The Somerset herald and farmers' and mechanics' register. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 183?-1852, 1847-01-12
The Presidents Message and
the Tariff,
THE POOR MAN-TEA AND coEFEE.


THE POOR MAN-TEAA n COFFEE.
President Polk, in his message, tells
the poor man, that the BILL of 1912 lev
led the lighter tax upon articles Of luxury
and of high price and the heavier on
these of necessity and low price consul
med by the great mass of the people,
Now it was well known to the Presi-
dent, (says the Philadelphia Inquirer
when he made the above assertion, that
the laboring man in this country is, gener-
ally speaks ing, clothed with AMERICAN
MANUFACTURES, from the crown of his
head to the sole of his foot. as cheapIy as
the laboring man in Great Britain, or any
other part OF Europe, who wears comfor-
table garments. For the President tells
US, in almost the next sentence, that do
mestic manufactures to the value of sever
al millions of dollars are exported to for
eign countries, and if he had told the
whole story. he would have said, that
export consisted Of the class Of articles
more especially consumed by our labor
ing men. But he knew well from the re-
ports from the Customs, that The revenue
of the Bill of 1912 was raised principally
from articles consumed by the richer clas-
ses of socIety-thai the only article upon
which the poor man was taxed to any ex-
tent was sugar, and this he could afford
TO paw. when he procured his tea and cof-
fee under that Bill FREE OF DUTY. But
how have the Free Traders relieved him
under the Bill of 1916, when they tax the
luxury of refined Loaf Sugar used by the
rich no more than the raw Sugar, and
further recommend a duty of % per c..
upon both Coffee and Toa- articles of ab-
solute necessity, and consumed SO largely
by the great mass of our people! We
know that the chief consumption of both
Coffee and Tea is by our farmers and la
boring classes. Every industrious farmer
and laborer in our country drinks more
Coffee and Tea than John jacob Astor,
with his 20 millions of dollars, and yet
they are asked to bear this unequal and
unjust tax, bv an Administrator that as
sures them that they are TO be relieved
from all such burthensl Why not raise
this revenue from the rich broad cloths
and Saxouy carpets and silks, worn by
the rich, instead of expressing the poor
man! The poor are, howevhr, further
told. that we must follow the example of
England, and abandon the protective poll
cy-but they are not told why England
has abandoned said policy. 1t is because
her manufacturing establishments can
produce cheaper than any other upon the
face Of the globe: and in order that they
NAV do so more effectuallv, all duties are
taken off from agricultural products, and
they will now enjoy cheaper bread than
our people, as well as cheaper labor. If
this is not adopting a policy to build up
! their manufactures, we do not understand
the subject. But we are told by this same
document that our manufactures enjoy a
large protection sin the ireights and char
ges, which the importer must pay before
he can come into competition with the
home manufacturer IN our markets. =
| From this, il would be supposed that our
manufacturers paid neither freighls nor
charges; whereas their lreights md char
yes, Notwithstanding all the facilities of
transport which we now enjoy, are fully
double those paid by the foreign importer.
All our Iron establishments and COalmines
are in the interior of the country, and
their products are transported at great ex-
pense. England is a sea-girt Island, all
her products may be said to be upon the
ocean shore, and may be waited by It's
breezes to any part of the world, at a very
small cost. The difference in freight a
lone upon the product of the largest es-
adjustment in England or Scotland would
be a remunerating profit to the Iron man.
uGacturer. 1t is the cheaper transport Of
the sea that gives England such great adj
vantages. Distance is comparatively of
little moment.
But to close our remarks upon this re-
markabie document, we must call the at
teniion of our good people to the fact,
that although the Tariff of 1912 has been
four years in operation, every branch of
industry has been in the highest prosper
ity. and this the President tells us in this
same message. His language is of the
strongest character. 1T is a subject she
saws of the highest congratulailon, that