The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1883-03-17
TARIFF REFORM.
CONTINUED rRoM TIE FIRST PAGE.

"
there is as much surplus wealth as in
any nation in the world except England.
and very nearly as much as in England; I;
where men cannot find investment for
their capital, it is not necessary to our
"infant industries" any longer to live on
spoon victuals. They have been cOddled
long enough at the cost of the farmers.
They are "stalwarts" now, and If they
can't stand let them sit down or go into
some other business.
The farmers sell their products on
free trade principles throughout the
world, without protection. The tariff
put down to their credit Is straw, ehaff
lit Is worthless to you; because when
ever you raise surplus of any product,
and seek al foreign market for 1t, the
prise at which you sell that surplus de-
termines the entire price you receive
for the whole crop. The farmers buy
goods at high protected prices and sell
food at free trade prices. Is that fair
trade?
HOW WOOL is PULLED OVER FARMERS
EYES.
know of nothing agricultural where
protection is of appreciable value to far
mers, except on wool, and most OF the
supposed gain on that! is delusiOn. In
the first place not more than half mil
lion of the Ave millions of farmers in.
land, and not one in ten of those make
sheep raising their principal. business.
The wooden clothes of the 100000 of
agricultural populatiOnsin this country
costs nearly double price by reason of
the enormous duties levied on imported
wooden goods of all kinds, and the chief
excuse for imposing and retaining those
immense duties offered by the mannfac-
turers ia the tax on wool they are Oblig-
al 70 rAnpQlnH
they admit that the tariff ( on swOOlen
clothing might be largely reduced. Now
YOU see nine-tenths of the farmers keep
no sheep, and therefore derive no bene
flt whatever from the duties on the diff
ferent grades of wool, and nine-tenths
of the remainder keep so few sheep and
have 80 little wool to sell, that the extra
price they receive for IL only repays them
q part of what they lose in the eXces-
siVe cost of their clothing by reason of
the high tariff on wOOlen goods, for it
Is fact that the manufacturer adds the
amount of the tariff to the. price of his
wOOlena, and the retailer charges his
profit on the tariff tax as we'll as on the
original price of the article. Hence it
is that a so or 60 per cent. duty actually
doubles the price of goods to the consul
mers.
The domestic wool clip of 1881 was
about 280 million pounds. The duty on
imported wool averages 10 cents per
pound 1t would be a great saving to
The people of the United States If wool
growers were paid this 10 cents pound
as a bounty directly out of the National
Treasury, and admit wool free, cut the
tariff One-half on wOOlen gOOds. The
loss would be % millions on bounty to
The sheep raisers, but the gain to the
people in cheaper clothing would be ten
times that sum. Assessing the increas-
ed cost of wooden clothing to the people
on account of the duties on wool and
cloth at the low estimate of 50 per head,
1t amounts to $160 100000 year on the
20,00O,O00 of agricultural population
who raise no sheep-a sum cOnsidera-
bly, larger than was received for the ell
tire wool clip. Thus you see the hum
bug and fraud of the cry that the farm
ers are protected by the high tariff that
in fact enables manufacturers tO'fleece
them closer than they shear their own
sheep. And wool is the only product
our farmers receive any benefit what
ever from our ultra tariff on consumers.
It is an insult to common sense to affirm
that the tariff enhances the price of
wheat, corn, oats, cattle, cheese, vegeta-
bles, cotton, tobacco, &c. The price of
the farmers products are fixed by the
foreign markets, and the price of near
ly everything the farmer buys is deter
mined by the tariff and its incidents.
This is an ugly truth, but it cannot be
rubbed out.
FRAUDULENT REPORT OF THE TARIFF
COMMISSION.
In regard to the report of the Tariff
Commission, as far as l have been able
to examine it, 1 find they have ''held
The word Of promise to the ear and bro
ken it to the hope" Let me read from
their report:
early in it's deliberations the COM
mission became convinced that substan.
tial reduction of tariff duties is deman-
ded, not by mere indiscriminate pOpu-
lar clamOr, but by the best conservative
opinion of the country, including that
which has in former years besn most
strenuous for the preservation. of our
National industrial defenses.
''Such reduction of the existing tar
if the commission regards not only as
due recognition of public sentiment
and measure Of justice to consumers,
but one conducive to the general indus
trial prosperity, and which, though it
I. may be temporarily incOnvenient, will
be ultimately beneficial to the special
Interests affected by such reduction"
This is good reform doctrine. Fur
ther on they say:
Entertaining these views, the COM
mission has sought to present scheme
of tariff duties in which substantial re-
auction should be the distinguishing
feature"
They then say:
"The average reduction in rates, in
eluding that from the enlargement of
the free list and the abolition Of the du.
ties on charges and commissions, at
which the Commission has aimed, is not
less on the average than 20 per cent.
and 1t is the opinion of the Commission
that the reduction will reach 20 per
cent"
Having made these statesmanlike re-
marks, how do they carry them out in
their billp II there is any article of
prime necessity to the treeless Western
states, il is pine lumber, where there is
no sort of reason for the continuance of
any tax, and where the present duty Op-
crates merely as a premium to hasten
the destruction of what is left of the
jine forests of Michigan, Wisconsin and
Minnesota. Every consideration of pol
icy, necessity and justice urges the re-
peal of the duty on lumber, in order
that part of the supply may come from
the Canadian forests, and the high price