Urbana union. [volume] (Urbana, Ohio) 1862-1872, 1869-09-15


with articles produced both at home anC
abroad, such as manufactures Does
not the tariff raise the price of the do
mestic article as well as of the foreign
The domestic manufacturer Is relieved
from competition and can raise his pri.
CeS as high as those at which the impOT
ter is compelled by the duties to sell i'm
ported goods. If a New England shoe
manufacturer knows that merchants
cannot import and sell shoes for les;
than S2,25 per pair, which they might
if the duties were low, import and sell
for 81 80 per pair, he will put the price
of his shoes up to 1928 per pair. Many
of these duties imposed, as they nearly
all are, with an eye single to the inter
ests Of the New England manufacturer
are simply prOhibitOTy and are moi
revenue TO the treasury, but operate
solely for the benefit of the manufactur.
ers Of the East. Let me give you an eN'
ample-related by 4 prominent whole.
sale hardware merchant in Cincinnati
an intelligent and reliable man and 1
member of the Republican party. The
American Screw Company, located
somewhere in New England, enjoys al.
most Il monopoly Of the manufacture Ot
screws-by holding most of the patent,
under which they are made. 1t had
a capital of one million Of dollars. My
friend asceTtained during visit to Eng,
land that he could get them vastly
cheaper there, and I believe tried the
importation of small amount. But
COngTess-impOsed Il duty of and II
cents per pound on imported screws
which is ll2 per cent. on the value
This, of course. simply prohibited i'm
pOTtatiOn, and the Government got moth
ing from the duty. But how was it with
the company? In the year 1864, it de-
clared 4 dividend of one million of dol
lars or 100 per cent. i'll 1865 it declared a
dividend Of 81 200, 600 or l20 per cent,
making profit on its capital of 22O per
cent. in two years, or 10 per cent. a
year. Men out here think they make a
pretty good profit if they make 10 per
cent. on their investments. But these
gentlemen, the special wards of Con-
Cress, are enabled to make a profit OF
10 per cent. and you, gentlemen, when
you go to the hardware stores, pay the
bill.
How is it with the clothing you wear:
What are your shirts made Of? Cotton
cloth. What do you pay for the cotton:
From Is to p cents per yard. Well, the
duty on such goods, as you will find by
turning to page 1872 vol. IA of the L. S,
statues at large, is or 81 cents in gold
per yard, according as you buy bleach
ed or unbleachCd goods, which Is equal
to Z to S cents in greenbacks. So just
about Oue-third of the price of the cot
ton for your shirts is tax.
But most of your shirts have linen bOS-
oms. What about linens? They, rs
you know, are mpOrted-generally from
Ireland The duty on them is 35 to 4C
per cent. according to quality. This
takes between Il third and a half of the
price of the linen for tax. And on the
spool cotton with which the garment is
sewed, the tax amounts to over 80 pei
cent. SO YOU see that over One-thiTd Ot
the price of the material in every shirt
you wear is tax.
How is it with the outer clothing
which you will bC buying as the cold
weather approaches. II will be almost
universally of some kind of WOOlen
goods. Now Congress last year passed
u new law laying increased duties on
WOODEN goods of every description. II
you turn to the Statutes at large, vol. "A
page 56l, you will find these duties LAID
down: On flannels, blankets, wool hats
knit goods, WOOlen cloths, wooden ShdWlS
y
description, Il duty of 35 per cent. Oh
their value, and in addition thereto d
specific duty Of 20 to 80 cents per pound
weight, in gold. To ascertain the taxes
you pay on wooden goods of foreign i'm.
portation which you buy, then, it is on
ly necessary to weigh the article, and
then turning to the law, see what the
duty per pound is on that particular class
of goods, and count from so to 20 cents
for each pound weight, and then add tO
that 35 per cent, OTalittle over One-third
of the original price of the article, and
you have about the portion Of the price
which is tax.
For instance, suppose a labOring man
wants to buv shawl for his wife, worth
say, 50. Such a shawl, I am informed,
will weigh about one and half or two
pounds. Suppose it weighs one and a
half or two pounds. The tax on such
articles is fifty cents per pound in gold,
Oa about seventy i'll paper. So there Is
81 of the price of the shawl, and in adj
ditiOn to this there is a tax of 50 per
cent. of the value of the shawl before it
left the ship, which would bring the tax
up to about 81 10, or over Cne-thiTd of
the price of the shawl.
And this reminds me that if you look
through the tariff laws you will find
duties laid in the same proportion on the
various fabrics for ladies' and children 5
wear. And so with hundreds Of other
articles, of less universal use than those
l have mentioned, but still entering con-
stantly into the catalogue of necessary
wants of the people, and which it would
be impossible to CnumGrate. l have
merely referred tOa few examples among
I to-
] have done So for the purpose of show
ing you how these taxes press upon the
consumer, the people. From the crown
of your haJ to the sole of your shoes,
there is not an article you wear, the
price of which is snOtenhanched by these
duties. For when YOU 90 to q store to
purchase, you must either buy foreign
or domestic goods. If you buy import
ed'gOOds you pay the duties Oh them /;
and if you buy domestic goods, you will
find the price of them raised by the ab-
sencc of the foreign competition; not
perhaps in all cases to the full price Of
foreign article, with duties added, but
it may be raised to this point fear of for
eign competition, and will be 50 raised
whenever there Is not so much dOmes-
tic competition rs to keep down the
price.
But we will be told that this is to pro-
tCCt American industry. Does it pro-
tect American industry to impose these
enormous duties on tea, and coffee, and
sugar, and pepper, things which are not
produced on American soil Except SUI
gar to Il trilling EXTENT and can't be-
Does it protect American labor to tax
Irish linens and other fabrics of foreign
But even in the case Of
what claim have the
Of the East to be built up
at such enormous expense to us? Why
dO they need so much more protection
now than in 1860, when the duties on
the most protected manufactures would
average 80 per cent. less than now. Now
l do not object to a reasonable amount
of protection. But it should be merely
incidental. The tariff should he mere
~ sufficient to raise what is needed for
an economical administration of the
Government, and within this limit if
YOU wish To- discriminate in favor of do
mcsiic manufactures, TO a reasonable
extent, have nothing to say. But the
tariff we have now is simply piece of
i'm the intCrcstOf certain man
in New England.
Historical ITumbugS William Tell.
THERE are humbugs everywhere
Whether we seek them abroad or look
ot home this truth is manifest. bIt il