The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1867-02-04


still further piece Of uick9y is being resorted
to By eastern manufacturers, viz: the facto-
ries and iron works, we believe, by precon-
certed arrangement, are either stopping or
running on shortened time, and sending thei<
agents to Washington to demand more pro
lection, and power to tax still further the peot
pie, by keeping goodso Of all sorts up 70 the
present enorucns and Outrageous prices.
The interests of the people of the west and
the south favor low duties, giving the pro-
ducers chance to sell where they can sell
highest and buy where they can buy cheap
est. The policy, therefore, of the eastern
states, is to keep the south from being repre-
scented in congress, because the south and
west, together, could control legislation to
subserve their interests, instead of being hew-
ers of wood and drawers OF water for eastern
manufactures and eastern capitalists.
E Every southern vote that can be kept out
of congress is a vote in the interests of the
manufacturing monopolists, the operations
of which literally drives the people of the
west to the WALL grinds still further in <he
| dust the PROSTATE industry of the south clips
| the wings of commerce, which has already
fallen off by million or two of tons; and
takes bread from the mouth ofthe poor while
colossal fortunes are rising mountain high in
| the eastern cities.
/ We are glad to see, however, even al
| this late day, that some of the senators
| from the west are protesting, with great earn
estness, against not simply a continuance of
the present tariff, which has operated as we
have described, but against The passage of g
bin vastly enlarging the grinding exaction'
| of the former upon the masses. In view OF
| the stupenduous exertions of the millionaire
manufacturers and affiliated interests te
procure the passage Of that measure, those
senators in their hearts cannot but feel thai
oil is in so great danger that they could now
wish to be reinforced in congress by vote'
from the excluded southern states.
There is one republican paper, too, in thu
east, which is striving to inculcate correc
doctrines on this tariff question. We refe
to the New York Erening Post one of the
ablest republican papers in this country
| which says:
| We must again warn congressman agalns
| the atrocious tariff bill now before the senate
| No man who expects to continue in p,lbh
life can afford to vote for that BILL which dis
eliminates heavily against the mechanic
and farmers of the country, and in favor oil
the wealthy. re
/ 1t does this in an ingenious way, whic
makes the tariff muddle to any but experts
1t is fact that in this tariff bill the cheape
qualities of cloth are to have much highe
proportion of duty laid upon them than tn
high priced cloths. Thus. wollen coatings
the gold cost of which is ,0S per yard, ar
to be raised twenty-four per cent. higher bu
the fine and costly qualities, the gold COS
of which is 81, 40, are raised only eleven pc
cent; and still finer qualities, of the gol'
cost of $3.50, are raised only ten per cent
The eoaser coatings are to pay from eight
TO one hundred and twenty per cent. in dr
ties, but the finer and more costly are onl
burdened with from sixty-fye to seventy pc
| cent.
The same is true of carpets. The duty o.
the high-priced carpets is not raised at all
tnal on how priced carpets Is raised Ten cent
per square yard, about five per cent. In tn
same manner there is no increase on sill
dress goods, which are bought BY the wea
thy; but on small articles of silk, such a
ribbons, which are used BY the poor as vel
there is an increase of ten per cent. High
priced linens are even put under diminish
ed duty-theE- are to pay five per cent les
than now.
The commonest kinds of cutlery are Il
pay from one hundred to two hundred pc
| cent. duty; that is to saw, farmers and Inc
chanies, aud working people ss~r-~--liy, ar
to be made to pay, by this atrocious tariff
twice or three times as much as the article
can be imported for; for, of course, the hom
manufacturer viii at once put up the price
to the highest limit at which he can just III
derseil the importer who has these duties +
pay.
This atrocious swindle upon the farmer:
mechanics, and working men of the Unite
States ought to be called "a bill to still flu
Their increase the prevailing high prices, an
to grind the faces of American workingmen
J That will be its effect if it becomes a law
: viii still further raise prices, and greatly
the cost of home production, thereby entirel
disable US from trading with the rest of tn
world, and make the country poorer an
poorer all the time.