The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1883-07-19
A FEW STRIKING TRUTHS.

tribute to the few to the distress of
the many. Says our most worthy CO.
temporary: "Some of the week-kneed
disciples of the Democracy say that
the system is all wrong, but that the
people do not know enough about it
to make AN intelligent or successful
fight upon such an issue. This
is the merest subterfuge - the
people are oftentimes not as
great fools as their representatives" J"
The office-seekers may hug the de-
lusIon that the people are ignorant Of
their wants, but they will after
awhile repent in sackcloth and ashes
their presumption o ignorance for
the working classes If America
The farmer and the mechanic, and
the artisan and the tradesman
were not long ago ignorant of t1e
manner in which they were robbed,
but thanks to the press they have
been led up to light, and to-day they
know who are the robbers and what
power protects the licensed barons in
their forced contributions. The farmer
knows well enough that he pays about
twice as much for his cotton-ties as
they would be worth in free market;
he knows that he pays for the shirt on
his back a contribution to the private
capitalist interested in New England
mills, and that the nails in his shoes,
the plougns in his field, the sugar in
the coffee and the blankets
on his bed cost him more
money than he would have to pay
for them if cheaper goods could be
imported into this country at lower
rates of custom duties. True, he does
not go to the tax collectors office and
get receipt for his money, as in the
case of ordinary taxes, but when he
sells his cotton and pays off his liens
he realizes that he has paid more than
the worth of his purchases, and that
there is a pitiful small balance to his
credit from years hard labor. Mr..
Thomas u. Shearman defines what
the tariff issue is so that the most
ignorant can understand. He says E:
Protection in America is a system
of indirect taxation, by which all
goods, and especially manufactures,
imported into this country, which can
come into competition with similar
goods produced here, and subjected to
special tax, intended to restrict or
entirely prevent their importation,
and so to compel all who use such
goods to pay Il tribute to private indi-
viduals." There is the whole question
in a nutshell. This indirect taxation
is terrible burden on the masses.
People bear it according to their
wants and necessities, and not accord
ing to their incomes. 1t is dis
elimination against the poorer classes
which no government can permit,
with justice to the purposes for which
governments are established. 1t is
the great class evil engrafted into our
politics by corrupt party, bought
to favor the rich, and there
fore to oppress the poor.
A millionaire who chooses to
spend but little upon the personal
wants of himself and his family, pays
no larger share of the indirect taxes
than the man who sustains himself
and family on salary, or on the re-
ward of hard labor in the shop or in
the field. A carefully prepared state
ment of the-annual savings of the va
rious classes of otir population shows
that the annual savings of 10o, 100
persons, having incomes exceeding
$4,000, amount to $640,000,000, while
the annual savings of the 100000
persons having incomes of less than
$1,000 amount only to $520,000,O00.
The abolition of indirect taxation
would at once cut down the present
tax burdens of the people from
81, ,35OOOOOOO to $7OO,OO0,OO) per an
mum, being saving of nearly half
the whole amount. At least one-half
of the burden now imposed upon the
mass of the people arises from the
so-called protective" features of
indirect taxation. The taxes paid
by the people to the small number
of persons for whose benefit pro-
tective tariff is maintained always
amounts to more than three times the
total amount of duties paid under the
tariff to the government, and there
fore protection is responsible for more
than one-half of the whole burden
imposed by indirect taxation. Says
the News and Courier;
1t is now, and has always been, i'm
possible to import from foreign coun-
tries any large proportion of the fin
ished manufactures used in this coun-
try. One hundred and fifty years ago,
when the British government was
doing its stupid best to prevent man.
ufactures from being carrie d on, here
four-fifth of all finished goods were,
nevertheless, made here; and at all
times since the revolution, by far
| the greatest part of the manufac-
lures imported have consisted Of
half-finished goods brought here
for the purpose of being
completed. Manufacturers and me-
chanics are themselves the principal
importers from abroad; and every
increase of duty upon foreign goods
| is really only a fresh burden upon the
great majority of American manu-
| facturers, because nearly every one
of them is obliged to use some unfin-
ished manufacture of foreign pro-
duction, while not one=fifth of them
produce articles which are competed
with by foreigners. Materials con-
stitute from sixty to seventy per
cent OF the whole American manu-
factures. A protective tariff in
creases the cost of these materials
very largely because some of them
are imported, and those not imported
are raised in price by the exclu-
sion of similar imported goods.
But aS the articles themselves.
when finished. are such as are praeti-
cally never imported, the price has
never been cut down by foreign COM
petition, and. is therefore about as
| high as it. can bs under any cifEunl-
stances, If the manufacturer raises
| his price, he lessons his sales. An in
erasssa 0f the tariff will NOT enable