The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1869-02-18
The aIorriIl rafin.t

W hom the gods wish to destroy,
they first make mad Nothing but
the strange fatality,iwhicl9 sometimes
appears when needed and indicates
the approachfng end of false systems,
could have tempted protection to run
a iltawith the nineteenthg century and
lin an enlightened country. Even the
opportunities offered by the excite
,ment of the. war, and the, easy. virtue
lof our present politicians viii hardly
for the madness of our tariff
1plunderefs. Always Simprudeht In
their demands and lavish Of their
gains, the manufacturing parasites of
the Eastern States have resorted atall
times to the worst of means in order
to accomplish their object. 2 But what
have been their measures in the past
do not SO nearlyj concern us as what
they are demanding and taking from
the people of all other sections Of tile
Union, nose, | make, no hesitation in
saying that the end accomplished, the
sole object desired by thehreriginal
movers of high protective tariff istto
transfer capital from one section of the
country to another, from the protect
ing to the protected classes. Its very
name implies it. A protective tariff
is not a revenue tariff in any Sense Of
the word; So tat ia as it protects # pro-
duces no revenue. Manufacturers de
sifesto beiprofeetedl from foreign COM
petition; that Is, theylask that foreign
articles be kept ont Of our market but
the government receives revenue only
on articles gthatnare, lbr0aghti in 1.-the
country. Thus whenever the tariff Is
high enough, nearly or entirely to ex-
cIpde' importations, the effects are
these ato increase the price, of the ait
tiele the full amount of the duty :; to
| decrease our trade with foreign scothl
tries; to cut of the foreign market fsorl
our agricultural products, and thus
| oweritheirxalue. iiSuch ai tariff we
have. Upon all manufactured articles
/ that are required by the farmer, the
! artisan and the mechanic, the duty il
/ from 10 to 10 per cent, and in some
instances even higher. Admitted thal
/ this protects the manufacturer; wha
then Who protects him Certainl,
4 the classes who pay,I on an average 81
4 per'ccent. mereifor everything they
1 buy, the laboring, the producing, th,
self sustaining men. TO the exten
/ theyrlos the manufacturers gain-rnt
d fartherIo The figures to show the eexi
\ tent of this wholesale, n4egaf robber,
are not at hand, nor may they be yer!
!, easily obtained but some idea of th
j magnitude of the corruption may b.
obtained from facts universally known
\ One of these protected firms in itlt
east pays an 'annual dividend of 2
per cent, a dozen others pay dividend
u of over 15iper cent aud donearly all o
them realize profits Oh their capital o
I over II per cen. Another specimen
4 for which I am indebted to one off on
Il standard ftextebooks*s saficeo1Th
J, accumulated duties oil spool ootto
J are equivalent toto per cent aai edtt
I rem. Every family ii the land, ever
; poor seamstress9 is taxed tlat least q
|. cents on each dollaas9 worth of Ecatto
: thread, what lfoisP gFhe 'Wiliiamati
Thread Company have been maxim
{. Aree hst'pds,ed per cent, qsaaauall Prot
: on ;theirlcapital, and have built an i'm
/ mense manufactory out of flgprofit
: alone It might suggest itself L
+ most minds .thaf firns.f grown iric i.isc
7 through the suffering of, the West an
f South, might now be left to stand iuI
: OH their own footing mid,if they hay
4 the energy and capacity, compete wit
s foreign firms. AT least permit US, t
S buy where we can obtain goods th
O cheapest. But, qiotinM Men making an
! ifnaily4 from 12 to 500 per cent, caiii a
:, ford to hire lobbyists and buy men
q bers of. sCongress-ithe result is I'll
Il Morrill, Tariff. of its, special iniqu
Y ties shall not here take the space 4
! : speak. The whole SYSTEM is RADICAL
a wHQpg. And of the, harm done IL
q agricultural interests, the real weali
= Of America ! have but barely hin
I ed Itnfhst be patent to every OF
!, that, whatever cuts off the demand +
!" millions Of dollars worth Of cereal
by SO much lessons their worth an
II lessons the value OF the efforts p,
. forth by the grain growers 4 ofthe, gre
l. West. .agi,;- no zjfin la,
I! PenS's Political Economy. s"Fa III