The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1842-08-12
REMARKS OF
MR. JOHN HASTINGS, OF OHIO,
ON THE TARIFF BILL.
Delivered in the House Of Representatives.
On the 9th July, 1912.
Concluded.


Yet before proceed. and to avoid being misun-
let me do Justice my candid Intention py
adding that there those OF DINER Classes anu P
fessions who will study the general good, anu eg's
late periodically as the farmefceI.aniy .ne' b,
and Heaven forbid that should be oiherwisei oui
mean for farmers to have, in the general sense,
share ofesislators essentially OF themselves on
this Aoor. and the business of the country will be
more impaItialy done, and agricultural Interests
which are the primary ones, Will have that Jusuee
mete,I out TO themsw hich they are entitled TO.
How comes it, in this Tax bill that you levy du-
ty ON leather of from 80 to 40 per cent and the same
on shoes, while on dry and sailed hides you lay du
ty only of about from 5 to III pei cent giving me
tanner advantage him, the farmer, of from 70
TO 80 per cent? How comes il that you lay duties OF
from 20 to 90 per cent on woollen fabrics and only
per cent. wool of cents down, thereby giving the
manufacturer advantage of ID to 90 per cent over
the farmer You are aware that the farmer has
nearly the whole of the taxes that support his State
and county governments to pay, yet IN TINS Dill you
tax the harness leather for his horses and his shoes
some 40 per cent the iron and steel for his ploughs
and harrows and spades and shovels, and hoes and
ptchforks and logchans, and horse-shoes, and wag-
on tire, some IS per cent his sugar Oh to 10 per
cent. his wife's pots and pans and cups and sau-
GERS 80 per cent on the anii-cllmate products tha'
he cannot raise his farm, in his garden such
tea coffee and Spices 100 10 $50 per cent; even on
the very bullet that he puts in his rifle to shoot per-
haps the enemies of his country 100 per cent
while on two of his staples coarse wool and hides, he
from to 10 per cent the latter, both at present
duty free Besides doing injustice to the farmer by
importing wool duty Free we are doing to he
country, by discouraging It's increase Look at the
condition Of our soldiers during the last war on the
Canada froner!- whole regiment, in the dead OF
winter, without blankets What is the consequences
of this diferential duty on wool, in Ohio! Nearly
the whole of the sheep In this State are more or less
of the fine wooded breed the farmer naturally looking
to the duty favored article above cents Wretched
policy in legislation, i think. do not know what sol
diers blankets are like now but know that some years
ago, when had occasion to know them through an
acquaintance with contractor manufacturer they
were composed chiefly of cheap wool from South Anne
rca a kind of long hair, 1t might have been called
that had to be chopped up with an axe containing
very little warmth than horse-hair, and these
some, at least of the blanket appliances furnish
ed at that day 10 the soldier who fought the battles OF
his country, protect him from the incemences Of
wipter weather.
May no, the farmer, with great propriety, ask the
advocates of such extraordinary discrinnatve taxes
what they mean; do they mean to tax him for them
selves but themselves for him. Well, be this
it may have no hesitation in pronouncing, that
when he comes understand the matter, he will as
said before, enforce justice at the ballot box he will
permit no such injurious discriminating diterentia
taxation, matter how speclOus in precxt. he
knows to be sure, that indirect taxation cannot be
equal in its operation results but can be in its
special detail and provisions He wishes to pay
cheerfuly, his share of supporting his Government,
posed on him by partial legislation. + farmers, Mr.
Chairman, in Ohio, at least, making progress in
the investigation of this thing of indirect taxation
and am Of opinion that there be false il sue
devised that will divert them from their attention
IL turned to the truh-that they the broad indus
trial class Of the community bear the heaviest charges
towards supporting Governments, Federal and State,
and that Is therefore, incumbent them TO that
the indirect taxes with which they burdened 10
that effect be levied equally and imparally, by an
avoidance of the dlscrimnative sophstry and the I'M
posing faaces belonging 10 IL.
Their investigations will carry them also into the
field of discrimination which occupies Congress at
this moment, but it will be to discriminate between
fact and fiction soundness and sophs,ry practice and
profession; between impartial legislation for the
whole, and partial legislation for class, and privilege
and local interest and sectional pursuit: and be-
tween undisguised direct taxation, and cloaked and
hocded 4Qa4 ipejdlas ;is 4 Is
dsPGciaf policy II is not positively opposed to Demo-
cratic institutions and whether the object of tariff
of protection, it is called has not in all been
anagonistcal to the benefit of the whole People of
any country, But for the affirmative Of all this we
have the experience the positive evidence before
eyes, in the situation and oppressed condition of the
lacoring population of those countries that have
all times had the highest rates of duties. Osensbly
the intention held forth is to benefit the community
as whole, but that object has yet been attain
ed the result is to increase the wealth of the veal
thy. 1t has two-fold purpose-to stimulate certain
productions artihcally, and thereby produce large
surplus, and indirectly to increase taxation, while
both inure to the advantage of the few and wealthy,
the labor OF the country having to pay all the taxes
and the wealthy being invariably the great tax con-
sumers. 1t there IS to be dominant interest in a
Republic, the general agricultural is the only
that should be permited-any other would be dam
gerous to free Government and absorb nearly all le
gislation. In saying general agricultural y mean
it is in our country individualised, not where it
can be controlled in masses.
AS surrepttious dominant interest we will in
stance banking, which had well nigh corrupted the
whole legislation of the Republic the mercantile
and next, it would SEEM will follow the manufacture
ing, unless controlled in time. The general egisla-
ton of the country, has been almost exclusively for
these particular interests, while the agricultural has
scarcely been thought Of
The American Union, consisting of such power
full galaxy of sovereign Republics to be really happy
and independent should be neither an exporting nor
an importing PEOPLE particularly they should in the
aggregate, do every thing within themselves as far as
possible The evils accruing from over imports ara
obvious and those attendant on over exports beyond
the Imports are the result of improper state of So
clety, for the surplus production of no country will
be very great unless it be artiGcally caused by an
undue inequality in the state of its popuation-the
many working exclusivelylfor the profit of the few
Money is power commensurate with its uses mo-
ney in diffusion is power in diffusion that is, money
IN the Peoples pockets is power diused among the
People; therefore the People should not permit one
dollar more to leave their pockets through the scheme
oil taxation than will be sufficient for the necessary
expenses Oh their Governments it is abstractng pow
er from diffusion to concentration taking from the
People and giving to the Government-very unwise
in Republic. Above all, action towards weakening
dtused power in the People and concentrating il in
the Government The device of indirect taxation on
consumption the most insidous progress and par
tial in operation. But trust that the farmers and
workers VIII put all these things to rights for if the,
don't none else will.
1t is somewhat amusing Mr.. Chairman, to see adj |
vocates, and strenuous ones, too of American manu-
features, dressed all the time foreign fabrics some
in full suit and others, with the exception of an art
Gle or so, expallatng away in full blow the neces-
sIty and wisdom of a protective tariff to save the
country from ruin, and renovate and raise up to the
very acme OF prosperity. However, it is, and so