St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1886-09-04

hammer, ak, pick, shovel, rake, stove,
tin pan, sewing machine ABOUT MS
house which does not cost him more
because of this tax for protectloh.
| Take. for instance, our railroads. Inc
tax on steel rails is S17 per ton. IL
takes ninety tons to lay Il mile OF roaa
there is a tax of 81 400 per mile TOT
every mile of railroad in this country
Then there are the spikes, the sWltches'
the car wheels, the trucks, the prldSes'
the stations, all of which are more ex-
pensive to build and more expensive "
keep up because of the tariff.
The total cost of 13O,000 mlles U,
roads in this country is eight thousana san
millions Of dollars (SS,OOO, ,O00,O ,OOO.(
Multiply 10000 miles by the additional
cost of steel rails above, 81 ,460, ana yon
have nearly S20O,OO0.000. To this add
increased cost of bridges, etc, Increased
because of the tariff, and you Will see
that at least one-eighth OF the cost OF
our railroad system, or one thousahu
million, is due to the tariff so we may
go on and show that One-elghth OIL tne :n.
operating increase is due to the tarin.
This means that one-eighth OF all you
pay for freight on what you buy OF sell
| is due to the tariff 1t is a new tax, anu
the aggregate is not less than one nun
dred millions annually. This reeafus
the interchange of products; this puts
limit to the territory winch can sen"
milk to New YORK. or wheat to Liver
pool. If ii farmer now can sehu mn iiI.A
to New York, say 300 miles, then VIII
out the tariff one living 225 miles couid
send it protitably Tie tariff, by IN
creasing the cost nf transportation, re-
stricts the area of distribution, that Is
it limits vour markets. This Is one
phase of the railroad question WHICH,
is very seldom referred TO.
I But it is said steel rails are cheaper
now than in 1860. That is true, but the
decline is not due to the tariff; 1t is que
to the discovery of the Bessemer pro-
cess of making steel. The decline has
taken place the world over, but to-day
the tariff tax is S17 per ton, making t,'e
price Just S17 higher than 1t wonid ne
without the tariff. That the tarlH does
not lower the price Is clearly SHOWN
when we see the manufacturers OF steer
rails opposing the repeal. Ii II
cheanened steel they would be opposed
to the tariff. .Yr
One word more: H. G.. w. says, Ii
it had not been pretty we'll proven that
one or two of the leading free trade pa
pers of the country had been directly
subsidized by English capital, for one
would have greater faith in free trade
doctrine" Well, my friend, it has
Deye, been proved 1t is pure fiction
from beginning to end. The Golden
Club sends some pamphlets over here,
but as far back as 1924 America was
preaching free trade to Eng land. Id
that wear Daniel Webster made great
speech for free trade, aud it was clrcu-
lated all over England. In 1S47, L be-
lieve, RO ,ert j. Walker made report
on the tariff aud the principles on which
tax should rest. 1t is famous state
paper, and was reprinted in England
and distributed by order of English
officers. Instead of learning from En-
gland, we have taught England free
trade.
But assume that this is not true how
!, does that affect the argumentf The
argument is good or had it matters not
who pays for it. If there are reasons
Just as sound for protection, let US have
them stated. Home and Farm will
give room for discussion of these
questions by it's subscribers. Let ns
, have it, and in it let every one keep his
temper, let him not assume that his
opponent is subsidized or ignorant ni
stupid or liar. The object OF each is
to get at the truth, whoever has IT.
RICHARD w. KNOTT.
The New Orleans Picayune charges
that w. A. Strong, ex-Secretary ol
State, is defaulter to the amount Ol
S4.4O6 10. The election law of 1885,
provided that all election tickets shOuid
, be printed on paper to he furnished 10y
the Secretary of State, who was re-.
, auired to provide the same at pei
cent. over the cost The State ad
vanced the sum of $5,600.10 to Srcre'
tary Strong with which to buy election
, tickets, and the Picayune says only
$1,194 was returned. As Strong re.
! quired the candidates to pay him casl
in advance for the tickets, it appears
that he worked his little monopoly
{ with good advantage. We do not pre-
tend to say whether Strong is guilty
!, or not, as he says he will soon make
satisfactory explanation to the pub
lie. The law under which he acted
however, is one of the most Outra
! geous frauds ever passed by the
Louisiana Legislature, and it ough
to have been ignored fr0m the start
Monroe. Bulletin.
A prominent resident of Tensal
Wells the other day, when an en-
thusiastic prohibitionist tackled hin
! with, WHAT'S the prohibition new
from your section, my friend 2
: Well, really, don't know" was th,
: answer. 1--WE have been SO contour
ded busy fighting water Ill spring
and summer that don't believe an!
of us have found time to fight whis
ky yet.n-Natcllez lMiss.) Democrat.
{ In a recent speech before the Mis-
, sissippi State Convention, Hon. Jeffer
: son Davis said: To send an homes
81 -...., . <.,,...sa 10 ,,,t d;f3ocl% h,s /.