The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1882-09-14
they buy foreign goods. This is soTi-

AMERICAN anu IOrelgR producers. The
| American, Objecting to this condition
| of affairs, asks Congress to put duty of
100 per cent. upon the foreign article.
which is done. The first result is that
the importer of foreign sugar must pay
| 500 duty on the quantity which was
worthy that sum. The American con-
sumner who wants foreign sugar must
pay 800 for that which he before pur-
chased for 800. But what does the
American producer do? Does he hold
his sugar at the same old price? By no
means. He raises the price of Ameri-
can sugar to $195, or Just under that at
which the foreign article could profit
ably be imported and sold. The result,
therefore, is that if the consumer buys
foreign sugar he must pay for the same
quantity 800 more than he did before;
| if he buys domestic sugar he pays $95
more than he did before. This is the
operation of the tariff upon all articles
excepting those of which we produce a
surplus for expectation. The prices of
the foreign articles are increased to the
consumer sum equal to the amount of
the duty levied, and of the domestic ar
ticle sum rarely less than 70 per cent.
of that amount The object, therefore,
and necessary result of a protective
| tariff is to increase the price of goods to
the consumers. 1t is only by thus in
creasing prices that the producer is pro-
tected. The theory is that he ought to
be preserved from foreign competition,
and that this is done by increasing the
| prices of foreign articles, Dy which he
| will be able to increase his prices, also.
| This increase of price is enormous under
the present tariff. 1t is on an average
more than 40 per cent. on nearly every
article except food, which enters into
daily consumption. This tariff includes
| more than four thousand articles, and
| NJ hioh infO hn %
| daily life has escaped the ingenuity of
the devisers of this scheme of taxation.
| l cannot enumerate all the articles in
cluded in the tariff and their rate of
duty. l will, however, mention few.
On books the average duty is 80 per cent;
on rice, 80 per cent; on cotton goods, 3S
per cent; on earthenware and china, AZ
per cent; on linen and manufactures of
flax, 33 per cent; on fruits and nuts, 26
per cent; on glassware, 81 per cent; on
iron and manufactures thereof, Al per
cent; on steel and manufactures there
of, 40 per cent; on lead and manUfac-
lures thereof, 54 per cent; on leather,
80 per cent; on hides, 81 per cent; on
paper, 38 per cent; on salt, 50 per cent;
J on hides, SO per cent; on sugar, 58 per
cent; on wood and manufactures there
of, 21 per cent, on raw wool, Al per cent;
on wOOlen cloths, 72 per cent; on ready
, made clothing, 56 per cent; on carpets,
63 per cent; and on wooden goods gen.
, orally, % per cent.
WHY ROB THE PEOPLE TO ENRICH THE
FEW?
, The average rate of duties is 43 per
cent. The result is that all necessary
articles included in the tariff list are
increased in price 43 per cent. to the
consumers, who constitute the vast ma
jOrity of the American people. Every
man who wishes to buy 800 worth of
goods is compelled to pay $143 for them,
and this increase in most cases does not
go to the Government, but to some indi-
Vidual who happens to be engaged in a
protected business. On what ground is
one American citizen compelled to pay
this tribute to another American citi-
zen? Why should the Government en-
, act law to keep one man at the ex-
pense of anOtheTP Am not |, as a con-
sumer, as much entitled to the protee-
tiOn of the Government as another, q
prOducerP In this audience ninety-fve
hundredths are consumers. Why should
we all pay 43 per cent. more for what we
J need for the benefit of few producers
whom we do not know, who live, in
most cases, hundreds Ofmiles away from
and who will never do anything for NE
in returnP
My fellOw-citizens, deny the right Of
} the Government to interfere to help one
man at the expense of another. To COM
pei me to pay 800 is to arm the seller
J with the Governmental power Of taxa
! tiOn to take $43 from me for his benefit,
! l deny the right of the Government to
: arm any individual with the taxing
| flower. l deny the right of any individ-
ual to exercise it. When man has
, earned days wages they are his own,
: and he ought to have the right to spend
them where they will do him the most
good. If he can buy foreign suit of
clothes for $50 it is wrong to compel
him to buy domestic suit and pay $35
for it. If he could buy foreign sugar
for five cents pound, it is an outrage to
compel him to pay ten cents for dOmes-
tic sugar. If he can buy the best foreign
salt for ninety cents sack, it Is robbery
} to compel him to pay 50 for an inferior
article of American salt. To do this is
/ to say to the labOrer, you must spend
l your money with this manufacturer or
? the other, and deny him the privilege OF
5 spending it where he pleases. What is
8 this but an assumption on the part OF
= the Government of the right to control
t the fruits of a mans toll? 1t is to de-
9 prive him of his freedom to enjoy as he
(; lpleases what he has earned, and what
g belongs to himself by an indefeasible
g right. The Government might just as
0 we'll say that he should go to this manu-
q facturer OF that and work for him as to
t say that he should spend what he has
/ earned with him. 1t is a species of
slavery against which every independ-
8 ent laborer should protest. African
. slavery was the control by one man Of
t the labor of another. A protective tariff
is another slavery which gives to one
: man the control Of the wages owned by
!. another. The one disappeared in the
blood and fire of desolating civil strife.
!. Well will it be for the benefciaries Of
} the other if it disappears by the peace
: full methods of the ballot box.
{ The principle on which rest my case
/ is that every man has the right to sell
what he produces where he can get the
highest price, and buy what he needs
where he can get it the cheapest. This
is the plainest doctrine of justice, ane
an approved dogma of political econo-
my. 1t gives to the individual complete
! control of what is his own, and leaves
him free to make such bargains as n
pleases with his neighbOrs. 1t indiyid-
ualizes men. 1t begets in them spirit
Of independence. 1t fixes the boundary
1 ho4--,ooE, T.oyarnmantal auth0ritv and