Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1886-10-28
PRACTICAL AND POINTED.
Senator Sherman on Some of the Features

Senator Sherman on Some Of the Features
of the Protective Tariff.
In speech at Wilmington, Senator Shsr>
man answered in practical and convincing
manner some speeches put to him by free
trader, regarding the protective tariff. In
the course Of this speech he said, regarding
the mode Of taxation adopted by the Rspub
fican party:
@During the war by the imposition Of in
ternal taxes on a great variety of domestic
products and their gradual repeal until none
are left except the taxes on whiskey and to
bscco, leaving the great body Of national
taxes to be imposed in the form of duties on
imported goods. Three general principles
were adopted and uniformly enforced: first,
that the taxes necessary to be collected
should be imposed on articles Of luxury
which enter into consumption mostly by the
wealthy; second, low rates of duty on articles
Of universal use not.produced in the United
States; and third, protective or discrimin
ating duty on all articles that we can pro
duce in the United States"
Regarding horizontal tariff be said:
snow believe that such q tariff would not
only be greatly injurious to the people of tbs
United States, but it has proven to be so re-
peatedly in the past history Of the country.
A uniform duty would extend to all articles
Of necessity, such as tea, coffee and the like,
which cannot be produced in this country;
would be in the nature of direct tax on ar
ticles of prime necessity, and would not be
sufficient to accomplish the object of diyersi-
flying and fostering American industry. The
idea of a horizontal tariff has been aban-
doned by every party in this country, for nc
tariff has been passed in the last fifty years
rzyHi hos M de- fr1l rirnip off
and prescribed different rates on different
articles according to their nature and char.
acter.n
Regarding the duties on china ware and
glass he showed that under this protective
duty manufactures for the fproduction Of
these have been established in the United
States giving employment to American la
borers aud capital, and by healthful compe
tition within the borders Of our own coun-
try. the price TO every purchaser in this coun-
try is less than it would be had we to depend
on foreign manufactures, even were they sd-
mitted free.
"As late as 1881 we imported steel rails to
the value of 50, l02, 900, and twenty five year,
ago we practically imported all the steel
used in this country. Ten years ago steel
rails imported were worth $50 ton. Now
we have by protective duty so increased our
production that last year the value of steel
rails imported was but S247, 900, and the
price has been reduced to SIS ton, and at
one time to $27 ton, or one-fifth Of what it
was twenty years ago.
NEARLY all the wooden goods which enter
into the common use of our people are man.
ufactured in this country out of American
wool raised by our farmers. doubt whether
there is in this large audience 500 worth OF
woolen goods imported from abroad. Ths
duty on woolen goods is advanced on account
of the duty of 10 to II cents a pound on the
woods which come into competition with
American wool, intended to protect the far.
mer from undue competition with the focka
in Australia and South America, and it il
this duty on wool for the benefit of the far.
mer that seems to excite the chief hostility
of my friend. regard it as not only advis.
able, but believe that it should not have been
reduced as it was by the act Of of 1893 to the
great injury Of the farmers Of the country.
The Democrats Of Ohio were of the same
opinion and promised to restore the duty on
wool, but kept that promise as they have all
other promises ever made by them to the
people of the state of Ohio.
al do say that the duty on lumber is for
the benefit of the lumberman and not the
owner of the pine. Unmsnufsctured lumber
is admitted duty free. The duty on copper
and iron ore is that which induces the mining
of the iron and copper ore, and without it
they would lie idle-dead capital in the mines
The duty on wool benefits not only Mr..
Delano and Mr.. Harpster, who Isuppose own
more than their share of sheep, but a
million of small wool growers scattered all
over the United States, and without which
their industry would be proftless The duty
on wool trebled the number Of sheep in Ohio
and quadrupled the quantity of wool pro-
duced.n