The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1883-03-22
Tariff Assumptions.

Recently our neighpol, Lne A1y"0',
printed an editorial article on the tarih,
being 8 comparison between wages and
customs duties. Certain figures were given
and on them were based certain eonclu'
siona The figures involve questions oil
fact, the conclusions matter Of policy. II
the Register, statements and conclusions
arc correct the protective policy Is as "bar'
barous" as free traders claim 1t Is, for under
It's operations the American wage worker
Is worse off than his English cousin; ex'
pressed In the Registers figures, 1t would
require an addition Of 20 per cent to the
pay Of the American laborer to put him
on an equal footing with the European
laborer-"that Is to say, when his grocery
and other domestic bills were paid the
American would have at least as much to
spare as the European"
We thought It well to ask our neighbor
how It arrived at It's percentages, and what
tariff law they were based upon. We are
cautiously informed that the new tariff is
referred 10, but that I'VE have not gone
through the tariff bill to verify our assump'
ton that the tariff on domestic articles Az.
erages 10 per cent; and we don't desire to
undertake The task" We are quite sure
that the same assumption applies to the
enumerated articles, pots, earthenware,
blankets and the like, the percentage Of
duty on which the Register assumed to give
Political economy, the so.called science by
which the free traders profess to be guided,
has been well termed "a science based on
assumptions" In spirit Of entire kind.
ness we desire to call to our neighbours at
tention the danger Of giving way to seduc.
tive sophisms based on no better iounda'
ton than assumptions.
For example: Desiring to be fair to the
Rgiaerwe give in another column It's first
article Of the present series. Therein will
be found the duty which the American
laborer-presumably all American con.
sumers pay the same-is said to pay on
articles OF common use. In the New York
Herald OF February there appeared COM
immigration from Mr.. ]. S. Moore, blatant
and persistent free trader, giving what he
assumed would be the effect Of the House
tariff bill II It should become
law. To make his plea the more
captivating to the agricultural in
terest he arranged it in tabular form,
under such taking heads, as, "the farmers
Kitchen" "the farmers parlor," "the
farmers wardrobe" adding many miscella.
neous articles, such as castor oil, epson
salts, spool thread, wooden pipes and
alpaca um brellas, which were supposed to
be used about the house and farm. In any
case the assumed per csntage Of duty was
set out against the article, and terrifying
exhibit Mr.. Moore's table made. Even
the poor farmers hymn-book and bible
were seen 10 be taxed" 20 per cent-eyeiy
time the pious or repcntant farmer wanted
q dollars worth OF Bible he would have to
pay sl.20 for it.
February Sd the ISrRIIIdEScER printed
Mr.. Moore's tables and undertook the easy
task Of showing that they were absurd-a
mere juggling Of figures with intent to de.
ceive, according to Mr.. Moore's habit.
Three days later the same tables turned up
10 the Chicago Tribune, in reply to myth.
cal "Agricola," who wanted the editor to
tell him how much he was being hurt by
the existing tariff. The Tribune assuming
that figuring based on q pending bill was
good enough to apply to existing law,
rssorted to the convenient expedient Of a
bodily appropriation Of Mr.. Moore's as.
samed tables. The head lines were a
little altered to give the reply q local
favor. By this time they had become
"Taxes on an Illinois Farmers Kitchen"
"Taxes on IN Illinois Farmers Parlor," ec.
It is fair also to say that the farmers
wifes silk dress" as invented by Mr.. Moore
became "the farmers wiie's black silk
dress" as adopted and infringed by the
Chicago Tribune Now the same line Of
argument, supported by illustrations which
bear the ear.marks Of the same tables, will
be found in the Regiaer's article which, We
are informed, Is based onthe new tariff.
There Is in the tariff act no such CLASH.
fcation as ''pots, kettles, hollow.ware,"
but Mr.. Moore used "hollow-ware, pots
and kettles.D Hollow:ware Is named and
the duty is specific, three cents pound,
the ad ratortm equivalent depending to
the valuation. The duty on copper uten.
sils Is IS, not 45, per cent; on pen.kniyes
50, not So, per cent; on earthenware 90
per Gent. is the highest duty, the lowest
20 per cent. There are other inaccu-
racles, but these will suffice 10
show that our neighbor is wrong,
mfsled as We prefer to think, by
some one who has ignorantly or intention.
silly misquoted the law Its equally an
to say that under the
new tariff duties will average 40 per cent
The repealed tariff average 4s per
cent. That can be figures on years
imports. It is difficult to say what
the new tariff will average until It has been
in operation year, but calculation based
on last years imports brings the average
down to So per cent.
= II is equally . false assumption to
assume that customs duties are necessarily
taxes, and the grossest assumption Of all is
to assume that the. duty ia invariably or
generally paid by the consumers. There
Is nothing to support the assumption that
wages In this country are only 20 per cent
b;vher than wages in Europe, and Il Ia not |