HF J755 UC-NR /SQ7 120 LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. Class he President's Message 1887 Piling an enormous load upon the People. " More than $9,000,000 a onth was added to the surplus of unnecessary taxation wrung from the people ind tied up in the public treasury." Mills. NEW YORK AND LONDON G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS fmicfcerbocfcer press IR, Political and Economic Publications. WELLS (David A., LL.D., D.C.L.). Practical Economics. A Series of Essays Respecting Certain of the Recent Economic Ex- periences of the United States. Octavo, pp. vi. -f- 259 . $i 50 "Few writers are more thoroughly studied by economists, or more worthy of study, and it long ago ceased to be necessary to speak of any thing from his hands as ' valuable ' and ' worthy of attention.' " Literary World, Boston. " They present in permanent form a ma-s of information about the actual working of the protective system which nobody but Mr. Wells possesses." N. V. Times. - Our Merchant Marine. How it rose, increased, became great, declined, and decayed ; with an enquiry into the conditions essential to its resuscitation and prosperity. Octavo, cloth, $i oo "Ought to be studied carefully by all intelligent citizens." Congrega- tionahst. " Full to the brim of facts." Standard, Syracuse. " Cannot be brought too prominently before the public." Argus, Albany. Why We Trade and How We Trade ; or, An Enquiry into the Extent to which the Existing Commercial and Fiscal Policy of the United States Restricts the Material Prosperity and Development of the Country. Octavo, paper . . . $o 25 " It is a good sign of the times when such pamphlets, by able writers, are published in cheap form, so as to be accessible to all." Baltimore Gazette. TAUSSIG (Prof. F. W.). The Tariff History of the United States 1789-1888. Comprising the material contained in "Protection to Young Industries" and "History of the Present Tariff," together with revisions and additions needed to complete the narrative. i2ino, cloth . . . . . . $i 25 " At a time when the tariff has come to occupy the forefront among politi- cal questions, we can heartily commend this book to all political enquirers." Post, Washington. "Can be recommended to those wishing to arrive at a comprehensive understanding of the tariff system, as the best work of the day." Boston Times. G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS, NEW YORK AND LONDON. LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. Class U.S. CONFESS. OF TARIFJL BUT N O TARJFF FOR, The Democratic Platform (1888) endorses the views expressed by President Cleveland in his last earnest message to Congress. ll.S THE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE 1887 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY THOMAS NAST NEW YORK AND LONDON G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS Cbe Jimcherbotktr |)rcss 1888 COPYRIGHT BY G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS Press of G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS New York THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE, 1887. To the Congress of the United States : You are confronted at the threshold of your legislative duties, with a condition of the national finances which im- peratively demands immediate and careful consideration. The amount of money annually exacted, through the operation of present laAvs, from the industries and necessi- ties of the people, largely exceeds the sum necessary to meet the expenses of the Government. When we consider that the theory of our institutions guarantees to every citizen the full enjoyment of all the fruits of his industry and enterprise, with only such deduc- tions as may be his share towards the careful and economic maintenance of the Government which protects him, it is plain that the exaction of more than this is indefensible extor- tion, and a culpable betrayal of American fairness and jus- tice. This wrong inflicted upon those who bear the burden of national taxation, like other wrongs, multiplies a brood of evil consequences. The public treasury, which should only exist as a conduit conveying the people's tribute to its legitimate objects of expenditure, becomes a hoarding-place for money needlessly withdrawn from trade and the people's use, thus crippling our national energies, suspending our country's development, preventing investment in productive 220571 MESSAGE, 1887.^ enterprise; threatening 'financial disturbance, and inviting schemes of public plunder. This condition of our treasury is not altogether new ; and it has more than once of late been submitted to the people's representatives in the Congress, who alone can apply a rem- edy. And yet the situation still continues, with aggravated incidents, more than ever presaging financial convulsion and widespread disaster. It will not do to neglect the situation because its dangers are not now palpably imminent and apparent. They exist none the less certainly, and await the unforeseen and unex- pected occasion when suddenly they will be precipitated upon us. On the 30th day of June, 1885, the excess of revenues over public expenditures after complying with the annual requirement of the sinking-fund act, was $17,859,735.84; during the year ended June 30, 1886, such excess amounted to $49,405,545.20 ; and during the year ended June 30, 1887, it reached the sum of $55,567,849.54. The annual contributions to the sinking fund during the three years above specified, amounting in the aggregate to $138,058,320.94, and deducted from the surplus as stated, were made by calling in for that purpose outstanding three per cent, bonds of the Government. During the six months prior to June 30, 1887, the surplus revenue had grown so large by repeated accumulations, and it was feared the with- drawal of this great sum of money needed by the people, would so affect the business of the country, that the sum of $79,864,100 of such surplus was applied to the payment of the principal and interest of the three per cent, bonds still outstanding, and which were then payable at the option of the Government. The precarious condition of financial affairs Uncle Sam, don't play with it, be a Man. Monopolists' soap- bubbles soon burst. 