The Republican journal., 1870-02-10
FROM the New York Times, January Is. !
WHERE THE SHOE PJNCHES.

cheap IN Inc United States, have become pc
cuiiarly dear, and the amount of money
WHICH Is lald out every year, especially hy
the poor, to cover little feet, is sometbin
alarming to those who are in earnest TO save
Their hard earnings.
: "nen we come to explore the reasons OF
lnlS increase OF expense in our ''foot gear
we 40 not discover that they are to be found
IA Ia, our INFERIOR machinery. as compared with
otner countries, or any deficiency of skill Oh
pooIness M OF labor. On the contrary, the
niosC lhteLllgent and efficient mechanics of
the country-the shoemakers of Massacbu.
setts-are especially employed in this indus
try 1t is generally admitted that we have
the best machinery for this product to be
found anywhere in the world. Our s'split-
tlng machines" which are such saving of
lapor and material, were till recently almost
unknown III England. Our tanning materi
ais, owing to the immense forests of this
| country, are from one-ffth to one-seventh
cheaper than in Great Britain. And vet
WIN all these advantages, and the prestige
OF a quarter OF a century of success in this
ihanulacture, we cannot now compete with
lorelgn countries in shoe and boot making.
ana our former large exports to the British
| PROVINCES, to Central and Southern America,
Australia and the West Indies, have dwin-
| -ooa Ii w uAiV ouIdll value OF S4fO,UUU IN
| loo9. But worse than this, we cannot SUD-
ply our own people cheaply, and every one
IS paying enormously for this manufacture
wmie the laborers in it do not prosper.
Inc cause is the old burden-Turatson If
can De demonstrated by an examination of
the various elements that enter into the COM
position of this manufacture, that the whole
nation pays tax of seven and one-half per
cent on the aggregate cost of all the boots
ano shoes manufactured for men and bows.
ana as much more on all manufactured for
women and girls. A Tribune economist will
at once pooh-pooh this tax, and show that
| eacn Individual only pays from fourteen to
lofty cents on every pair OF shoes as a tax
to his government But the whole value Of
this trade is estimated by Commissioner
wells, on the best authority, at S228, ,25O.-
w. ana this petty tax will reach the very
respectable sum of more than S15, ,OOO. 900
or some two and half per cent. on the
whole annual savings of the nation. Is it
any wonder that the ''poor grow poorer un-
der such taxatione
This is not all. There are produced
through the country some AZ ,OOO, 900 pairs
OF women's and children's shoes per annum.
vi these, about $4,000, 900 pairs, which are
worn by poor as well as rich are made up in
part OF Woolen materials, called 'slasting''
ana serge" The import of these materials
IS estimated in value at So, 900. The
duties on them amount, in currency, to some
Sl,o4z 900, which increased price is paid by
the women, poor and rich, of the country,
for what9 Not certainly for protection
Tor there are only one or two small factories
| IN Massachusetts, with a few hands. that
produce them. Not for revenue, for this
small amount could be easily spared. As
MIR. Wells rather dryly puts it, 1.-The govern
ment to all intents and purposes, in addition
| to all Its other business, has become a part
ner In the lasting and serge business, and
runs one or two small establishments at an
expense to the people of 81 SOC, 900 per an
num-a sum greater than is at present an
nually required to defray the expenditures
OF the whole foreign intercourse of the
country"
But even this is not all the burden on this
industry. Our readers are familiar with a
very convenient element in light shoes
'elastics,' or a rubber webbing. For some
mscrutabe reason this innocent material is
heavily taxed from thirty-tive to sixty per
cent ad ralorcW. The result is a tax of fce
cc7AS on every pair of shoes with elastic sides
and the further consequence that the cheap
American gaitcr which used to be exported 50
much to the southern portion of our continent.
| is now left at home.
AhC'N eiioiLIolIS DultlcHS ON Il single INDUS
trial branch have not benefited the workmen
IN it. These get lower wages and find less
work In the year often than before the layinr
OF the tariff. The taxes eat out the means
OF every individual. What, then, is their OBJ
lect' Is 1t for revenue? But they fail in
tins thus the value of the whole product
OF leather in the United States for 1868 was
about 1921, 100000 The duties imposed on
all the materials which entered into its com
position raised its cost from eight to ten per
cent, or to some S10,000,0O0 for the whole
people. The receipts of the Treasury from
duties on undressed hides and skins, animal
oils and tanning material, Were not more
than 2,500, 900. So that each one of our
readers in any way using or purchasing
leather paid useless tax Of s. 80 tor every
81 80 he paid into the Treasury. Are these
duties, then, for ''protection ?' But our cat
tie have never produced more than seventy
per cent. of the hides we require, and before
the war we always exported tanned leather,
even to England. Our advantages for the
business are such that our tanners never
needed protection The great expense in
manufacturing leather is not labor but ma
terlal and machinery, and in these we were
beyond competition. AT this time the very
unpleasant spectacle is seen of hides and
skins imported from South America to New
York, CARED across this country in bond,
tanned in Canada, and then exported to
England. So much for the effects Of incon-
slderate taxation on one important branch
of industry.