The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-12-27
THE FREE-TRADE MILLENNIUM

IHE FREE-IRADE MILLENNIUM.
THE sum and substance of the free-trade ''re-
venue reform" doctrine is ''No impost duty
to be levied on any article where the like
article is produced in the United States.
If this theoretical tariff of the revenue re-
formers is put into practical shape, what
becomes of our internal system of taxation?
We must certainly abandon our internal taxes
on spirits, tobacco, and cigars, from which
the bulk of our internal revenue is now de-
rived. The American manufacturer of either
must cease operations, unless the internal
taxation is repealed as soon as the above doc
trine is established by the removal of impost
duties from spirits, manufactured tobacco,
and cigars.
Without the eighty-seven million dollars
derived from taxes on those articles during
the last fiscal year, the revenue from internal
sources would have amounted to but ninety
eight million dollars-including gross receipts,
sales, special taxes, legacies, and SUGGESTIONS,
schedule A, and two-thirds of the income tax,
repealed under the act of July IA, 1870.
Under the revenue reform tariff we would,
therefore, be obliged to go back and renew
the internal taxes we have repealed-except-
ing those on manufactures, as no manufac-
ture could exist with the five per cent. ad
Sayorena taxes formerly collected-and would
levy an income tax that would be ''stun-
ner;" license taxes of the steepest grade;
taxes on railroads, that would take the "brief
remainder" of the New York and Erie; taxes
on banks taxes on insurance companies;
taxes on all corporations; and stamp taxes
that would legitimatize revolution. "Oh,
but, says the revenue reformer, ''we are to
have q reuenue tariff, and will not need more
than q few millions from internal sources,
all of which can be easily borne by the tax
payer"
The reply to this is query. On what arti-
clss do you propose to lay your simply reve :
nue. imposts Certainly you cannot levy any
on silks, woollen manufactures, cloths, mus
lias, cotton goods, nor hardware, cutlery,
books, or cereals. You have tea and coffee
to-day, not sugar, on which you can levy a
duty; but tomorrow may prove that both
are produced within our own boundaries
Then what 2 Certainly, you cannot refuse to
stand or fall by your own doctrine SO def
nitely laid down, that no impost shall be en-
acted on any article when the like article is
grown or produced or manufactured in the
United States.
II you frame your revenue tariff to-day,
and any article therein subjected to duty is
produced in this country tomorrow, as q
consequence Of the protection aoAich your i'm
post affords, you must modify your tariff at
once, or your fabric topples to its foundation
stone
II you say that this is absurd with refer
sncs to tea and coffee and numerous articles
not now produced in this country, then we
ask, "When you have destroyed an industry
of this country by your revenue tariff, so that
ats product is done away with, mast y0U not
at once place that product on yOVr re0enue list
and subject 1t to Tsoenue duty or how can
yoH permit, with any show of fairness OF
justice, the levy of tax on one
article not of domestic growth or
production, and not levy on all such
articles You have no right to even en-
courage home production of any article by
your levying an impost duty. You must, to
be consistent, levy a horizontal rate on all
articles moi produced in this country. You
cannot adopt, with any show of consistency,
the English method of levying imposts on a
few items-the universal Yankee ingenuity
would produce every item of the English hist
within month after the imposition of duties,
provided the market depended upon the diffe-
Eenoe of duty
"Wsn, says revenue reformer, Suppose
We are driven to an abandonment Of all inn