. Epitaphs are not
sought , nor narratives upon monumental
mental oolumns'cousulted , to ascertain
the character and deeds of those who
have lived , worked and died. Neither
the inscribed monolith nor eulogies
traced on brass perpetuate the memory
and work of a human being. What ho
did , .what he accomplished for the
elevation and advancement of mankind
makes a mortal remembered. And the
few who stalk out of all the centxirios
which have gone before us show how
few of all the billions who have lived
have worked and achieved for the race ,