The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1882-03-11
a FRAUD ON DIES MONIES.

Under the above heading the Leader has
| published an article showing conclusively
the effect of a high tariff on that city; and
| whatever is there said of Des Meines is
| equally true of Rock Island except in some
instances high tariff works more injuri-
ously here than there. The article is as
| follows:
There never was more deliberate and
| transparent fraud in this world than the
| Protection of high tariff. 1t is Il
weaker humbug than fat money, oreighty.
| five cent silver dollars. because it is a one
sided initiation, at the very best. 1t is, as
an eastern wooden manufacturer wrote us
| the other day, fraud and a humbug on
the farmers. 1t is a fraud because. as We
shall proceed at once to prove, instead OF
building up home market, it Injuries the
home market as well as the foreign mar
ket
We shall prove this by proving that Pro-
lection is humbug to most of the manu-
facturers themselves. In 1867, when the
present high duties were laid on wooden
goods, we had over one hundred WOODEN
mills in Iowa. In 1870 they had dwindled
to IS. In 1875 they had dwindled to As
In 1880 only 81 could be found In the
meantime the sheep industry had dwindled
to one-third its former dimensions. The
Davenport Gazette says: "As long age as
1885, when the Gazette was protesting
against the then meditated increase of duty
on wool, and was advocating FREQ Trade
principles, the then owner of the Daven-
port Wooden Mills, the late Joseph Shields
told the writer of these lines that he would
welcome the abolition of the entire tariff
Mr.. Shields added, that were Ae able to
buy his own machinery, his long woods, his
dye stuffs, acids, etc., untaxed, as did his
English competitors, he could make wooden
goods in Iowa and undersell the English
in their own markets"
So much for one great industry. A still
greater industry, and one of the most i'm
portant in the country, is the shoe and
leather manufacture. We have private
letter from n tanner and currier in Salem,
Mass, who says his industry is injured by
the tariff and that this country under Free
Trade could export leather goods in i'm
mense quantities. And only the other day
the Boot and Shoe and Leather Association
held its annual meeting and several strong
speeches were favoring Free Trade in that
industry. One of these speeches was made
by the Vice President of the association,
Mr.. J. w. Oakley, of the firm of Walker,
Oakley 81 Co, The other speakers were
D.
e, Engle, of Grey, Clark & Engle Mr., |
Clark of Short Clark & Co. Indeed, the
sentiment of the meeting seemed to be Opt
posed to any protection TO the leather in
dustry. The remarks were very interesting I
They all desired a foreign market. Mr.. |
Engle, for instance, who makes speciality |
of calfskins, and has to compete. with the /
French articles, said he believed in cheap
leather, so that the shoe manufacturer
could build up a foreign trade which would
give him a steady market for all the Ieath
er he could finish.
All these men, it is said are recent con-
verts to Free Trade. Is it any wonder
the Herald remarks that Protection is
daily losing ground in the westT The
fact is. the Leaders, warmest friends now
are manufa cturers. They have discovered
.he fraud and got very tired of the hum
bug. Only last week we talked with lead
ng Iowa pillow manufacturer, whose plows
he hand that writes these lines has tested
n the broiling field score of years ago,
md he did not hesitate to say that he was
Tot only thorough Free Trader in prin-
;iple; but believed that his business would
hrive even better than it does to-day if
very custom house in the world were
down to atoms
There is no city In the world to whose
protection is such gauzy
lumbug as to those of Des Moines. The
work our foundries and machine shops do
such as we would not get done abroad
t any price. No tariff can help such an
Industry. But it is taxed on its iron for
he benefit of Pennsylvania Ask Mr..
Baker or Messrs. Carpenter and Given if
he removal of the duties on wire would
ot benefit the barb-wire business. Ask
Ir, Harbach if his business would not be
enefted BY free trade. Some of these
len are protectionists on general princi-
les because they have not studied the
uestion very thoroughly. But none of
hem win claim that his business receives
particle of direct benefit from high tariff
r any ether kind Of tariff Il
Mr.. Heath's oatmeal mill has been
reat benefit to the farmers of this region.