Wheeling times and advertiser. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1839-1849, 1845-12-09


as much space as the presidents Message
1t has been looked Tor with some interest on
account OF the premonitory symptoms exhib-
tied by MIR. Secretary Walker, on The subject
of the tariff. In fact the document is chiefly
devoted to that one question. Upon thissub-
Jcct as we'll as the sub-treosury and the public
lands, it merely elabontes the positions which
the message promulgated.
The strain of the treasury report upon the
tariff may be partly Inferred from these brief
quotations. eft the whole revenue were rails
Ell by tax upon property, the poor, aud espe-
!cially those who live by the wage, of labor
would pay but very small portion of such
tax; whereas, by the Tariff, the poor, by the
consumption of various imports or of domes-
tic articles enhanced in price by the duties.
pay much larger share of the taxes than if
they were collected by an assessment in pre-
portion to property" "This (tax-
ing business) would not be discriminating i'm
favor OF the poor, however just that might be
within the revenue limit; but it would miti-
gate, as Tar as practicable, that discrimination
against the poor which results from every tar
Ill, &c. "a protective tariff is
question regarding the enhancement of the
profits OF capital. That is its object, and not
to augment the wages of labor, which would
reduce those profits cit 1.-THE
tarit OF 1922 discrimnates i'm favor of the
rich and against the poor" &c. He cites the
duty ON coarse cotton, costing four cents a
square yard, which, he says, is l3l per cent.
and less on the finer article, and adds, "a this
difference is founded on actual importation
and shows an average discrimination against
the poor on cotton imports of So per cent,
beyond what the tax would be if assessed
upon the actual value" He alleges that there
is ga tax of So, los, i22 exacted by minimums
and specific duties annually from the poorer
classes" &c. Why do demagogues so often
try to b9ool the poor? Do they think the
poor have no judgment, and are therefore cast
ly deluded? They will yet be taught differ
emily.
The argument by which the Secretary proves
that all protection is unconstitutional is rich
In its way. The words of the Constitution
he says, are that "thc Congress shall hare
pouer to lay and collect taxes, duties, imports
and excises"; from which he proceeds to al
lege that +" duty must be laid only that it
may be collected" In other words, Congress
cannot lay duty on any article unless it is
known that this article ariH be brought into
NE country and the duty on it collected And
since protective duty will cause the article
10 be produced at home and not imported from
abroad, therefore protective tariff is uncon-
slitutional.
30 that the power to collect compels con-
gress to collect the duty which it LAYS on ev
cry article. This is logic with vengeance.
Did the Secretary never read another clause
giving congress the power to regulate COM
merce? Did he ever read the discussions which
preceded our revolution and which made the
phrase TO regulate commerce as familiar to
the American people as it had been to all
statesmen? Did he never learn that all men
then understood that duties on imports were
one distinct mode regulating commerce with
foreign nations?
The Secretary dwells on the enhan &c ment
OF prices, produced, as he asserts, by "a protec-
tive duty, and says that such duty is mere
subtraction OF as much money from the people
TO increase the revenue of the protected clas-
ses But he had, in another part of his report
complained that ''the receipts for the fist
quarter are less, by S2,0ll ,SS5 30, than the
receipts OF the same quarter last year. Among
the causes oidecreasc Che adds,) is the pro
gresSiue diminution of the importation of ma :
ny highly protected articles and the substitu-
ton OF rival domestic products" Now, why
this progressive" substitution of the rival do
nestle products unless because these domes-
tic products are progressively becoming cheap
err That being the case, of course the rival
foreign product can no longer be imported and
SOLD at the low prices which protective tar
Ill progressively produces in few years by
stimulating competition at home and by caus-
ing all increase of capital and skill TO be drawn
into this rival Domestic business. And this
is one of the very results aimed at by a protec-
tive tariff. This part of the report refutes the
assertions about the enhancement of prices If
any permanent enhancement be meant; and
IL the enhancement be only Temporary and
progressively dminishes, year by year, it is of
but little consequence compared to the hume
rous advantages of protective tariff. But it
seems the Democracy are never content to be
progressive" towards any practical good.
The other arguments of the Secretary are of
little consequence more than the above. He
takes pains, however, to let Pennsylvania
know that the duty on iron Fought to be re-
duced to the revenue standard" We have
not room now 10 give his notion of the "rev
enue standard"
SAUDIE. n HINK Am