Stevens County tribune. (Morris, Minn.) 1877-1880, 1880-02-05
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Ajax ON KNOWLEDGE.

Ver6alon In all social clrcleS. YiHssH OH
77-7T 7-7-7 - = TOT T5dslurBi s-a
TAX ON KNOWLEDGE.
egaTsya us aa---------sA-44+-- }1Ol W5E OF
HOC Congress Imposes a HeGey Tribute
Upon the Dissemination of Literature.
Jal1f 1880 tChicago Tribune.l UoT goy u
There are several great industries in this
country which are directly and grievously
afflicted by the tariff without any rational
purpose or financial reason: These are the
manufactures of cottons linen glass, and
paper. In all these great Industries the. use
of soda ash and of other bleaching agents
is an essential and serious item of cost The |
articles are indispensable, and the tariff tax !
is oppressive and repressive, and most in-1
furious to all engaged in these large branches
of industry.
We wish to call the attention of the press
and of Congress to the effect of the tax on |
soda-ash and other bleaching agents upon
the cost of making paper. III this country
paper is made not only from rags, but large |
ly from straw and from wood. q The process
of bleaching, in the manufacture of paper
from straw and wood is a costly one because
of the great quantity of chemicals needed,
and because OF the oppressive tax imposed
upon these necessary commodities. The
annual importation of soda-ash exceeds two
hundred millions of pounds; the duty on
this article is $5.65 per tom The duty on
other chemicals used for the same purpose is
even higher. Paper is lone of the great
manufactures of this country, and every tax
upon the materials needed in the business
becomes a burden, without accomplishing
any corresponding benefit.
The great sboom" which has SO craZed the
iron, steel and coal industries of the country
has extended alphabetically to other pro-
ductions.f 1t has reached that of. paper
making. The prices of paper at the mills
have been advanced between % and 80 per
cent since June last. And the trouble with
the newspaper consumers of ''print' is, they
cannot increase their subscription prices to
correspond! with the advance of white paper
If they raise their price, they lose subscribers,
| and so they are thus far standing the loss as
| choice of evils. When they protest to the
paper makers. against the advance, the latter
point them to the high cost of soda and
| other bleaching powders, and say that if
| the duty were taken off they could materially
! reduce the price of print paper. This is
| the main excuse given for the great
! advance in the price. a e&ar1#aza ~
The feet, however, is that the American
manufacturers have combined to place the
| price of print paper at the exact point which
! will exclude importation. The duty on paper
used for books and newspapers, magazines,
and other similar publications, is 90 per
| cent. on the foreign cost, and 90 per cent.
on the storage, handling, commissions, and
other. foreign charges, to which is to be
added the cost of ocean freights and inland
| transportation to the place of consumption.
| The advance is an arbitrary one; there has
| been no such increase in the cost of rags,
straw or wood az to Justify any sacn M
crease, in the price of print-paper since last
summer. There may have been some in
crease in the cost of labor and of transporta-
| ton, but nothing to warrant the increase of
one-third made by the manufacturers.
The papermakers represent, as they have
! always done, that they are heavily taxed up
on the chemicals and bleaching powders
used in their production. This complaint is
| also, and as strongly, urged by the manu-
\ factarers of cotton and linen goods and
! glassware. This complaint has been urged
on the ground that, if the manufacture of
| paper was relieved of the heavy tax upon
/ bleachers, the American papermakers could,
because of the better qualities and cheaper
cost of the straw and OF the wood, make pa
| per for export, and sell it abroad in sascess-
| full 7competion with the papeEJof European
mills. This, if ,trne, shows that the present
| tax on bleaching powders and other chemi-
| Cal agents is an oppressive and restraining
weight y upon the, unlimited expansion Of
American paper manufacture. ~,
l. Any tax on paper is a tax on public inteili-
gence. FThe book, the magazine, the pamph
let, and the newspaper are essentials to the
American people. They are the dissenins-
tors of knowledge; they are the great Ameri-
can teachers: they enter every household;
they carry information where it could not
otherwise go, and they cultivate aud main
tain the public sentiment upon which public
and private morality depend. The maeniI'
tude of this tax on paper can be, estimated
| partially by considering the many millions
of publications issued daily and weekly, and
| reaching every household, showing the
| enormous consumption of paper in this
country. ~ vol ,ss@Gf TJ3ao4i sG$ ~ atfN
Now, the duty of Congress IN this matter
is plain one. American manufacturers of
paper, and of glass, cotton, and linen goods,
should be~reiieved of every tax on each and
every thing entering into their production.
All raw materials, ali chemicals, all dyestuffs,
and all bleaching powders of every .descrip-
| ton and quality should be admitted free Of
| duty, and these manufactures placed on the
same footing in this respect with their for
eign competitors. The manufacture of.
paper in this country should be relieved Of
this tax I'M IAN especial manner, because q
! tax, upon paper is . repressive tax that,
| reaches every, man, woman, and child in
| the country. that can read and, write,
AZ the same time, the duty on.
all paper, especially that used for books and
! newspapers, should be reduced one. hall, that
| is, to 10 percent. IF the statements of the
| manufacturers as to the heavy addition made
to the cost of producing printing paper be-
cause of the tax on chemicals be true, then
repeal of this Oppressive tax will far more
than compensate them for the reduction of
the,duty on imported printing pepper. There
has been no print paper imported for years !;
no foreign paper can, be imported that can
compete with domestic paper protect
| ed by q duty of 20 per cent, and other
charges; and the cost of ocean and ainternAi
transportation, baBG ls1au9a els Hisvg aitsa
~ The taxes on the bleaching and other chem
| icais used in making the paper, it has been
| always claimed, SO Increased the cost of MAX
ing paper In: this country that nothing less
than a duty of 20 per cent. would protect Il
from foreign competition. Congress, there
fore, will see that by repealing this onerons
tax on bleachers the duty on paper may be
I repealed or at least reduced 10 pei, cent. to,
the great advantage Of the American man.
/ ufacturersn as swelipasi Of every newsu
i paper and severX book and magazine pub
/ Usher, in this country. -, Everybody has
i q direct z interest in this matter. The
revenue from printing paper Is not iarge.and
can bespared, and the tax on chemicals used
| for bleaching serves, only to'swell the cost of
.manufacture., Every newspaper and every.
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