The Republican journal., 1888-08-16
Are the Farmers Fools Z?

The Press has been called upon by 10 less
than six readers to reply to that foot-in-thc-
grave old chestnut about the farmer being tax
ed 95 per cent. OH his flannel shirt 81 per cent.
on his coat, etc. Incredible as it may seem
to intelligent people, the Democratic National
Committee is insulting the intelligence of the
farmers of this State by circulating this eN-
ploded relic of free trade argument:
Under this tariff the farmer rises in the morning,
| puts on his common flannel shirt taxed 81 per
cent; his coat taxed 81 per cent; shoes 81 per
| cent and hat taxed 81 per cent; takes the water
| from Il bucket taxed 81 per cent, and washes his
face and hands in tin bowl taxed 81 per cent
i dries them on cheap cotton towel taxed 45 per
| cent
| lie sits down to his humhle meal and eats from
plate taxed 30 per cent. with knife and fork
taxed 81 per cent: drinks his coffee with sugar
taxed GS per cent; seasons his food with salt tan
cd 60 per cent; pepper taxed 81 per cent
He looks around on his wife and children, all
| taxed in the same way; takes chew of tobacco
taxed los per cent, lights cigar taxed lis per
| cent. And, sir, the sunlight from heaven
| that rours into his humble dwelling must come
| through window glass taxed % per cent, and yet
he thinks he lives in the frecst government under
| heaven
| Then he starts to work puts bride taxed s.
| per cent. his horse, takes his horse that has
| been shod-the nails used in shoeing being taxed
- per cent, driven by hammer taxed 20 per
| cent.-and bitches him to plow taxed A. per
cent, with chains taNe, 5s per cent and after the
days labor is closed and his family are all gather
ed around, he reads a chapter from his Bible taN
ed p per cent, and kneels to God on an humble
carpet taxed 81 per cent. and then he rests his
weary limbs sheet taxed A. per cent, and
covers himself with blanket that has paid lo4
per cent.
Even the broom with which his good wife
sweeps the floor is taxed 81 per cent, and the
cooking vessels used in preparing the husbands
frugal meals are taxed 42 per cent. and the soda
used to tighten his bread taNed - per cent. She
sits down to her sewing machine with needle
x-aI
per cent to make calico dress taxed IS per cent.
| or if she wishes to knit warm pair of socks to
protect her husband and children from the bitter
cold she uses yarn taxed l20 per cent.
The object of this shallow circular is to make
the farmer believe the free trade theory enun-
ciated by Grover Cleveland that the price of
the domestic product is increased by exactly
the amount of the duty.
Here is a practical outcome of the concentrate
ed wisdom of the National Committee. a COM
mon flannel shirt costs in England 3S 3D.. or
81 cents. The cost here would therefore he
nearly double. or &l.GS. The actual price is 81.
\ common suit of clothes costs in England
30S.. or $50. The cost here. therefore. would
be $500. The actual cost is $40. same rs in
England. An all wool SO suit such as that cN-
hibited by Major Mckinley costs just ~. or
so. in London.
In England common boots cost g.. (5l.5o)
and fair ones los. (S2.50). Instead of costing
one.third more here the price is sl.2' for well
\ S. 6d. (S4 cents) hat in England can he
got here for 81. and it does not cost nearly -,
As asserted.
A tin bowl costing l0d.. or 20 cents. in Eng
land can be got here for about the same price.
or at most o3 cents. On the other hand. kitcl1-
en- utensils as a whole are cheaper in this
country than in England, our ingenuity in MAX
ing such articles being greater than it is in
England.
A cheap cotton towel in this tax ridden land.
quality for quality. costs les here than IN EnS-
land. The Press can prove this to the sati>fac-
ton of all Democratic liars.
The lie about thread is stale and unprodt-
able one. Here is what the Grafton Linen
Mills, who have places on both sides Of the At
lantic, say on this subject: 1--WE sell large
proportion of the product Of our mills at Graf
ton. Mass. at prices that are as low absolutely
as prices obtained in Britain for similar quail
ties made at our mills in John>tone. ScotIand.'
