The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1884-02-23
RAW MATERIAL.

| ullCtlOn 81 tnt TtNtHu'' 'h"l ~ - WIN
strained TO say;
II would certainly be unfortunate ii
mere party feeling should place the repub-
| lcans in the position OF opposing Nuch Il
reduction OF taxation; and II would be a
mistake To pursue course when Woul'i
rive the Democratic party 50 excellent a
cry for the campaign. 1t would be very
unwise for Republicans To presume that
the precise distribution and duties OF the
present tariff cannot be- wisely amended or
! improved and the course taken by the
minority in the House will test the wisdom
of its leadership. To say that the country
! is inpatient of tariff tinkering Is true in
this seuse. that alterations of the tariff al
WAYS disturb manufacturers and trade,
which are based upon an existing tariff.
BIT regarding the tariff AS Il tax, it is not
s,ipposable that the country protests against
lowering the taxes.
How this tax on raw materials IL rnlnonS
TO the industries of the country was
forcibly presented by Mr. Abram ). iiew-
lit, himself heavy iron manufactures, the
other evening, at meeting of the Board
of Trade in Trenton, n. J. Said he:
The industries of Trenton are suffering
from useless distractions imposed by the
existing tariff seek to remove the oh.
structions in order that the capital and Ia
Dor employed in branches of business
affected by them may have steady and re-
munerative occupation, which is now I'M
possible The removal of the duty on
scrap iron, for example, which benefits no
existing industry whatever, would enable
every idle train in Trenton to he run day
and night and the money which is PAID
now for foreign rods would be largely dis
tributed among the wOrkingmen OF Tren-
ton, who are now condemned 10 idleness,
through no fault of their own, and every
business interest in the city would flourish
in corresponding degree
If the protective system be the panacea
for all the suffering Of the workingmen
and the want Of remuneration of capital,
how comes il to pass that nj no time In its
history were the industries Of Trenton in
so unpromisng II condition rs they are at
the present timeY The truth is, they are
taxed out of existence and the working
men lack employment because they have
not vet learned the bitter lesson that every
dollar Of taxation imposed by law is de
Quoted from earnings which otherwise
they would have for the support Of their
families.
do not wonder that the artisans OF
Trenton do not yet appreciate the evil
effect of obstructive duties, when | reflect
that for the greater portion of my life |
was myself deceived ~ to the effect of
such duties, and have been brought to my
present conclusion only after an expert
ence as convincing ~ il has been disagree
able.
Another salient feature of the Morrison
bill is the proposed wiping out of the tax
on foreign copper ores. On that point II
writer in the New York Herald presents
the following pregnant instance in point
Take the smelling of foreign copper ores
as one example. 1t employed skilled la
Dor, il was an important industry, giving
employment 10 many men around Baltl-
more and at some other points, think in
Massachusetts,. We have the richest and
most abundant copper ores in the world.
Nature has 50 favored us that the notion OF
our copper mine owners needing addition
al artificial protection is nonsense on the
face of It, But before 1861 We had a large
trade with Chile, which bought from us Il
great quantity of American manufactures,
giving us in return Chilean copper ores,
which were brought as return cargoes in
American ships and smelted here by
American workmen When, during the
war, everybody rushed for high tariff,
the Lake Superior copper owners took care
to ret their share of the fashionable pro
lection They rot 50 high Il tariff put ON
foreign copper ores rs to exclude these en-
tircly.
Nov, observe what resulted; first, the
smelling works purely American indus
tries, were crushed out at once. ] SAW the
ruins some years ago. The tariff prohi.
bited them from getting their raw materi-
ais But that was only the beginning.
Our ships carrying American mAnufac-
lures of various kinds to Chile could no
longer bring return cargocs of Chilean
ores. Without Il cargo both ways no man
can proftahly sail ship. Al first our
Yankee captains tried carrying Chilean
ores 10 England hut that sent them home
empty. The English, seeing our blunder,
sent English manufactures in English hot
toms 10 Chile and ireel, took in exchange
the ores as return cargo. Thus our Ameri
can manufacturers of furniture and hun
dreds of other articles lost Il valuable mar
kct by the high tariff ON copper ores. 80
YOU can see that in order to enrich the
Lake Superior copper mine owners, who
employ comparatively insignificant mum
Der of men in one of the least desirable
and least paid of all the ccupationS-min
ing for days wages-the high tariff men
DESTROYED, first, American smelling works
and. second, valuable shipping trade, and
finally destroyed large and rapidly grow
ing market for great variety of American
manufactures market which the Eng
| lish now, thanks Ia this single instance OF
so called protection 10 American indus
tries. almost monopolize, and which is 81
valuable that they run a semi weekly line
of very large and finely fitted steamers t.
Valparaiso.
Now, what has happened Ia the Ameri
can manufacturers OF copper goods ms
The protected copper mine owners actually
charge American manufacturers more foI
their protected copper than they sell the
same copper for 10 foreigners in English
and other European markets. Thus oui
home manufacturers of copper goods are
oppressed in favor of foreigners, and thi'
| is called protection % American industry