St. Landry democrat., 1884-06-28
The Art Tariff.
-
NO. States, June %.

We congratulate our esteemed
contemporary, the Times-Democrat
on its able and eloquent editorial d
Yesterday on the injustice of the
art tariff The tariff on art is anr
ti-prograssive, harbarous and ride
ulous. We agree with all that ou1
neighbor says on the subject. We
are glad to find so able and infuen-
tial journal, which has heretofore
been a hide-bound protectionist,
getting an insight into the atrocities
Of the protection system. The only
trouble with our neighbor is, that
it is beginning its lesson pretty
nearly where it ought to graduate
it is figuring in logarithyms before
it has mastered the multiplication
table; it is puzzling its brains over
Greek and Hebrew and Sanscrit
when it should be learning its alb
abs in English. 1t is manifesting
the sensitiveness Of the princess in
the Eastern tale, whose delicacy of
touch was SO exquisite that she was
racked with pain by a pea that lay
under the forty mattresses and
feather beds on which she reclined,
when it should be around amongst
the rough and toiling millions,
whose braWny arms are wrestling
for high priced bread, and the'sweat
Of whose brows is being poured out
for the benefit of protected monopo-
lists.
Our contemporary will not do the
great cause of tariff reform much
service if it pursues this course. AS
we have said, the tariff on art is
wrong; it is bad in principle it en-
courages a species of literary and
aesthetic smuggling, and generally
depresses the standard Of art, while
it in no degree assists or encourages
home talent. But if the tariff On
art is thus Objectionable, how in
furious, how wicked, cruel and afro
cious must be the tariff on the ne
cessaries Of life, on the thousand
and one things that the great mass
Of the people-the working men and
women, the widow and the orphan,
the laborer and the overworked sew
ing girl and the Ill paid teacher
consume and absolutely require to
sustain life. The tariff on art is
wrong in principle, but, after all, it
causes no suffering. Those who are
rich enough to indulge their taste
for art are rich enough to stand the
art tariff, while the masses of the
people are supplied, BY our wonder
full art Of picture painting with cheap
and very excellent pictures. But
the tariff on the necessaries of Life
strikes right at the pockets Of the
poorer classes of the people. With
a deyilish ingenuity our tariff has
been SO made up, in the interest of
the few that its burthens fall almost
exclusively upon the poor or work
ing classes and thus under, its oper-
alton, the poor are continually be-
coming poorer, and the rich, richer.
We are glad to see that the
Times-Democrat has caught a
glimpse Of the effects of the pro-
tectiye system, even though it has
seen those effects where they are
the least injurious. We trust that
it will look further into this ques-
ton that it will follow the CLEAN
of light that has fallen upon its eye
that it may be lead out Of the laby-l
rinth Of protectionist darkness into
the light Of the day where it will
see that the tariff which iniuriously
affects the trade in marble Venuses
and Niobes also works injury and
creates misery in the homes Of the
millions of American men, women
and children, who, under its iniqui-
tous provisions, are forced to pay
80 to 100 per cent more for all the
necessaries of life than they are
worth.
4