The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1881-08-25
TARIFF TAXATION,

The Toronto Globe makes the following
point on the Dominion protective tariff
The benefits to be derived from the pres
ence of manufacturers as contrasted will
| the importers are wonderfully overated
In protectionist parlance, the manufactur
| er is the person who executes the piece OF
| handiwork upon an article before it goes
| into consumption. Thus the halter is G
manufacturer and entitled to all the pro
| lection he can get. But all those, who
| produce the partly manufactured goods he
| puts together, are placed in q less worthy
category. The hat made by this manutac-
turer is part of the tools or raw materials
of every person who wears a hat. No
man could do business who did not wear q
hat. Plainly, then, the article which the
hat weaver produces-whatever it may be,
columes of figures, legal documents, a
bushel of wheat, or a stick of timber-is
the finished product. and as such is more
worthy of protection than is the hat itself
Not so, says the protectonist; the hat
manufacturer is the only person worth con-
sidering. We deny this point blank. Every
person concerned in the production and
utilization Of hat is just as much entitled
to consideration, as the one who puts to-
gether certain plush, fur, felt, shapes, silk
or whatnot, purchased from other people.
Surprising all the materials had to be i'm
ported, so called manufacturers would, in
q protected country, consider himself en-
titled to bring them in duty free. As
matter of fact, he does in Canada bring
them in free, or nearly free; that is, he
shifts on the shoulders of others his own
burdens, as well as imposes on other peo-
pie burden especially for his own good.
We do not know what is the value of a
hat as compared with the value of all its
parts but it stands to reason that the pro-
portion the first bears to the last is
small. But, according to the protectiOnist
ideas, ali the raw materials of the hat
maker shouldinot contribute anything to the
revenue, in order that his profits may be
greater, 1t may be that the so called man
ufacturer's share in producing a hat sell
ling at wholesale at 81 is fifty cents. We
do not believe it is cent more. Now, for
the sake of getting this fifty cents worth
of work done in the country, we endow
the hat-maEer with the privileges of levy
ing tax of twenty five per cent, upon the
whole thing; that is, wei make ourselves
pay tax OF fifty cents in order that fifty
cents worth of work may be done here.
What we say is that the man who Imports
this hat and sells it to US for $3.50 is do
ing more for the country than the man
who makes US pay 90 for it"
The plain fact is, that q protective tariff
is only scheme to make people pay taxes,
and heavy taxes to a few Of their neigh
bors and fellow citizens for their personal
benefit. 1t is right, just and proper to
pay taxes for the support of the Govern
ment, State and National, and for the
maintenance of charitable and reformatory
and penal institutions, but the justice and
right of paying taxes to enable 80 few of
our fellow citizens to engage in certain
kinds of business which they say will not
pay them unless they are provided with
means by their neighbors are not visible
nor can they be made visible to reflect
ing people.-L0utSctlEe Courier Journal.