Daily Davenport Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1864-1874, 1868-05-27

Grove l. sheridan l. ClssnA !. Rockingham
~ order of the Den ocsasie csatssi Committee Of
r. RAGAL. Chairman.
-.11l.4
PROTECTlON.
A spool Of thread Il very little thing,
Of itself, but special legislation, by means
Of specific and ID salsrem duties, have
built it up into rather big thing Time
vas when . spool Of thread might be bought
for four cents nov the price 10 ten cents
being an advance Of ono hundred and
tisty psr cent. Do your women. who use
the millions Of spools OF thread annually
consumed in tho United States. even pause
90 think what caused .this risei Perhaps
thsy attribute it to the war. Undoubtedly
the rebellion, By prohibiting tho culture
aud sale Of cotton. has tended 10 oil tAe
advance, bu. IL il not the true and adequate
cause Of the unexampled increase we have
noted. Protection is tho thief Of time that
has stepped in % pilfor penny by penny,
the earnings of American needle women.
With a fair al raiorem duty upon import
ed thread, the English manufacture known
AZ - and p. Coats'-probs the best
for general use, as it certainly is the very
best machiuc thread in existence, might
DO sold here for six cents, even while gold
is al 81 90. But specific dutics have 30
enhanced the cost of importing the article
that u can not be afforded now for less
than ten cents spoil And il 10 = neta-
bic fact that American threads. which do
not pay these duties, are sold at precisely
the sam, price. Does not this leave some
whore margin foraan enormous profit :
Let Nc Sos who derives this gain. There
n At Willimsntc thread works owned by
Hartford capitalists. Tho building they
occupy is four hundred feet long, five sto-
ries high aud bu,it Of granite, and the Hart
ferl Tones SAYS "costly as it is IL uas bulk
.fran. r. compdnrs prodt ~ orcr TIRE
saa1reR pef cent irlthout disturbiny Hesr
capital. which isnow u million Of dollars"
Vow whence arises this profit OF orcr three
Ssp.ycd Yeg cent, anl who payst. These
are questions IN which every citizen is in
tercsied for thread IS an article that comes
home to Us all The pre.it is the cfrrc, of
protect ion,' and il is taxed directly upon
al who use the manufacture The duty
upon imported threai is seventy per cent,
apnn rs cost. payable N gold this seventy
Per cent. being further increased 10y the
forty per cent, premium on coin. To make
the matter palmer We will put it thus: A,
wishes TO import Coats thread TO the
amount Of sioo; upon that he must pay
$40 duty in gold to procure that amount
in gold he must pay premium (goid be-
ing at &l.Ao) Of t2s; thus making the TO-
tal duties. direct and indirect, $9S. Against
this ~e have to put the duty on American
thread. And what 10 its Why, simply
elk per cedt., payable in currency. But
~i,h this vast diAersac~ 10 the cost. tho
two articles are rstsiled At the ssmo price
ten csntsa spool. This 10 what the 7ri-
6aat fcndly hut dslusiss,y calls "protsct- |
ing American industry" How about the
American industry that uses this thread : |
lsthat protected" when it 10 made TO pay
ten cents spool for thread that could 10
sold for six, and still yield . large profit
Common sense says No: TIluae philo-
sophy Gays Yes. Which is rights II
Coats' cotton, At fair duty, could be sold
for ak cents. ~ No have shown il car, since
il pays 90 per cont, duty, and yet Is sold
for ten, why should not American cotton,
that pays scarcely any duty 1t oil, alss be
cold At elk cents Simply because "protss-
ton"protects the" American manufacturer
and hs ksows that "A meriean industrysnSst
pay the price or stand idle, because Con-
grsss has enacted thar il shall not purchase
an English article for less. This is plain
statement Of what protection" means, and
yet it does not show tho whole extent of
the evil. In England the three cord slared
threads, such As are made by this company,
cast much less, and are sod at lower prices
than tho six cord threads; but here. a. the
manufactures are protected, the poor seams
Hsss must pay as much for the ono an for
tho other. Tho evil is also felt in still, an.
other direction. Spool cotton used foYmer,v
to pay an annual revenue af half a million
o. dollars 10 gold into the treasury; during
the hrst fiscal year after "protection" he.
came the vogue. this amount fell of tvo
hundred thousand dollars. Al Of eour..
the people must pay thi. deficit in .on.
other way, and :pay it in currency. tn.
hundred and forty Thousand dollars had to
b addsl r the taxes. So yop ses tha. pro.
tscsisa robe The poor, robs The Treasury Of
the uei6d. States, but then. Il pays The
Thread manufactures three hundred Der
cen. Does this look like protecting indus
sry!" The chief organ Of " protection" in
this country furnishes potent commentary
upon tho policy when the fact is patent n
the world that journal is printed upoa fora.
Ign paper. Does that look like .sprosect;n,
American industry But the peop,e h.ve
the remedy in their own hands. If thev
must pay ten cents for spcol Of cotton -,
then purches none but English GOOD.
They will, ofcourss, DO paying the three.
hundred poc cost, over and above the coat
Of ths article ~ che same, but they viii
pay one hundFod PER cont. directly into she
Issasusy u ~ United States instead Of
payiue ~ Wlojo ameunt into their pockets
Of eroody ooenooonss Whs fattsn upsn the
taae0egy eesy pssoeod y protect bpt in