The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1882-08-24
"Inciaen,aln Protee,ion.
New York World.

Incidental Protection.
New York World
The sessions of the tariff commits
sion may after all do some good by
entirely disappointing the expecta-
tions of the authors of that body.
The arguments and appeals made
before the commission will do much,
if they are properly reported and
promptly exposed, to show the peo-
pie of the United States what the
system really is which they are taxed
to maintain. The beneficiaries OF
the tariff haye SO long enjoyed i'm
mnniJy in their plumber of the tax
payers, and they are so well aware
of the friendliness of the commits
sion, which was appointed to Gin
quire" what the wanted, that they
commit themselves much more
readily and freely than they would
before a more competent or a more
critical commission.
The World yesterday pointed out
that on the showing of a manufac
turer of morocco the people of the
United States would save $25O,O0O a
year by hiring the manufacturers of
morocco not to make morocco in
stead of hiring them to make NOR
Deco. If the morocco manufacturer
had not been so sure of a credulOus
and sympathetic audience in the
commission, and had prepared him.
self for troublesome questions, he
would have looked little into the
bearing of his own statistics, and his
confession would scarcely have been
so frank that he could be readily
convicted out of his own mouth of
being merely an incubus upon
the industry of the country.
The Trenton potters who yesterday
entertained the commission were
considerably more impudent than
the morocco manufacturer more
than twice as impuient, in fact.
Their "protection" on decorated
ware is already twice as much as the
morocco people ask, being fifty per
cent, and instead of taking it and be-
ing very thankful and quiet, they
ask for an increase to protect them
against the pauper labor of Europe.
Really it 10. the time for them at
least TO stop.this nonsense. If they
cannot impOrt..decorators, ON whom
there Is thus ISr no duty, at au adj
vance of fifty per cent on European
wages, they mad better 90 out Of the
business altog ether and leave the
four thousand people whom they
say they employ to find some other
means VI gaining a livelihood, while
the fifty millions of consumers are
allowed TO buy their dinner plates
and jugs for n dollar where they
now pay q dollar and half to men
who grumble while they take it.
The best effect of the sessions of
this sham tariff commission will be
to show the people of the country
the absurd hypocrisy of the pre-
tense, repeated in every Republican
platform, that the Republican tariff
is levied for revenue, with incident
al protection to American industry"
The Trenton potters candidly as
sert that they wish such tariff as
will secure them the home mar
ket." This means, of course, pro-
hibItory tariff, and a prohibitory
tariff is tariff which does not aim
at revenue at all. An ideal reve-
nue. duty upon any article is the
largest duty that can be levied upon
any article without defeating its
own purpose by diminishing the
importation of that article. An
ideal protective duty is one which
yields no revenue whatever, since it
is so high as to render importation
impossible. Now it is undisputed
that the present tariff produces
more revenue than the government
needs or than can be honestly aud
wisely spent. The surplus which
our taxation has accumulated has
been the provocation and the pretext
for the reckless profligacy of this last
congress, and until it is reduced
by a reduction of taxation it
Will continue to be dissipated in cor
rupt waste. The tariff which has
produced all this mischief must be
remodelled so as 10 produce less
mischief. The revenue retormers
say, reduce the revenue by greatly
charging the free list and by seal
ing down such duties as are left to
the point at which they will become
revenue duties and yield revenue
sufficient for the real needs of the
government. This will cheaper to
the people of the United States the
price of every manufactured
article they use, and will very
sensibly diminish the public
burdens. The beneficiaries of
the tariff say, reduce the rev.
enue by making prohibitory duties,
which are already Unfortunately pro-
tective, enhance the price of every
manufactured article and put the
difference not into the public treas
ury but into our private pockets.
Because the burdens of the country
are needlessly heavy, let them be in
creased. Because "incidentap pro-
lection raises too much revenue, let
the pretense of revenue 60, and con-
struct tariff of which protection is
not all incident but the essence.
1t will be interesting to see how
long the 49,900,000 of the people of
this country who are not "protect-
ed" will stand being swindled for
the benefit of the 100000 people
who are protected. 1t would be in
teresting to learn when the commit
tee, by way ola change for it inspec-
ton o the establishments" of pro-
tected manufacturers will conde-
scend to inspect one of the "estab-
lishments" ofunprotected consumers
say a New York tenement-house-
and find out just how much the in
mates of that establishment are
taxed in order to swell the profits
and complete the felicity of MIR.
Letchworth, the maker of saddlery
hardware, and Mr.. Kerrigan, the
morocco manufacturer, and Mr..
Maddox, the potter.
Besides the transit of Venus OBJ