The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1871-01-19
From the Maine Farmcr.J
the ENORMiTIES OF THE FARMER

| In another column we give a brief sketch
of General Brinkerhoff on the tariff, in his
speech in Augusta recently, and we take this
occasion to express our own opinion on the
matter
The tariff of the United States is at the
same time a grevious wrong and a stupend-
Gus folly. 1t not only takes from the people
the money necessary to support the govern
ment and compels them to pay hundreds Of
millions year, to support and enrich a few
favored industries, but in attempting to pro
tect everybody its incongruous provisions
sacrifice many industrious and really benefit
only few
At the beginning of the late war the gov
ernment found itself with very insufficient
revenue. With well-meant but short-sigEtcd
zeal, Congress laid excessive taxes on inter
nal industry, and high tariff on imports.
This was understood to be q war measure, to
be repealed when the war should close But
the monopoists saw their chance, and hay
ing once got the duties laid in their favor,
determined to hold on to them. Honest man
utacturers, too feeling the pressure of heavy
| taxation on their business, looked TO Con-
gress for relief by shutting out foreign COM
| petition. SO the tariff grew until it became
not so much a means of revenue as an OH
structon to commerce, depriving us Of the
| advantages we had formerly derived from
| exchanging our products for those of foreign
countries, compelling us to buy of home pro
duccrs ut eXtrayagant prices Honest pro
tectiOnists IN Congress sought to protect all
industries alike, blind to the fact that the
very essence and virtue Of protection is y tax
alton OF all for the direct benefit of q few,
and hat where everybody is taxed tor the
| benefit Of everybody else there is no gain 10
any one, Universal and equal protection is
no protection. If honest men did not sec
this point the rogues did and by It union OF
their forces they have thus far maintained
duties that are of immense advantage to
few interests and Il curse to everybody else.
The duties on iron, salt, coal, lumber, and
many Other articles are plundering the public
to Il fearful extent Think of our paying
forty millions Il year for the exclusive brne-
| fit of the producers of iron, while the tax that
gives them this only gives the government
five millions.
AS shown by General Brinkcrhol1, there Is
no need of those duties. A few articles will
give all the revenue we want, and relieve
the people OF 4 vast load of taxation. Why
is it not done? Because the monopolists rule
at Washington. There are now. sitting oA
the Committee of Ways and Means of the
House OF Representatives, several members
who are pecuniarly interested in some of the
most grevious duties on the tariff, day after
day voting money into their own pockets
Is it not Il Shame tiut this committee should
thus be surrendered to the public robbers?
Why protest any industry? Why force or
encourage our citizens to produce that which
can be obtained cheaper from abroad The
employment Of labor and capital in business
that does not naturally pay is q waste OF
both. The old argument of the protcctionlst,
and the only argument worth tow string,
was that our manufactures were iii their III
fancy; that we must just protect them for
few years, and soon they would be establish
cd and set-sustaining. Well, this infant is
now some fifty years Old; and IS he ready to
be woancd yet? Oh no, the sweet milk OF
public generosity is TOO good to give up,
| 1t is time to put u stop to this system OF
legalizcd plunder. Let us get back as rapid
lv as possible to the condition of things be-
fore the war, and then adopt dcscendinG
scale of duties On those articles that were AZ
that time taxed for the sake OF protection, 50
that by and by we may get down to hard
pan, where each industry may stand on It's
own bottom. We would not have the gov
eInmcnt abandon at once those Industries
that it had promised to foster during their
infancy; but we would have them under
stand that their infancy is to have an end with
in the present century, and that the Wcanin%
process is to commence forthwith.
The immediate effect Of repeal of the cX-
ccssive duties that have been imposed since
1860. would be great relief to the heavily
taxed people. They could tarc better without
work NO harder. Many industries that are
now langu Shing for want of raw materials
would revive. The great burden of the public.
debt would then be easy to bear, and with the
increase in general prosperity the revenues
would be augmented and we should soon bt: