Daily Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1876-1884, 1878-05-03

may be relied upon at this ONCE.
Yenaaesaon g American Wines.
A number of the Chambers OF
Commerce Of French cities are just
now bringing q strong pressure to
bear upon the Congress OF the
UnIted States to obtain such modi-
flcations of our tariff as will facili-
tate the importation into the
United States of French wines and
siIks. Both of these staples, it Will
be observed, are disti nctively arti-
cles Of luxury and not necessity.
We think that there are a multi
tude of reasons which should impel
Congress to retain or increase the
tariff on both, and to remit 1t on
articles of prime necessity. The
people Of Los Angeles county are,
in particular, interested in the
tariff on wines, and they should
take instant steps to memorialize
Congress through Mr.. Wigginton
and the rest of the California dele
CATION In favor of retaining and
Increasing the tariff on a luxury
which IL partaken of almost solely
~ the rich. The tariff, as 1T will
probably be enacted by the present
Congress, imposes duties ranging
from forty to seventy cents and one
dollar and fifty cents gallon, &C
Cording to quality, taking the
whole range of sparkling wines
and brandies. We heartily hope
that, in the interest Of this grow
ing home industry, these rates will
BE- increased. California members
OF Congress, at least, should strive
to have them increased. Even
from the point of temperance 1t
will be . happy thing for the peo-
pie OF the Uaited States when the
heavy alcoholic liquors now in
vogue shall be replaced by light
California wines.
tits now over forty years since
protection for American manufac.
tnres was invoked by Henry Clay
on the ground that they were in
their infancy. They have remained
In their infancy ever since, and
they would continue to do so in.
definitely II the wearing Of swad.
ding clothes would help them any.
Hundreds, even thousands of mil
lions of dollars, have been
poured into the Golfers OF
New England and Pennsyl'
vania through protective tariffs
on articles OF the first neces.
sity to the poor. This protection
has taxed the poor for the benefit
OF the rich. Hon. Fernando Wood,
Of New York, in speech delivered
In Congress ON the 9th of April
showed, In luminous manner,
how this tariff, devised by the rich
for the benefit OF their own class,
has operated on the impoverished
consumer. We quote from the
Congressional Record:
The farmer, whose whole mind
IL bent on his agricultural pursuits,
has neither the time nor oppertu-
nifty 10 investigate the influence OF
the tariff tax on his household ex-
penses; 1t is a fact, however, that
every article he uses Is either d.
rectIy subject to tariff tax or en-
HANGED by the tariff. Let us emu
merate these burdens: The farm
er's house in the West, where lum-
Der is scarce, pays either u direct
or enhanced tax OF 20 per cent. on
the lum Der his house is built Of; q
tax of So per cent. Oh the paint it is
painted with; OF 90 per cent. on his
window glass; of 80 per cent. on
the nails; of So per cent. on the
screws; of 30 per cent. on the dool
locks; Of from So to 40 per cent. or
the hinges; of 35 per cent. on the
wall paper; Of from go to 70 pei
cent. on his carpet; of 40 per cent
on his crockery; OF 80 per cent. or
his iron hollow ware; Of IS per cent
on bis cutlery; of 40 per cent. on bis
glassware; of from IS to 40 per cent
on the linen he uses in the house
hold; Of 81 per cent. on the COM
mon CASTLE soap he uses; of 40 pei
cent. on the starch. When he g 0es
into his stable, barn or workshop
he will find that he pays 35 per
cent. on the iron he uses; So pei
cent on the halter chains; IS per
cent. on the files and rasps he may
use; Al per cent. on the bucksaw;
40 per cent. on cross cut saw; 38 per
cent. on the handsaw, and IS per
cent. on any sheet iron he may re-
quire. On his medicines he pays
70 per cent; on the quinine pills
he swallows, 20 per cent; OIL blue
pills, 40 per cent, aud 40 per cent.
on any medicinal preparations.
The female portion Of lis house
cannot even 60 into hysteria with
ont paying a tax of 20 per cent. on
asof@tida that may be required TO
quiet their excited nerves. On his
sugar he pays tax of at least 81
per cent. AS for the clothing he
aud his family uses, let me emu.
merate the tax separately: On his
wool hat he pays from 60 to so per
cent; on his fur hat, from As to GO
per cent; on his suit Of wooden
clothes some So per cent; on the
leather for his boots and shoes, %
per cent; on his hosiery, 80 per
cent. on his wife's and daughters
common alpaca dress he pays 65 to
20 per cent; on spool thread, 20 per
aoaf and m tho nonAlaa o. mar