The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1845-10-11

EDITORS CORRESPONDENCE.
From our regular correspondent
Tt NJ, Vo,. 0rt a IQxr

L I F. |NH
From our regular correspondent
| New YoRK, Oct 9, 1886
| An experienced merchant in this city informs me
that il is we'll ascertaned fact, that ship Of Eve
hundred tons, all of oak copper fastened with chain
cables, sails, &c, be built in Gottenburg for
| FIVE thousand dollars less than the same vessel
would cost if built in the United States. The wages
Of seamen in Gottenburg and Bremen amount TO
only six dollars per month; while, with US, they
| amount 70 from twelve to fifteen dollars. The Lao
ter being free port, no duties are paid on ships
| articles Of consumption.
| From these facts, it is readily perceived what
competition our shipping interest, snder the present
high tariff, has to contend against The imposition
of high Duties with the cash to be paid as they are
landed, has had the effect to great extent, Of la
king the importing and freighting business out of
| the hands OF our own merchants IN New York, and
placing both in the hands Of foreigners. Foreign
manufacturing and commercial firms have generally
| established houses agencies in New York, and
do their own importing and shipping, or transact
| such business TO order THIS course Of trade has
the effect to reduce American merchants to mere
jobbersretailers to the country trade of goods in
| troduced by foreign factors.
The average duties are from IS to 40 per cent To
| be an importer, man must advance the govern
| ment over one-thrd of his capital, the moment he
| commences the business Of selling imported goods
which he has introduced. On this advance the in
terest must be charged on the value of the goods,
/
these heavy cash duties is to give monopoly to
capital in the importing trade, as is done to capital
| IN manufacturing operations. Hence we find our
millionaire importers are all wings, all stickers for
high cash duties, because the system gives them a
monopoly with foreign capitalists in the market.
| The duty iron is twenty five dollars per ton,
cash on the nail. To import twenty thousand
tons, the merchant must stand ready with fifty thou
sand dollars TO advance the government as soon az
it lands. Now, il is evident, none but enormous
capitalists can import iron; consequently, we find
| a single large house in New York (Messrs. Boor-
man, johnson, g. Coz have monopolized, to great
extent, the importation Of this article and its sale in
the United States. They, no doubt, charge the full
amount of interest on the fifty thousand dollars nd
vanced the government, and careful to add
saving profit before it reaches the consumers.
| They have established a house, | understand, in
Gottenburg, and also one in Stockholm, in Sweden,
| through which they have effected an arrangement
with nearly the whole trade Of that country to con-
sign all the iron intended for consumption in the
United States to their firm in New York. The con-
sequence is, If small importer purchaser sends
out an order for fifteen or twenty tons of iron, he Is
informed that it cannot be flled-that he must buy
from the house Of Messrs. Boorman, johnson, q
Co.
| This house is reapng an immense fortune; while,
II an enierprsing young man went into il, with re-
spectacle capital, he would be speedily ruined; be-
cause the government would at the start of his bu-
sness, take from one-third to one-half of his money
| from his pockets
am opposed to all legislation for the benefit Of
capital in every FORM
| A man with large means is amply protected by
the power conferred by their possession, without
having law passed for his exclusive benefit.
Messrs. Boorman, johnson, e. Co.. with all such
millionaire business men, strong protective men,
are friends of such measures tax labor for the
benefit of capiiaI-that make the "poor poorer, and
the rich richer!" What boot equal and just laws,
L. a..
in wealth and luxury, live in palaces, and go forth
in gilded equipages' How long will the honest,
| Woodworking, down.trodden labor of the country
consent to be taxed for the benefit of capital Keep
up this system, and we shall remain republic only
| IN name. gna
1t has been by the taxation of labor for the benefit
of capital, enforced by the iron power of monarchy
in the Old World, that has ground the great OF
the people into the dust, into misery, want, and
| starvation
Leok at Belgium, small kingdom of only four
millions Of people, with royalty on small scale to
enue Of $2O,0OO000. Go through the country, and
what do you seer Women degraded to do the work
of BEASTS of Understanding in the fields striking
with hammers smiths anvils, and carrying bur
dens only allotted to the labor Of animals in the Uni
| ted States !!
| And look at England-thnt renowned country OF
its great Anglo-Saxon glory, SO much oppressed by
false legislation of taxation of labor for the benef,
Of capital, titles of royalty and nobility. With
national debt wastefuly contracted, large that the
interest amounts TO about $3.50 600 900 per annum,
everything is heavily taxed-save, perhnps the air
the poor aboring man breathes
| For centuries, the lands Of the nobility, with
many of their Injuries, paid no tax; while the poor
mans bread, his light, his everything taxed to
| the last extremity of oppression Small panes OF
window-lights, in the houses Of the poor, were more
heavily taxed than the large panes In the palaces OF
the rich.
| What do we now see of the result of centuries
of taxation of labor for the benefit Of capital? Uni
vcrsal deplorabe, and wretched paupcrism through
out the land on one hand, and the display of untold
wealth on the other Feasting from golden chal-
ices in the halls of the princely rich in one place,
and absolute starvation among the down-trodden
masses in another! Hordes of wealth in one
place, and grooming, dying, starving pauperism,
gathered like cattle in union ,cork-hotses, in ano-
ther; where aged couples, who have struggled
through life as partners in TOLL disease, misery, and
| poverty, are separated never TO meet agan-never
again to console each others woes or shed tears of
grief over the last scene Of mortality!
| Look throughout Europe, wherever monarchy
rules-where labor is taxed for the benefit of CAPT.
tal--and what do we see but the same picture mod
ifed to some extent by circumstances that surround
| III
| lie. Where WEI What are we doingl Width
or tendingi Have not grasring capitalists seized
upon the legislative power Of the country, and in
duced it to fall into the fatal error, the lfe-desroy-
ing liberty, and annihilating policy of England, Of
taxing labor for the benefit Of capitaR
| You, perhaps, are poor farmer, or poor black
smith, carpenter, spademan, or feld-laborer with
family of children around you, to provide with
food and clothing by your labor alone. There is
from S20000,000 to S25,000,000 to be raised an
nuay to support the government at Washington,
which must be raised by taxes; for that large sum
of money will neither be given to us by strangers,
nor come from the clouds You must purchase
necessares for your family. You want sugar, salt,
iron, tools, wooens cottons, and coal, perhaps for
fuel, with various other articles. Now, on all these
you must pay heavy tax under the present system
Of high tariff.
Now, your neighbor, who may own a million of
dollars in lands and houses, another million in bank
stock, railroad, or any other stock, manufacturing,
or millionaire importing stock, if you please; and
with the same number in family, he will not prob
ably pay any higher tax than you do. He receives