6 THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE, 1887. among the people still needing relief, immediately after the 30th day of June, 1887, the remainder of the three per cent, bonds then outstanding, amounting with principal and inter- est to the sum of $18,877,500, were called in and applied to the sinking-fund contribution for the current fiscal year. Notwithstanding these operations of the Treasury Depart- ment representations of distress in business circles not only continued but increased, and absolute peril seemed at hand. In these circumstances the contribution to the sinking fund for the current fiscal year was at once completed by the ex- penditure of $27,684,283.55 in the purchase of Government bonds not yet due bearing four and four and a-half per cent, interest, the premium, paid thereon averaging about twenty- four per cent, for the former and eight per cent, for the lat- ter. In addition to this the interest accruing during the current year upon the outstanding bonded indebtedness of the Government was to some extent anticipated, and banks selected as depositories of public money were permitted to somewhat increase their deposits.* While the expedients thus employed, to release to the people the money lying idle in the Treasury, served to avert immediate danger, our surplus revenues have continued to accumulate, the excess for the present year amounting on the 1st day of December to $55,258,701.19, and estimated to reach the sum of $113,000,000 on the 30th of June next, at which date it is expected that this sum, added to prior accumulations, will swell the surplus in the Treasury to $140,000,000. There seems to be no assurance that, with such a with- drawal from the use of the people's circulating medium, our business community may not in the near future be subjected to the same distress which was quite lately produced from HOARDING PLACE ' P E P ONLY, OUR INFANT INDUSTRIES MUST BE CTE P- Kind But Mistaken Parent. 8 THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE, 1 887. the same cause. And while the functions of our National Treasury should be few and simple, and while its best con- dition would be reached, I believe, by its entire disconnec- tion with private business interests, yet when, by a perver- sion of its purposes, it idly holds money uselessly subtracted from the channels of trade, there seems to be reason for the claim that some legitimate means should be devised by the Government to restore in an emergency, without waste or extravagance, such money to its place among the people. If such an emergency arises there now exists no clear and undoubted executive power of relief. Heretofore the redemption of three per cent, bonds, which were payable at the option of the Government, has afforded a means for the disbursement of the excess of our revenues ; but these bonds have all been retired, and there are no bonds outstanding the payment of which we have the right to insist upon. The contribution to the sinking fund which furnishes the occasion for expenditure in the purchase of bonds has been already made for the current year, so that there is no outlet in that direction. In the present state of legislation the only pretence of any existing executive power to restore, at this time, any part of our surplus revenues to the people by its expendi- ture, consists in the supposition that the Secretary of the Treasury may enter the market and purchase the bonds 01 the Government not yet due, at a rate of premium to be agreed upon. The only provision of law from which such a power could be derived is found in an appropriation bill passed a number of years ago ; and it is subject to the sus- picion that it was intended as temporary and limited in its application, instead of conferring a continuing discretion and authority. No condition ought to exist which would The Temptation for Spoils. "What are we here for?" IO THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE, l88/. justify the grant of power to a single official, upon his judg- ment of its necessity, to withhold from or release to the business of the people, in an unusual manner, money held in the Treasury, and thus affect, at his will, the financial situa- tion of the country ; and if it is deemed wise to lodge in the Secretary of the Treasury the authority in the present junc- ture to purchase bonds, it should be plainly vested, and provided as far as possible, with such checks and limitations as will define this official's right and discretion, and at the same time relieve him from undue responsibility. In considering the question of purchasing bonds as a means of restoring to circulation the surplus money accu- mulating in the Treasury, it should be borne in mind that premiums must of course be paid upon such purchase, that there may be a large part of these bonds held as investments which cannot be purchased at any price, and that combina- tions among holders who are willing to sell may unreason- ably enhance the cost