The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-12-21
SPIRIT OF THE PRESS.
EDITORIAL OPINIONS OF THE LEADING JOURNALS
UPON CURRENT ToPICs-COMPILED EVERY
DAY FOR THE EVENING TELEGRAPH.
An Attempt TO GarrOte the American
peOnIe.
From the ~. Y EUeain0 Post

Inc senate mas now before IL Dill whose
purpose is announced in the title to be "to
increase the revenue on duties from imports
and tending to equalize exports and Imports"
The real purpose of the bill is to decrease the
revenue, and to rob the mass of the American
people for the benefit OF q few unscrupulous
and greedy spectators.
The bill we speak of has been given out by
its friends as the Cooper bill;' and the pub
lie has been led to believe that its single or
chief purpose is to increase the duty on copper.
This would be bad enough for all the world,
just now, enjoys cheap copper; only the Anne
rican people are to have this indispensable
metal made artifcially dear to them in order
to put money into the pockets of few owners
OF copper mines.
But besides copper this bill lays additional
duties on lead, nickel, zinc, steel, iron wire
iron of all kinds, glass, salt, rice, timber, raw
cotton, cotton and linen goods, and a number
of other articles.
Now, first, as regards the revenue, the
higher duties it is proposed to impose on most
of the articles we have named are for the
most part nearly prohibitory and they are
certain to decrease the revenue. They are
plainly, as every one can see, intended simply
for 'protection," as it is called; that is to say,
as a special bounty to very few of the many
industries Of the country. 1t seems that in
this case the protectionsts are afraid to let
their real object be known. They are evi.
But see how partial is this measure. If any
one is to be "protected," " all ought to be pro-
tected alike. But this bill proposes to give
special favors to a few, a very few, at the ex-
pense, of course, of the many. Take, for in
stance, the duty on copper. Copper is used in
every household in the land; it is used in ship
building, and in many of the most important
arts aud industries of the county. In Short
it enters into the daily life of all our thirty
five millions of people, and these are to be
taxed for the benefit of-how many persons,
does the reader supposel According to the
United States census, there were employed
in 1860, in copper mining and copper smelling
the only trades specially favored or 'pro-
tected" by this bill-55S3 men and AZ women;
in all, 5625 persons. But say there are now
employed $4,000, instead of 5000-to this
10000 over thirty millions of people are to pay
a bounty. Is this equality? Is this justice
But even this is not ALL These peoples
wages will not be increased by the higher
duty. Probably the number of persons who
will be benefited amounts to less than five
hundred, and these are men who hold copper
mining stock The whole nation is to pay
tribute to these.
So of lead. There is not house in the
country in which lead is not used. For water
pipes, for paint, for bullets and shot used by
the immense frontier population-for many
purposes, lead is an article of universal use
bJg
would benefit the whole country, and add to
the comfort and happiness of every man,
woman, and child in it. Now, how many
persons are to be benefited by this increased
duty ON lead 3! Less than three thousand per-
sons are believed to be engaged in the mining
and smelling of lead. The United States
census says only three hundred and sixty-one
persons were SO employed in 1860, but this is
probably mistake.
1t is a fact that we do not produce, now
even as much lead as supplies the demand in
the neighbOrhood of the mines. Thousands
OF tons are every year sent West, from Eu-
rope, to fill the demand for paint, pipe, etc.
Less lead is now produced than when the
duty was far lower. Nevertheless, it is pro-
posed to tax every man who wishes to use
lead pipe, to paint his house, to protect him
self against wild animals, or to follow the
chase, in order that less than three thousand
persons may put money in their purses.
What We have said of these two articles is
true of every other on the list. The number
Of persons who are to gain is ridiculously out
OF proportion to the number who are to suffer
increased taxation; and it would not be unjust
to call this bill bill to swindle and oppress
the American people for the benefit of less
than one per cent. of their NUN Der. Will
the country endure such gross and reckless
favoritismY
Take, as another example, only one item in
Ine pIOpOSeu InCT6dSeu uuLy Oh SIeels DLeSl
rails are now bought and laid on all our rail-
roads. 1t is of the utmost Importance to the
safety OF the travelling community-whch
means nearly the whole population-thst
these rails should be quickly laid; but here
comes in this bill, and proposes to increase
the duty Of these steel rails between fifty and
seventy per cent, 10 benefit few already
wealthy steel rail manufacturers. Is it right
that the whole country shall be injured or
endangered to enrich a few capitalists?
Nor is this all. The rapid extension of our
railroad system is of vital importance to the
whole country. Destroy our railroads and we
should be bankrupt; double thsir mileage and
and we should increase tenfOld our wealth,
and an hundred fold the comfort of every
family in the country. Check their increase
and you check the growth of the country; you
stop its power of increase; yOu put limit TO
the area of land which can be prOtitably cul-
tivated; you paralyze enterprise, crowd people
into the centres ofpopulation, decrease wages,
and affect very injQTiOusly the Independence
of the working men.
We could well afford to admit rails free of
duty, even if all other articles were to bs COW
cred by high duties. The extension of our
railroad system is thought SO important that
the Government gives lands by millions of
acres to help their construction, and even en-
dorses the bonds of some railroads. Yet this
bill and the present tariff unite to largely in
crease the cost of rails in this country, to the
positive injury of the revenue, aud to the still
greater injury of the whole country; and for
the great profit OF perhaps two or three hun
dred persons, interested as capitalists in the
production of rails.
Again, take lumber. Everybody kpowa
that tax on lumber is direct and severe