The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1886-04-21
For the HERALD AND NEWS.
Our Farmers and the Tariff

| ANSo tA4 80 -ShCtit &C 'ot = ASNO4tAi-i y -4N'
ing some reductions in the tariff:
with important additions to the free
list informs Us that the present aver
age rate Of duty on inportations is -
per cent. ad va,orcn? That is to say,
the farmer while having no protection
on what he produces aud has to sell,
has to pay on an average Il cents Oh
the dollar on nearly every thing he
has to buy, more tLan he would have
to pay without the tariff: But even
this enormous rate Of DUTY, higher
perhaps than that of any other coun-
try, is not full measure Of the injus-
tice to our farming Interests from our
present tariff; for while i rcr cent.
is the average duty, many articles of
prime necessity to the farmer have
still higher duties. Let us look a
little into particulars. When the
farmer buys cotton or WOODEN goods
of any class or kind he has to pay
from G. to over 100 per cent. duty.
His clothing costs him from 40 to 60
per cent. His wife and children s
dress goods 64 per cent; it.t
goods 80 per cent; furniture 80 per
cent. glass tor his windows GS per
cent. fannels and blankets protect
himself and wife and children against
wintyr's cold cost him 65 per cent. ad-
ditto Al ;and so on through the long list
Of fail4 ost every thing he has to buy.
Everything is loaded down with this
enormous tax. Neither his food nor
his wearing apparel, nor the imple-
ments with which he cultivates his
crops or sends his produce to market
is free from it. There is no escape
from it. And what makes it still
worse is that it is imposed in a way
that we do not perceive it, except by
the void in our purses. 1t is q silent
theft, so to speak, on almost every
thing the people have to buy. Let
any farmer keep careful account of
all he has to buy during the year, and,
at the end 60 over it with tariff table
in hand and lie may calculate ap-
proximately at least, the silent tax he
has had to pay by reason CT a pro-
tective tariff. The effect of q pro-
tective tariff is to make the rich,
richer at the expense Of the great
majority Of the people, and to build
up powerful and dangerous monop-
olies by heavy tax on the consum-
ers. u has been estimated that
about four-ifths Of our people are
eitLer poor or Of moderate means
and that these are heavily taxed
through the tariff for the other one
fifth who profit by it. l very much
doubt if every one fifth Of our pop
ulation profit by protection. But
admitting the estimate OF cry
ing injustice OF the system is
manifest. Our farmers complain,
and very justly, Of our heavy State
taxation, and it is to 0e hoped that
measures may be inaugurated at the
convention in Columbia next week to
relieve them to some extent. But
this tax is, in reality, very much less
than the insidious tax imposed upon
our people through our protective
tariff. But the one is imposed d.
rectly, so it is felt by every one,
while the other is imposed so We do
not perceive it so sensibly. Our
State and county tax or just one per
cent. I believe, amounts to less than
one dollar per head Of our population,
while the tax imposed by the tariff
amounts to over s. per head Of the
entire population Of the country; over
S1S1,000.000 last year This is only
the amount received by the govern
ment. But it is very far from repre-
senting the entire amount Of the bur
den. imposed on the people by PIE
lection. While the government gets
$1Sl, 100000 revenue from the tariff,
the protected industries get a very
much larger sum. A carefully pre-
pared table before me shows that
these protected industries gaineG
over $3.50 nnn cnn--u 9Ensr ScEs 4 OK:
Baptistss5 ,JJg' IN 1882, as the in
creased cost Of home products by
reason Of the tariff. This would be
S11 per head Of the entire popula
ton of the country according to the
last census. Of this amount the iron
and steel industries got over $780,
100000, and the WOODEN industries
over S1O6.O00,000. And who paid
it9 To very large extent our farm
ing interests, who in return get no
protection. Thus we see that while
our State tax amounts to less than
81 per head. the tax imposed by our
tariff amounts to over Sl4 per head
Of the entire country. Would it not
be we'll for our farmers, assembled in
convention in Columbia, to consider
certain State grievances, to give q
little attention also to the stiH greater
National grievance, and to express
themselves in such language as would
give more definite policy to some
Of our wavering congressman? l
would not wish to distract attention
from the important matters that Capt.
Tillman will no doubt lay before the
convention. But I believe no Qucs,
ton is more important to our farm
ing interests and no burden more op.
pressive than our present tariff. l
therefore hope the convention will
find time to pass q resolution strong