The Rock Island daily Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1872-1873, 1873-05-28

ITO the Editor Of The World
"sIR: / have read your excellent article on the
Democracy and Free Trade, and am well pleased
" VIII yon please answer me question or two
upon the subject Of Free Tradef
FIRST, by Free Trade do you mean absolpte
total and unqualified free commerce with ali Inc
world, without any legal restraints or hindrances
or uo you mean Just enough tariff and duty upon
expenscs2
DO yoa mean any revenue upon imports. or do
YOU prefer raising enough rcucuue for government
tai purposes by direct iaxaiiony
oblige. ''"- p4FN' ~. sIiu i N I"
Take two taxes on consumption: tax
on coffee, tax on whisky. Coffee is not a
domestic product Whisky is domestic
product The tax upon coffee will be most
conveniently collected at the Custom-house
until all Custom. houses are superseded
by some better and less costly machinery,
and that is u tariff tax. The tax upon whis-
Ky will be most conveniently collected at
the still and that is an excise tax. Both
are direct taxes IN proper appreciation of
the words direct and indirect taxation
Whoever advocates Free Trade would
not be supposed 10 obiectto taxation by an
excise on whisky There is no better reason
for surprising he objects to taxation by
tariff on coffee.
An excise tax ON whisky So high as to
provoke enormous illicit distilation, secret
sales, and greatly diminished consumption,
like tariff tax on coffee so high as to pro
woke illicit importation. smuggling, adul-
iteration and greatly diminished consump.
ton, would alike tettCr the Freedom Of
Trade.
A moderate excise tax and tariff tax in
Goa "A 4. 4
High tariff taxes, then, are objected to by
Free Traders, but for the some reason they
would object 10 high excise taxes.
But we neither import whisky nor grow
coffee.
Then take the tax ON sugar which we
both import and produce. Free Trade in
sugar is no more hindered BY tariff tax
on foreign sugar than by the same excise
tax on domestic sugar. were tariff and ex
else equal aud moderate Forty millions
otsugar -eaters would he free 10 buy where
they could buy cheapest That is Free
Trade
During the war many taxes were thus
laid, 10 be collected on the commodity
whether by the internal revenue collector
ar by the collector Of the port wherever in
the country its journey TO the consumer
began Arttully tho taxes on the domes. Z
TIC article collected by the former officer
we're then dropped leaving in force the I
tax on the foreign article to be collected at
the Custom. house Upon all that com
modify consumed, foreign or domestic in .
origin, the people paid the tax; Tor the
protected producer sold his share for no
less than enough 70 barely undersell the
foreign producer, whose commodity hot
mt" our market only with its cost increased
by the tax. But though the people paid
an increased price on all the commodity. :
only the increase due 10 the Custom house
tax was taxation and went 10 the United
States Treasury The rest was pluuder
and went to the PrOtectoni-t.
This then was unequal taxation and
besides letter upon Free Trade At first
glance 1t seems a fine thing, and looks like
q gurantee OF prosperity to the protected
industry. Yet who ever delegated to Con
gress the right to select this or that indus
try for our charity? And it is certain
that in the long run Protection does not
protect \ most unjust thiug.in trutb
tins Protection is, for all we, the product
OF whose industries thus comes back To MS
through the Custom-house, find our profits
cut down, the return of our labor arbitra.
rlly diminished No importation of for
eIgu goods but has been bought bv the
outgoing product Of some Of our domestic
industries. Why should these be damaged
that Others may be prospcred As a mat
ter Of fact, since protective legislation be-
gan, our exports land these were products
OF domestic industries) have been slaugb-
tered. That is a necessary accompani-
ment Of Protection As if it possibly could
cost nothing 70 nobody 1t has cost the
nlted States their ship building, their
ship-owning, and nearly all the export of
their manufacturing industries, and vastly
more besides.
This widespread devastation To certain
industries and this grievous hindranee to
! rec Trade IN their products, is no neces
,ary result Of our heavy, taxation. 1t is a
needless result ola bad system of taxation.
and super-adds the cost of our laundering.
to the cost Of running the Government and
paving interest on the debt. Our debt is
so heavy, that il will al last enforce econ
omy IN Government expenditures. and an ,
equal taxation neither ruinOus % any in. l
du.try nor tetter upon the free exchange &
OF It's products.
~ tar Is It from being true that our debt
makes necessary taxation by sucha tariff
that on the contrary our debt makes neces-
,ary a wise taxation and Free Trade and
q currency redeemable in specie. To saw t
nothing Of the injustice Of the tariff, we =
cannot afford It, just because Of our debt
" J. UOrld
TENDED UFE rnMuaor