Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1882-08-19
THE TARIFF COMMISSION.
Some OF the sample Protection
Idiots Who Come Before Ii. :
from the New York World


When the tariff commission was
appointed it was not expected that
the country would derive any benefit
whatever from its lab0rs. It is, there.
fore, u Clear gain that the country
should get some am1sement out OF
the transaction. as it now SCENE in q
fair way to DO. There is nosquestion
at all OF scaling down the duties, but
there is q question Of scaling them up.
n fortunate persons who enjoy the
200 aud 800 per cent. duties, ore or
less, are. objects Of admiration aud
envy 10 the crock" of manufacturers
who only get 40. or so, or 60 per cent,
and these are impUrIuniug the tariff
commission TO raise their projections
to the footing of the most favored
manufacturers. E ~
The commission had W oseomic
witnesses before it on Friday-Mr.
Thomas Barbour aud Mr.. John Sloan.
fhe former asserted that fla%x-spinnfny
Was an ''infant industry" aud that
several infant linen factories have
gone into bankruptcy. ssThis,n &C.
cording to Mr.. Barbour, twas on ac-
count of the great disparity In the
cost OF labor in Europe and America.
u because the protection afforded
by the tariff was not eaua, to thnt
disparity" Here Mr.. sBarbour ia
either ignorant or sdisingenuons. Mr.,
Hewitt showed ia his excellent speech
not longsago that the disparity" be.
tween the wages of labor in Great
Britain aud in this country would be
met 10y an average duty of 20 per
cent, aint that the reduction TO that
rate would take away any pretext for
the humbug about protecting Amer.
lcan Labor. The duties OIL fax and its
products are 30 cent, which gives the
manufacturers the protection thew re-.
CURE against the psuper labor of
Europe. and an additional swiudle. ar.
II Me. Barbour likes the term better
II bonus, at the cost of the linen,
wearing people of the Uuited States. |
to be paid To the manufacturers for
their nobility in starting factories.
Nevertheless, it seems that some Of
the factories have failed. and the linen
nlan u facturers would like TO have
bounty increased to so per cent.
pointing out that even Their they viii
not be so-welt OF as theswooien nen.]
pie who get 65 per cen 1t is one of
the mos injurious things about this
sWindling tariff system that ir px.
emp:s it's beneiciaries from observ.l
ing the prudence Of ordinary bus1ue.s
a man may conduct his bus,ness
igmOrantly or exiravagautly he NAV
pay no attention to small economies
or new and cheap processes; he NAV
make bad debts and fail simply ana
lnlnlU hacouSo hn .taso,
then lie ONE TO the government, not
ns a man who has suffered the conse.
quences Of his W iInprudence, but
as II martyr i'll the cause of American
industry, and asks a paterna. govern
uient to make good his losses. Ii. ia
one OF the greatest exhibitions of
.pure impudencs ever seen in the
world.
Mr.. Sloan's proposition is rather
more absurd, even if il is less impu.
dent, than Mr.. B~arbour's. Mr.. Sloan
says That we can import jute from
India cheaper than we can possibly
grow il. by reason of the cheaper
Indian labor. Then whv not imnnri
1t? What on ear,h do we want In
grow expensive iutc for when We can
get cheap jute2 This is like I,educ,s
famous experiment Of growing tea at
'Si5 pound, more or less, winch he
could not get people to drink at any
price. Has Mr.. Sloan any iuforma-
tlon that the agricultural population
OF the United States is in any need OF
finding products which can be raised
IN THIS country at a profit, tina: it.
should be paid bounties 10 raise iuie
at a loss What is the sense of bls
proposition? Has it any meaning at
all, unless MIR. Sloan knows somebody
who has lost money on a jute farm.
and is willing to transfer his loss 10
the people OF the United States.
These things a not go on forever.
Some day the people of the United
States will wake up to the knowledge
OF what a mixture of folly and ras-
cality the tariff is. When they do, it