of such bonds to the Government. It has been suggested that the present bonded debt might be refunded at a less rate of interest, and the difference be- tween the old and new security paid in cash, thus finding use for the surplus in the Treasury. The success of this plan, it is apparent, must depend upon the volition of the holders of the present bonds ; and it is not entirely certain that the inducement which must be offered them would re- sult in more financial benefit to the Government than the purchase of bonds, while the latter proposition would reduce the principal of the debt by actual payment, instead of ex- tending it. The proposition to deposit the money held by the Gov- ernment in banks throughout the country, for use by the people, is, it seems to me, exceedingly objectionable in What Congress meets for every year. Patience on a Monument. Hoodwinked. ii 12 THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE, 1887. principle, as establishing too close a relationship between the operations of the Government Treasury and the business of the country, and too extensive a commingling of their money, thus fostering an unnatural reliance in private busi- ness upon public funds. If this scheme should be adopted it should only be done as a temporary expedient to meet an urgent necessity. Legislative and executive effort should generally be in the opposite direction, and should have a ten- dency to divorce, as much and as fast as can safely be done, the Treasury Department from private enterprise. Of course it is not expected that unnecessary and extrava- gant appropriations will be made for the purpose of avoid- ing the accumulation of an excess of revenue. Such expen- diture, beside the demoralization of all just conceptions of public duty which it entails, stimulates a habit of reckless improvidence not in the least consistent with the mission of our people or the high and beneficent purpose of our Gov- ernment. I have deemed it my duty to thus bring to the knowledge of my countrymen, as well as the attention of their repre- sentatives charged with the responsibility of legislative relief, the gravity of our financial situation. The failure of the Congress heretofore to provide against the dangers which it was quite evident the very nature of the difficulty must necessarily produce, caused a condition of financial dis- tress and apprehension since your last adjournment, which taxed to the uttermost all the authority and expedients with- in executive control ; and these appear now to be exhausted. If disaster results from the continued inaction of Congress, the responsibility must rest where it belongs. Though the situation thus far considered is fraught with danger which should be fully realized, and though it presents Was our patriot Gen. Grant a British Free Trader, bought by British gold, and a Democratic Hessian ? 14 THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE, 1 887. features of wrong to the people as well as peril to the country, it is but a result growing out of a perfectly palpable and ap- parent cause, constantly reproducing the same alarming cir- cumstances a congested national treasury and a depleted monetary condition in the business of the country. It need hardly be stated that while the present situation demands a remedy, we can only be saved from a like predicament in the future by the removal of its cause. Our scheme of taxation, by means of which this needless surplus is taken from the people and put into the public treasury, consists of a tariff or duty levied upon importa- tions from abroad, and internal-revenue taxes levied upon the consumption of tobacco and spirituous and malt liquors. It must be conceded that none of the things subjected to internal-revenue taxation are, strictly speaking, necessaries; there appears to be no just complaint of this taxation by the consumers of these articles, and there seems to be nothing so well able to bear the burden without hardship to any portion of the people. But our present tariff laws, the vicious, inequitable, and illogical source of unnecessary taxation, ought to be at once revised and amended. These laws, as. their primary and plain effect, raise the price to consumers of all articles im- ported and subject to duty, by precisely the sum paid for such duties. Thus the amount of the duty measures the tax paid by those who purchase for use these imported articles. Many of these things, however, are raised or manufactured in our own country, and the duties now levied upon foreign goods and products are called protection to these home manufactures, because they render it possible for those of our people who are manufacturers, to make these taxed articles and sell them for a price equal to that demanded Was President Garfield a British Free Trader, bought by British gold, and a Democratic Hessian ? 