The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1870-07-23

sold in this market has annually increased
from 389, 0o0. 900 in 1863 to 99l 1874.
900 feet in 1869, Increasing during The
years named Of reciprocity 251, 493, 900
feet. and those since its abrogation S49.-
SEQ, 900 feet. The average price in Cur.
rency for the three years ending with reci.
procity was t14,63. Since then, under az,
isting tariff, it has been $1S.96, decrease
Of sixty seven cents per thousand. The
price in 1895, the last year Of free duty.
was $l3.85, while in 1869, with duty. 4
was $11.30, decline Of 1855 Der thou.
sand since the duty was imposed. The
extreme years given Of 1868 and 1869.
the former under reciprocity and the latter
under the tariff, stated in gold. were re-.
spectively 1881 and $s.49, decline Of
eighty-two cents per thousand.
Nor is this all. While the fact that
there is no increase but q steady dimups
ton in price here under the duty shows that
the duty ID not paid by our consumers,
rise in average Canadian prices under the
duty shows that the tax is paid there, for
the average Canadian price is 6xed BY the
American price with duty added. A mem
orial to Congress for the removal Of dutie
on imported lumber, signed by NJ. Davi,
for the petitioners, says:
At the expiration Of the reciprocity treaty In the
spring Of 1885, duty Of 20 per cent ad uaiorsm VA,
imposed on lumber. Contrary 70 ire general EXP eta
ton that prices In Canada would depreciate tke fO
lowing figures will show the advance In the chief de-
scriptiOns of lumber imported from OuowS. rhi,
table prepared from the books one OF the arxes
importing houses In the United States.
Advance cost IN Chaadd
Stock and siding. tboArds and pIanks) 5000 siSS
Strips OF all thicknesses 500 10 q
Third quality Of deal plank $50 IN
Common box or shipping lumber 500 90
= The above are gold prices.
Freight from Ottawa to Burlington Vermont N n
per thousand 20 Whitehall, % 50 per thousand II
gold These rates continue Unchanged"
This exhibits the average price for up
pers and common in 1865, under freedom
from duty, 1925, and in 1869, under tb,
duty, an average Of $10.75 in gold beins
an increase of $3.50 per thousand the las
year with the tariff, over the last year 0
+" free duty in Canada, against de
crease Of $2.55 per thousand as ALREADY
stated for like years in the States.
The free trade organs are fond of assert
ing that where any part, however small, o
a given product, pig iron for instance, O
blankets, or lumber is imported, the entir,
internal product Of the country is sole
higher by the amount of the tax on the i'm
ported article, SO that in the case Of lumbe
where 81 Of tax is collected by the gov
eminent, $2+ Of tax is paid to the manu-
facturos Of lumber, and 10 the case of pig
iron where one of tax is paid to the govern
ment $40 is paid to the makers of Amer
can pig-iron. To illustrate the absurdit,
of this doctrine in all cases, let us apply
to agricultural products. We import from
Canada wheat, corn, oats and barley a
well as lumber and coal, all paying duties
II the price of all The lumber, coal, sal
and pig-iron produced in this country i
raised by the amount of the tariff then th,
price of all the wheat, corn, oats, barley
and potatoes must be raised by the sam,
invariable law. If so, then the farmers o
Illinois get $2l, 063, POO tariff on thei
wheat, corn, oats and barley, those Of low,
are increased in like manner by $12,617,
$50, those Of Missouri by 1861, 900
and those Of Michigan BY $9,713,OO0
But if the price Of wheat, barley, oats
corn and potatoes is not regulated by tina
Of the quantity imported, and if on th
contrary, the Insignificant quantity importe'
is regulated in price by the vastly create
quantity we produce here, the same rul
applies to pig-iron, lumber, coal and salt
Of all which we produce from ten to fit
times as much as we import.