The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1869-11-25

CecllVe, excludes revenue altogether Vi |
necessity, Suppose the articles are
not excluded altogether, as salt; the
duty on salt averages from los to lis
percent. Now, all the domestic salt sold |
in the United States is sold at price
qcite as high as the foreign salt, with
the duty added and thus the people
are made to pay twice as much as the
Government gets, and that principle
runs all through the protective tariff,
under the protective rates, SO far as
the goods are not excluded altogether.
If they come in, of course some reve-
nue. is obtained; but then the people
have to pay high price, not only on
the goods coming in, but also on the
domestic commodities which are pro-
duced here. And the Goverement
only gets fraction of it, and the
markers and growers of these COM
modities get the bulk.
1t is very poor policy on the part
of the Government to lay such duties
as these. Free traders have no objec-
ton to taxation or any form of taxa
ton. We believ in customs
dutiesas a method of raising a
part o the revenue which b e
Government needs for its own
maintenance but then we insist that
these duties shall be laid so as to Sc
cure revenue. We object to have the
Government levy these, the object
and the result of which are not rev.
enue at all, but something totally diff
ferent. We object and we protest
against this sacred right of taxation
being prostituted, not only for the
sake of revenue at all, but only to
take money out of the pocket of the
masses to put it into the pockets of
the few. Do you suppose the.
American people.are going to endure
that kind of policy? If you do, you
are vastly mistaken. The. indignation
of the people is just rising against a
tariff that discriminates against the
millions and in favor of the few
that discriminates in favor of the
wooden manufacturer of Massachu-
sets, and in favor of corporations
like the Onondaga Salt Company; in
favor of such men as the iron manu-
facturers of Pennsylvania, and against
the consumers of woolen goods, and
salt and iron, which means. the whole
people of the United States. why,
there is not country on the face of
the globe where an ounce of gold
will buy to-day so little woolen cloth
SO little of blankets, SO little of salt,
so little of iron, and other protected
commodities. Here is land ofabun-
dance, land of Gods bounty; and
yet, notwithstanding this abundance
Notwithstanding such mass of iron
as we have in Missouri, in Pilot Knob
and Iron Mountain, richer than any
other locality on the face of the earth !;
notwithstanding the abundance of
that ore, and the abundance ef coal
and limestone in proximity, there is
no country on the face of the earth
where iron is sold as dear as in these
United States, which God has blessed
above all other nations of the earth.
And SO with salt and other articles.
You ask me what is the plain which
we propose? Our plan is to lay du-
ties on such articles as tea and coffee,
sugar and wines and liquors and to-
baccos. We propose to lay the du-
ties ON those articles largely articles
of luxury. And you will notice from
the report of the Bureau of Statistics,
that those articles that l have men
toned realized last year 500, 1856, ,012.
These duties are not protective duties.
They are revenue duties, and
just S far as our principle of
protection applies, just SO far revenue
declines. The duty on chalk, for ex-
ample, is BAT per cent, and I cannot
make mark on my blackboard in
my college recitation-room, without
paying black-mail to some three or
four owners of the chalk deposits in
my State of Massachusetts,. Take the
article of coffee. Under a revenue
duty of Is per cent, coffee realized in
1868, $10,637, ,S45. Copper, under an
enormously high tariff, yielded but
S29,O00. Tea, under revenue duty,
realized $9,414604. Iron, steel, and
the various manufactures of them, are
highly protected, increasing the price
of evsry pound of iron, of every
peice of machinery of every imple-
ment and utensil down to the sewing
woman's needle that is used in these
United States, for the benefit of few
manufactures of iron and steel; these
produced last year only $I0,524022.
But sugar alone, and sugar candy, ,un-
der revenue duty, produced $50, 1885,
S71. ar-,-.
Our practical plan is to levy reve-
nue. duties without any reference to
the idea of protection, for protection
is nothing in the world but an expe-
dient to make what is naturally cheap
artificially dear, to thwart Providence,
and as such can never succeed, and
never does succeed in the long rum
1t means to produce scarcity where
God has given abundance. We are
opposed to this idea of protection in
all forms and in every degree, and
never will tolerate it, so far as our in
fuence can go. We propose simply
to levy calculable revenue duties up
on from fifteen to twenty articles,
which, by demonstration, will produce
S15O,OO0,000 of revenue year; that
| is all we want to raise by this
plan. Then raise another $780,
100000 by internal revenue, and
that gives $500, 100000 year in gold.
Now the expenses of this Government