1 6 THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE, l88/. for the imported goods that have paid customs duty. So it happens that while comparatively a few use the imported articles, millions of our people, who never use and never saw any of the foreign products, purchase and use things of the same kind made in this country, and pay therefor nearly or quite the same enhanced price which the duty adds to the imported articles. Those who buy imports pay the duty charged thereon into the public treasury, but the majority of our citizens, who buy domestic articles of the same class, pay a sum at least approximately equal to this duty to the home manufacturer. This reference to the operation of our tariff laws is not made by way of instruction, but in order that we may be constantly reminded of the manner in which they impose a burden upon those who consume domes- tic products as well as those who consume imported articles, and thus create a tax upon all our people. It is not proposed to entirely relieve the country of this taxation. It must be extensively continued as the source of the Government's income ; and in a readjustment of our tariff the interests of American labor engaged in manufac- ture should be carefully considered, as well as the preserva- tion of our manufacturers. It may be called protection, or by any other name, but relief from the hardships and dangers of our present tariff laws, should be devised with especial precaution against imperilling the existence of our manufac- turing interests. But this existence should not mean a con- dition which, without regard to the public welfare or a national exigency, must always insure the realization of im- mense profits instead of moderately profitable returns. As the volume and diversity of our national activities increase, new recruits are added to those who desire a continuation of the advantages which they conceive the present system of Was President Arthur a British Free Trader, bought by British gold, and a Democratic Hessian ? 1 8 THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE, 1 887. tariff taxation directly affords them. So stubbornly have all efforts to reform the present condition been resisted by those of our fellow-citizens thus engaged, that they can hardly complain of the suspicion, entertained to a certain extent, that there existed an organized combination all along the line to maintain their advantage. We are in the midst of centennial celebrations, and with becoming pride we rejoice in American skill and ingenuity, in American energy and enterprise, and in the wonderful natural advantages and resources developed by a century's national growth. Yet when an attempt is made to justify a scheme which permits a tax to be laid upon every consumer in the land for the benefit of our manufacturers, quite be- yond a reasonable demand for government regard, it suits the purposes of advocacy to call our manufactures infant in- dustries, still needing the highest and greatest degree of favor and fostering care that can be rung from Federal legislation. It is also said that the increase in the price of domestic manufactures resulting from the present tariff is necessary in order that higher wages may be paid to our workingmen employed in manufactories, than are paid for what is called the pauper labor of Europe. All will acknowledge the force of an argument which involves the welfare and liberal com- pensation of our laboring people. Our labor is honorable in the eyes of every American citizen ; and as it lies at the foundation of our development and progress, it is entitled, without affectation or hypocrisy, to the utmost regard. The standard of our laborers' life should not be measured by that of any other country less favored, and they are entitled to their full share of all our advantages. By the last census it is made to appear that of the 17,392,- o r i c )F YOU CANT FIND WHAT Y0v> "Simplifying" the Tariff every day. Multitudinous and contradictory volumes on Tariff in our Custom-House. 20 THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE, 1887. 099 of our population engaged in all kinds of industries, 7,670,493 are employed in agriculture, 4,074,238 in profes- sional and personal service (2,934,876 of whom are domestic servants and laborers), while 1,810,256 are employed in trade and transportation, and 3,837,112 are classed as employed in manufacturing and mining. For present purposes, however, the last number given should be considerably reduced. Without attempting to enumerate all, it will be conceded that there should not be deducted from these which it includes 375,143 carpenters and joiners, 285,401 milliners, dressmakers, and seamstresses, 172,726 blacksmiths, 133,756 tailors and tailoresses, 102,473 masons, 76,241 butchers, 41,309 bakers, 22,083 plasterers, and 4,891 engaged in manufacturing agricultural implements, amounting in the aggregate to 1,214,023, leaving 2,623,089 persons employed in such manufacturing industries as are claimed to be benefited by a high tariff. To these the appeal is made to save their employment and maintain their wages by resisting a change. There should be no disposition to answer such suggestions by the allegation that they are in a minority among those who labor, and therefore should forego an advantage, in the in- terest of low prices for the. majority ; their compensation, as it may be affected by the operation of tariff laws, should at all times be scrupulously kept in view ; and yet with slight reflection they will not overlook the fact that they are con- sumers with the rest ; that they, too, have their own wants and those of their families to supply from their earnings, and that the price of the necessaries of life, as well as the amount of their wages, will regulate the measure of their welfare and comfort. But the reduction of taxation demanded should be so \^A^ There is something in power that creates a craving for more. If monopoly is an infant noiv and needs " protection," what will he be when he becomes of age? 21 22 THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE, l88/. measured as not to necessitate or justify either the loss of employment by the working man or the lessening of his wages ; and the profits still remaining to the manufacturer, after a necessary readjustment, should furnish no excuse for the sacrifice of the interests of