The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1884-05-16
FREE RAW MATERIALLY,
A nelnstve Chcht-liewitts Scheme NO
Improvement on MOrrisOu's

A nelnAtve Chcht-hewitrs Scheme NO
Improvement on HORIZONS
Chicago Inter OctGn, (Rtp)
Mr.. Hewitts Stree raw materials bill is
founded on an economic iallacy and false.
hood as fundamental and mischieyous as
the political shuttle which formed pith OF
tho Morrison bill. 1t is fsllacious and
falsc to cay that SIS to the collective indus.
tries OF whole nation any one kind OF
commodities can be distinguished in prin.
ciple from any other as being raw mate.
rails. The raw material of any one indus.
try is always the finished product of some
other, and the finished product OF any one
industry is also tine raw material OF tie
next which makes use oft. Hence there
ia no sense, and nothing but an economic
cheat, in mastering together particular
products and saying protection to these ia
inconsistent with the principle Of protec.
ton because these are not finished pro.
duets but raw materials.
Hewitt has put ealt, coal, lumber, and
carpet woods on his FREQ list; but salt !, the
| finished product OF the salt manufacturer,
and is only the raw material OF the cattle
grower or the dairymau. 1t is probably
true thai good deal Of salt would continue
to be made in the country il salt were nut
on the Tree llst, Tor the Saginaw price is
only 10 cents bushel, and this shades
down very close 10 tho lowest foreign
price. But why ehould the domestic
manufacture be in any way raided out
OF any part OF its home market when il
is supplying salt 10 the country at price
per bushel (dfty.six pounds) which is only
one.slxth as much as the direct tax e., Sd
sterling) which "iree.trade England i'm.
poses on a single pound OF salt in India -?
Our American price OF sat per bushel is |
therefore only 1.336.h part as much as tho
Indian direct tax on salt which forms
part OF the English free trade financial sys.
TEN. To place coal and lumber on the
iree llst is merely to present to Canada
about So 100000 annually. The free traders
nave during ten years past broken up
and prevented the production Of tin.
plato by keeping it under a So per cent
duty. while the forms OF iron and steel
which come under the higher duties were
being manufactured 80 extensively that
most OF them can now be exported. Hay.
ing thus prevented the manufacture OF lin.
plate, Mr.. Levitt proposes to perpetuste
our incapacity in this respect by putting It
OH the free list. Tho wiscst thing TO do
with tin.plate is TO put duty on it, which
VIII insure its production in America, ter. |
minating the revenue by ending the i'm. |
portsstion., The idle capital and idle
hands have been knocking for
three years ut the doors OF Con.
gress asking only for satisfactory
duty to start tin-plate over the same Amsr- |
ican route to cheapness over which edge
tools, cutley, locomotives, engines, ma.
chlnery, etc, have passed. The best that
can be said OF Hewitts bill is that it is
more cunning and less stupid than MORT.
sons bill, but it is far from having single
merit. 1t is founded upon the false princi.
pie that tho defense OF our producers in a
tox on our consumers, and that the demoli.
ton Of our industries brings relief to our
people. Saul OF Tarsus was much nearer
right when he imagined that stoninp
Stephen was serving God,