The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1882-03-09
/ PROTECTIVE TARIFF AND
THE AMERICAN LABORER.

lShb VI du al BuhuChb, 10 hOot /
certainly one of the very strongest |
speeches ever made on the subject,
in congress or out of it. 1t is a
complete and exhaustive reply to the |
many sophistries OF the advocates of |
such tariff, while it boldly and sue
cessfullY attacks the protectionists
upon all sides, driving them literally
iuto their old recesses where they
are powerless to do more than re-
ply by dogmatic assertions or to re-
vamp old arguments, long since
faded with age, and proved to be
false reasoning by natural results.
The senator lays down four plain
propositions: ~ "Money levied
upon the people for the support of
the government is taxation" (2)
"Money levied upon the people for
the support of the government in
proportion to the ability of each cit
izen to pay is just taxation" (9
"Money levied OH each citizen for
the support of the government in
proportion to his ability to pay in
such manner as to put most money
into the treasury and with least di-
rect and indirect waste, is both just
and 'oiSe taxation" But (D "Money
levied on the people not for the sup
port of government but for the
benefit of a particular class of men
at the expense of another is not
taxation, but robbery" Basing his
arguments upon the complete truth
fulness of these axioms, Mr.. Vance
then shows that the term robbery"
in this connection is not of his COIN
age, but was used by the supreme
court of the United States, which,
in decision in the case of the Loan
Association VS.. city of Topeka, 20
Wallace, saws:
"To lay with one hand the power
ofthe government on the property
OF the citizen, and with the other,
bestow it upon favored individuals
to aid private enterprises, and build
up private fortunes, is none the less
robbery because it is done under the
forms of law and Is called taxation.'
Completely justifying his position
in this way, the senator advances to
the attack direct upon the protec-
tionists, and in reply to a favorite
argument-that protective tariff
protects the American laborer, he
comedies that the so-called protec-
ton enables the manufacturer to pay
his laborers apparently higher wages
than he could afford under a tariff
for revenue only but does he do it ?
The census of 1860, when there was
no tariffin effect in the country, and
when the average tariff duty was 10
per cent, showed that the ratio of
the cost of labor to the cost of pro-
duction was 80 per cent. In 1870,
under high protective tariff
and when the average tariff
duty was over 43 per cent, the
proportion paid to labor was only
1871 per cent, while at the present
time a tabulated statement as to
woolens and cottons for 1880 shows
that labor and cotton is only about
% to % per cent. of the cost of pro-
duction, against 16 2-3 in 1860, and
in W DOL not so much, while in iron
it is less than 10 per cent. under an
Leverage tariff on iron articles of rs
per cent. There is, as the senator
well says, no getting around or
evading these stern figures, yet he
does not stop at them. Mr.. Vance
shows that if the protected laborer,
himself consumer, received a fair
proportion of wages, even then he
would not be benefited: that
every article he consumes is
raised in price by the protective
tariff, and naturally the apparent
! increase IN wages is consumed by
the corresponding increase in the
necessaries of life. "But," says the
Senator, according to the ideas OF
the protectionists no man is an
American lsborer unless he stand
at a New England spindle, or in q
Pennsylvania iron forge, or at cot
ton or woolen loom. Where are
the masOns, carpenters, joiners,
railroad hands, canal diggers, work
ers in cotton fields of the South,
or in the grain fields of the west,
the teamsters, herders, millers,
shoemakers, printers, timers, tam
ners, hod carriers, painters, carriers,
draymen and others too numerous
10 mention, which constitute seven
eighths of the laborers of the
country ?" All these, SO far from
being protected by protective
tariff, are sufferers thereby, because
they are taxed heavily through
such tariff for the benefit of a fortu-
nate class. This is but single
specimen of the mastery speech of
the North Carolina senator, for he
goes through the entire list and
lays bare the false and treacherous
reasoning of the advocates of this
iniQutous system of robbery.
az
In speech delivered in congress,