his employes either in their opportunity to work or in the diminution of their compen- sation. Nor can the worker in manufactures fail to under- stand that while a high tariff is claimed to be necessary to allow the payment of remunerative wages, it certainly results in a very large increase in the price of nearly all sorts of manufactures, which, in almost countless forms, he needs for the use of himself and his family. He receives at the desk of his employer his wages, and perhaps before he reaches his home is obliged, in a purchase for family use of an arti- cle which embraces his own labor, to return in the payment of the increase in price which the tariff permits, the hard- earned compensation of many days of toil. The farmer and the agriculturist, who manufacture noth- ing, but who pay the increased price which the tariff imposes upon every agricultural implement, upon all he wears and upon all he uses and owns, except the increase of his flocks and herds and such things as his husbandry produces from the soil, is invited to aid in maintaining the present situa- tion ; and he is told that a high duty on imported wool is necessary for the benefit of those who have sheep to shear, in order that the price of their wool may be increased. They of course are not reminded that the farmer who has no sheep is by this scheme obliged, in his purchases of clothing and woollen goods, to pay a tribute to his fellow farmer as well as to the manufacturer and merchant ; nor is any mention made of the fact that the sheep-owners them- selves and their households must wear clothing and use FOK" INFAN OM PLAINTS TO CARLSBAD. The Monopolist goes to Europe to spend his surplus fat, and to bring" home a stock of personal effects from a foreign market, free of duty, while the wage-earner makes his lean purchases in the home market, well tavced. 23 24 THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE, l88/. other articles manufactured from the wool they sell at tariff prices, and thus, as consumers, must return their share of this increased price to the tradesman. I think.it may be fairly assumed that a large proportion of the sheep owned by the farmers throughout the country are found in small flocks numbering from twenty-five to fifty. The duty on the grade of imported wool which these sheep yield, is ten cents each pound if of the value of thirty cents or less, and twelve cents if of the value of more than thirty cents. If the liberal estimate of six pounds be al- lowed for each fleece, the duty thereon would be sixty or seventy-two cents, and this may be taken as the utmost en- hancement of its price to the farmer by reason of this duty. Eighteen dollars would thus represent the increased price of the wool from twenty-five sheep, and thirty-six dollars that from the wool of fifty sheep ; and at present values this addition would amount to about one third of its price. If upon its sale the farmer receives this or a less tariff profit, the wool leaves his hands charged with precisely that sum, which in all its changes will adhere to it, until it reaches the consumer. When manufactured into cloth and other goods and material for use, its cost is not only increased to the extent of the farmer's tariff profit, but a further sum has been added for the benefit of the manufacturer under the operation of other tariff laws. In the meantime the day arrives when the farmer finds it necessary to purchase wool- len goods and material to clothe himself and family for the, winter. When he faces the tradesman for that purpose he discovers that he is obliged not only to return, in the way of increased prices, his tariff profit on the wool he sold, and which then perhaps lies before him in manufactured form, but that he must add a considerable sum thereto to meet a The Wool from the Farmer's eyes, when He sees it Again. 25 26 THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE, 1887. further increase in cost caused by a tariff duty on the manu- facture. Thus in the end he is aroused to the fact that he has paid upon a moderate purchase, as a result of the tariff scheme, which, when he sold his wool seemed so profitable, an increase in price more than sufficient to sweep away all the tariff profit he received upon the wool he produced and sold. When the number of farmers engaged in wool -raising is compared with all the farmers in the country, and the small proportion they bear to our population is considered ; when it is made apparent that, in the case of a large part of those who own sheep, the benefit of the present tariff on wool is illusory ; and, above all, when it must be conceded that the increase of the cost of living caused by such tariff becomes a burden upon those with moderate means and the poor, the employed and unemployed, the sick and well, and the young and old, and that it constitutes a tax which, with relentless grasp, is fastened upon the clothing of every man, woman, and child in the land, reasons are suggested why the removal or reduction of this duty should be included in a revision of our tariff laws. In speaking of the increased cost to the consumer of our home manufactures, resulting from a duty laid upon im- ported articles of the same description, the fact is not over- looked that competition among our domestic producers sometimes has the effect of keeping the price of their pro- ducts below the highest limit allowed by such duty. But it is notorious that this competition is too often strangled by combinations quite prevalent at this time, and frequently called trusts, which have for their object the regulation of the supply and price