Wages here are 100 per cent. higher.
All knit goods are cheaper here than in Eng
land. especially jerseys such as women wear.
SO are the commoner grades of stockings and
socks
American farming implements of AL kinds
are exported and sold in competition with
English. They are better more in@cnlou>iy
made. more durable and cheaper than the
farming implements Of any country in the
world
American cutlery is imported by and sold in
England. Does not this prove that the price
is not higher than English cutlery: Pottery
and window glass cost one third what they did
when we depended on England to manufacture
these articles for us. The difference in the
price to-day is not the duty.
Sugar is Il Democratic industry. and rice
taxed 1O2 per cent. is carefully ignored. III"
Republicans repealed half the internal tax on
tobacco in 1883, and would have repealed the
balance last session only Speaker Carlisle re-
fused to recognize Judge Kelley for this plr-
pose. What folly, therefore. to talk about lE'
per cent. On chewing tobacco. I'm free trade
England the workman pays 200 Per cent. ON
his tobacco.
Blankets vary in cost here from : 10 - n
pair. The retail price in England is practical
ly the same, and the blankets compare favor
ably; that is, pair Of So blankets here would
cost about II. its equivalent in England. The
government, in a recent purchase Of blankets
made abroad, discovered that the difference IN
the price was only 80 cents pair.
A calico dress can be bought in this country
as low as cents per yard. Il sum equivalent to
the duty. If the price is increased by the
amount of the duty, calico dresses cost nothing
in England. And yet the people 20 ragged.
The fact is they cost more in England than
here. And this is true of all staple cotton goods.
A stuff dress can be bought here aS low as 10
cents. and the duty is Il cents. Thus on the
theory that the duty is 4 ''taN. in England
these dresses are given away and cents Il
yard bonus for taking them.
An example even more astonishing i found
in the fact that while chIoroform is subject to a
duty of 80 cents a pound, the domestic article
is selling in this country for 30 cents pound.
or actually for - cents a pound less than the
duty!
Turning to hardware we find the present
price of steel rails in this country is S3:' ton.
The duty is ST. and the freight 500, together
making $3.50, the tax on imported rails. rms
deducted from S33 leaves $1350, which should
he the British price of steel rails, if the Presi-
dents theory is correct. But the British price
is, in fact, $40. instead of $500
Further, the steel rail industry in this coun-
try was built up under duty of SIS ton. lr
1885 steel rails were sold here for S2i. just one
dollar less than the original duty.
Take another illustration. The price OF cut
nails in Philadelphia is $500 for a keg of 100
pounds. The duty on cut nails is 81 %. II the
above proposition be correct, cut nails should
he bought in Europe for - cents kc@. In
fact, they cannot be bought anywhere on earth
for less than S1.5O keg.
Again, cut nails have been sold in this coun-
try as low rs 81 80 a keg of 100 pounds, While
the duty was $l.5O a keg. Thus, according to
the Democratic circular, cut nails must then
have been purchasable in Europe for 81 cents a
kcg.
Three ply carpets are sold in England at 2s.
Gd., or 62 IL cents per yard. Add 80 per cent.
"taNes" to this and the price would be 9} ~
cents per yard. Yet you can buy better and
more artistic carpets at Dobson, or Sloane ;
same money in England.
And so it is with every article of general con-
sumption which the masses of the people buy
| AS for the cost of the Bible, the Democrats
who get up such literature as the above are not
| likely to pay that tax. Bibles are plentiful and
cheap. The Press will not answer these back
number questions again this campaign, 50 those
| interested will please paste this in their scrap
| books and stop sending the circular to The
| Press. We are too busy graphing with live
fo in inf history
| statements which on their faces prcsupposc the
| farmers of the country to be fools.
They are not, but know more about this 1ies-
| tion than the free traders who try to instruct