Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1886-12-25
THE TARIFF QUESTION.
INrELLIGENcER:-Le

EDITOR INTELLIGENcER:-Let labor
ing men who favor a protective tariff
under the impression that it pro-
teets them pause and study a
little. Why do you favor it? Be-
cause II is a tax put on foreign imports
to prevent them from being brought
here. Why do you wish TO prevent
imports7 Because they are sold cheap
or than articles made here, aud will
force your employers to sell cheaper or
shut up-shop. So you are told and be-
lieve, and like many other falsehoods
it seems true-so day AID night seem to
be caused by the moving OF the sun,
and the earth seems to stand still, and
almost everything that seems to be one
thing is in fact another aud totally
different thing. There is not II single
scientific authority OIL the subject but
tells u a protective tariff is ruinous
to labor and finally to manufactures
and agriculture. Strange that science
should be so mistaken. And when our
protective tariff was first imposed all
students of Political Economy told us
II would restrict the export of agricul.
tural products, would overstimulate
home manufactures until finally it
would cause their destruction by COM
petition at home, or their combinations
into great monoplies. They showed
rs that such had been the result in
other countries. Such disinterested
men as Buckle, Smith, Mccullough,
Mill, Wayland, Perry, Say and others
OF France, England and America have
denounced protection as a tallacy. Ii
they are wrong we can soon see-if
they are right we can prove it. Il
protection favors labor then every well
protected industry will show happy
communities of employees. How does
protection favor q manufacturer? By
securing him more or less against COM
petition. Very we'll, then any business
secured against competition is protect
ed. What is so well protected as coal
mining7 The tariff on coal is seventy
i've cents per ton. But that is a trife.
Tho great protection comes from the
fact that a few men IL the mines and
railroads too, and can combine to close
mines and raise prices, to lower them
and ruin opposition. But how do thew
treat their employees? This best pro-
tected industry has more trouble, its
employees are the worst treated of all,
next to street car drivers. Now a street
car route is . monopoly. There is not
on earth a more paying business and a
moro beautiful sample of monopoly. [
need not tell you that there are no
more grasping, heartless tyranls over
their employees.
sugar has for many years been high
~ protected, in. order to build up the
sugar industry of Louisiana. What is
the result? Examine the census report
of 1880; or better still get the Ameri-
can Almanac for 1885 or 1886 by the
Congress Librarian. There you will
ind that in spite of the tax on sugar
which has cost these people almost in
finite sums, we do not make nearly SD
hoSh SuSoi 90 VIC ulu Thirty, d1u even
forty years ago, under free trade. with
one-third the population and wealth;
and the whole business has grown to
be a monopoly, as all protected indus
tries become, and is in the hands of Il
few. Again it holds good-our asser-
ton that these monopolists abuse their
employees. | clip from a protection
paper, the Kansas City Journal, of De-
cember 10, as follows t prove it. 1t is
editorial:
"The funny thing about this is, that
for the occasion the free traders use the
protectionist argument and Uice reysn.
Only about one-tenth of the sugar con-
sumed in the United Sta es is produced
therein. So that the prople ay over
fifty millions a year on sugar, that the
planters of these two localities nav en-
Joy the benefit OF the protection that
Eve million affords. These sugar plan
ters own the lands and the mills, and
1t is urged, and is a fact, that they en-
pioy q class of servile labor that il un-
derpaid and denied their rights as clti-
zens. The terrible murders in Louisiana
that have disgraced civilization for