of commodities made and sold by members of the combination. The people can hardly hope " Alcohol in the Arts." How " protection " is to be taken. Open your mouth and shut your eyes. 28 THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE, 1 887. for any consideration in the operation of these selfish schemes. If, however, in the absence of such combination, a healthy and free competition reduces the price of any par- ticular dutiable article of home production below the limit which it might otherwise reach under our tariff laws, and if, with such reduced price, its manufacture continues to thrive, it is entirely evident that one thing has been discovered which should be carefully scrutinized in an effort to reduce taxation. The necessity of combination to maintain the price of any commodity to the tariff point furnishes proof that some one is willing to accept lower prices for such commodity, and that such prices are remunerative; and lower prices pro- duced by competition prove the same thing. Thus where either of these conditions exist, a case would seem to be presented for an easy reduction of taxation. The considerations which have been presented touching our tariff laws are intended only to enforce an earnest rec- ommendation that the surplus revenues of the Government be prevented by the reduction of our custom duties, and at the same time to emphasize a suggestion that, in accomplish- ing this purpose, we may discharge a double duty to our people by granting to them a measure of relief from tariff taxation in quarters where it is most needed and from sources where it can be most fairly and justly accorded. Nor can the presentation made of such considerations be, with any degree of fairness, regarded as evidence of un- friendliness toward our manufacturing interests, or of any lack of appreciation of their value and importance. These interests constitute a leading and most substantial element of our national greatness and furnish the proud The Free Farmer, about whom the " protectionists " are so anxious 29 30 THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE, 1 8 87. proof of our country's progress. But if in the emergency that presses upon us our manufacturers are asked to sur- render something for the public good and to avert disaster, their patriotism, as well as a grateful recognition of advan- tages already afforded, should lead them to willing co-opera- tion. No demand is made that they shall forego all the benefits of governmental regard ; but they cannot fail to be admonished of their duty, as well as their enlightened self- interest and safety, when they are reminded of the fact that financial panic and collapse, to which the present condition tends, aif ord no greater shelter or protection to our manufac- tures than to our other important enterprises. Opportunity for safe, careful, and deliberate reform is now offered ; and none of us should be unmindful of a time when an abused and irritated people, heedless of those who have resisted timely and reasonable belief, may insist upon a radical and and sweeping rectification of their wrongs. The difficulty attending a wise and fair revision of our tariff laws is not underestimated. It will require on the part of the Congress great labor and care, and especially a broad and national contemplation of the subject, and a patriotic disregard of such local and selfish claims as are un- reasonable and reckless of the welfare of the entire country. Under our present laws more than four thousand articles are subject to duty. Many of these do not in any way com- pete with our own manufactures, and many are hardly worth attention as subjects of revenue. A considerable reduction can be made in the aggregate, by adding them to the free 1 list. The taxation of luxuries presents no features of hard- ship ; but the necessaries of life used and consumed by all the people, the duty upon which adds to the cost of living in every home, should be greatly cheapened. THE VULTURE TRUST, (>TOT 1.1 MINTED,) The Trick Issue. The infant vulture. "This is the animal that is about to devour you -when the Tariff reformers let him loose." 32 THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE, l88/. The radical reduction of the duties imposed upon raw material used in manufactures, or its free importation, is of course an important factor in any effort to reduce the price of these necessaries ; it would not only relieve them from the increased cost caused by the tariff on such material, but the manufactured product being thus cheapened, that part of the tariff now laid upon such product as a compensation to our manufacturers for the present price of raw material, could be accordingly modified. Such reduction, or free im- portation, would serve beside to largely reduce the revenue. It is not apparent how such a change can have any injurious effect upon our manufacturers. On the contrary, it would appear to give them a better chance in foreign markets with the manufacturers of other countries, who cheapen their wares by free material. Thus our people might have an opportunity of extending their sales beyond the limits of home consumption saving them from the depression, in- terruption in business, and loss caused by a glutted domestic market, and affording their employes more certain and steady labor, with its resulting quiet and contentment. The question thus imperatively presented for solution should be approached in a spirit higher than partisanship, and considered in the light of that regard for patriotic duty which should characterize the action of those intrusted with the weal of a confiding people. But the obligation to declared party policy and principle is not wanting to urge prompt and effective action. Both of the great political parties now represented in the Government have, by re- peated and authoritative declarations, condemned the con- dition of our laws which permit the collection from the people of unnecessary revenue, and have, in the most solemn manner, promised its correction; and neither as citi- It is time to get this Untangled. Grover Cleveland. " What a mess you have got this into by leaving it wound so long. There are so many snarls and knots that it will take much longer than you think to get this yarn to rights." 