The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1884-11-01
Protection and Farmers.

one. III nous OuI uOpCo VI PEDSpSAiJ
for the laborer as well as the capitf Hist. In
practice, the results are just the reverse. If
the product of the mines and factories could
be limited to the demand, prohibitive tariffs
might be beneficial. But large dividends
have induced capitalists to invest in mines
and manufactures, until every business is
overdone. We have but little export trade,
and nearly all American products, of all
kinds, must be consumed at home. When
the supply is greater than the demand, prices
must fall or industries stop, and employees are
idle. Manufacturers and capitalists don't let
to maintain them, and they close up or work
on half time to reduce surplus whenever a
surplus accumulates.
| The result of this is that prices to consumers
are high, the annual earnings of laborers are
low, and capital is maintaining its large divi-
dends.
On the other hand farmers are suffering.
While they have to pay high prices for imple-
ments and for all they use in the household,
the prices of their products have steadily de-
clned for number of years, and have now
reached point lower than ever known for
wheat the chief product. Having shut out
every other government, the demand for our
surplus crops has declined, which is the main
cause of the decline of prices here. And the
end is not yet The French government, that
last year imported wheat and flour from this
country to the amount of ST., 500, 900, is now
considering the laying of tax of twenty
cents a bushel on American wheat shipped
there. If this occurs our wheat will bring
lust twenty seven cents bushel less there
than now. The German government is con-
sidering a proposition to thrible the import
tax on rye. England, by reason of our policy
of high tariffs, has sought other markets, and
the English demand for American wheat,
beef &C., has declined greatly.
The Democratic idea is not free trade, as
Republicans assert. There is not to-day in
the Democratic party a free-trader. Free
trade is an impossibility. What Democrats
will do, if success crowns their efforts, will be
the Inauguration of a more liberal policy
They will cut down federal taxation, so that
500, 000, 900 annually, for which the govern
ment has no need will not be collected from
the people to be locked up in the treasury.
Because tax gatherers do not go around and
collect in hard cash their hard earned money,
many people think they pay no taxes to the
government. They do, however, whenever
they buy anything. They pay it in the in
crease of price. All the increased price does
not 20 to the government-much of it goes to
swell the dividends of manufacturers. That
is why we have so many mllionaires and so
many paupers. The earnings of the many
go to enrich the few. When any one buys
articles made in this country, a certain por-
ton of the price, by reason of the protective
system, goes to swell the more than just diyi-
dends of the manufacturer. The government
puts a tariff of from 40 to 80 per cent on
goods, and the American manufacturer adds
nearly that much to the cost to consumers.
: When he buys a foreign made article, por-
ton of the price goes to the government. The
government collects a tax on imported goods
when they are brought to this country, and
the importer adds the tax to the price of the
goods. Now is it not plain that, when the
> government collects S100,000,000 more than
i needs, that the import tax could be de-
cteased- Is it just, is it legal, for the govern
= meat to collect more than it needs? Is it not
' robbng the people? and is not the accumu-
D lation of this money in the treasury an IN
ducement to extravaganza and corruption.
, Certainly, and every thinking man knows it.
Democrats would remove the tariff from the
\ necessaries of life, such as sugar, coffee. tea
and upon such articles that are not produced
" to any considerable extent in this country.
! They would put on the free list raw materials
The iron interests, wool interests and some
? others here are languishng because high
duties are imposed on articles that are neces-
, sary to minge with those produced in this
/, country to make the home production vaua-
bic.
The pauper labor of Europe is the great
bugbear to Republican protectionists. What
difference does it make if we buy the products
be of the so-called pauper labor of other coun-
,lbries, or import the pauper labor to work in
\ competition with our own labor? Every Re-
Abublcan manufacturer and mine owner has
!, endeavored to get labor as cheap as possible,
and thousands of the lowest classes CT Itali-
ans, Chinese and other foreigners, have been
brought here and put in the places of our
: killed labor. Go to the mines anywhere
nd you will find that this is true. Go to
Few England and see the manufactures
stunning with cheap Chinese labor. Does
ANYBODY believe that if high protective tariffs
lnceased the wages of mechanics and labor
! ing men, that the owners of manufactures
and mines would be in favor of maintaining
them Does anybody know Of a manufac-
he cam We don't mean to say that all en-
, ployers want to grind down their employees
to starvabAQ, but we do mean to say that
many of ohm do and some others are not
any more b eral than they ought to be.
The tariff us now unjust. Some articles
used by tb kpoor and people in moderate
eircumstane are taxed higher in proportion
than those ustd by the miliionaires and mo.
nopoies. Democrats would remedy these
inequalities.
In addition Democrats would abolish use
less officers and sIorce economy and honesty
IN every departing pf the government.
pasA Voters who not care to be taxed to
foster monopolies Cypress the people,
should vote for Franz Shaw for Congress.
The Republican Rlicy of Protec-