33 34 THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE, 1887. zens nor partisans are our countrymen in a mood to condone the deliberate violation of these pledges. Our progress toward a wise conclusion will not be im- proved by dwelling upon the theories of protection and free trade. This savors too much of bandying epithets. It is a condition which confronts us not a theory. Relief from this condition may involve a slight reduction of the advantages which we award our home productions, but the entire withdrawal of such advantages should not be con- templated. The question of free trade is absolutely irrel- evant ; aud the persistent claim made in certain quarters, that all efforts to relieve the people from unjust and un- necessary taxation are schemes of so-called free-traders, is mischievous and far removed from any consideration for the public good. The simple and plain duty which we owe the people is to reduce taxation to the necessary expenses of an economical operation of the Government, and to restore to the business of the country the money which we hold in the Treasury through the perversion of governmental powers. These things can and should be done with safety to all our indus- tries, without danger to the opportunity for remunerative labor which our workingnien need, and with benefit to them and all our people, by cheapening their means of sub- sistence and increasing the measure of their comforts. The Constitution provides that the President "shall, from time to time, give to the Congress information of the state of the Union." It has been the custom of the Execu- tive, in compliance with this provision, to annually exhibit to the Congress, at the opening of its session, the general condition of the country, and to detail, with some particu- larity, the operations of the different Executive Depart- ...v,.4n the average than 20 per cent., and it is the opinion of the Commis- ion that the reduction will reach 25 per cent. [The Mills Bill proposes a reduction of less than 7 per cent.] Chester A. Arthur's Letter of Acceptance, 1880 : Such changes hould be made in the present tariff system of taxation as shall relieve tvery burdened industry, and enable our artisans and manufacturers ta :ompete successfully with those of other lands. James A. Garfield, April i, 1870 : Duties should be so high that >ur manufacturers can fairly compete with the foreign product, but not o high as to enable them to drive out the foreign article, enjoy a mo- lopoly of the trade, and regulate the prices as they please. This is my loctrine of protection. If Congress pursues this line of policy steadily VQ shall, year by year, approach more nearly to the basis of free trade, >ecause we shall be more nearly able to compete with other nations on iqual terms. I am for a protection which leads to ultimate free trade. President Arthur, Annual Message, 1882 : A total abolition of xcise taxes would almost inevitably prove a serious, if not an insurmounta- >le obstacle to a thorough revision of the tariff and to any considerable eduction in import duties. The present tariff system is, in many espects, unjust. It makes unequal distributions, both of its burdens ind its benefits. ... I recommend an enlargement of the free list 10 as to include within it the numerous articles which yield inconsider- ible revenue, a simplification of the complex and inconsistent schedule )f duties upon certain manufactures, particularly those of cotton, iron, ind steel, and a substantial reduction of the duties upon those articles,, ind upon sugar, molasses, silk, wool, and woollen goods. IRIEOEHSTT Political and Economic Publications, SUMNER (Prof. W. G.). Lectures on the History of Pro- tection in the United States. Octavo . . So 75 "There is nothing in the literature of free trade more forcible and effective than this little book. "-N. Y. Evening Post. SCHOE upor tires ! of the MOORE Man BASTI/ by H express ROOSE^ tics. STERN! Devel with ac "A the data G. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY, BERKELEY THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW Books not returned on time are subject to a fine of 50c per volume after the third day overdue, increasing to $1.00 per volume after the sixth day. Books not in demand may be renewed if application is made before expiration of loan period. he Tariff and Fig- . $o 75 hman. 2at question lists and . $0 2$ Others. . $o 25 h Preface . i oo : free-trade $1 25 re clear, or al Poli- $o 75 *olitical , revised $i 25 2 country, itains just THEIR STRONGHOLD, FORT BOODLE. If the government belongs to the people, they have been deprived of it. U.C. BERKELEY LIBRARIES YC 92955 LIBRARY USE RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED LOAN DEPT. THIS BOOK IS DUE BEFORE CLOSING TIME ON LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW LIBRARY USE MAYS '64 $t3 SEP 25 m LD 62A-20m-9,'63 (E709slO)9412A General Library University of California Berkeley