Griggs courier. (Cooperstown, Griggs Co., Dak. [N.D.]) 1885-1902, 1888-08-10
PRICES UNDER A PROTECTIVE TARIFF:

The attorneys for free trade. who
seek To create prejudice against the pol
icy Of protection by charging that it en-
hances the cost to consumers. can best
be met by IL comparison vt prices OF
few articles in common use.
In 1880 salt. then un the free list. sold
to consumers at an average price Of S3
per barrel. Tie tariff on salt Ill barrels
is now II cents per hundred pounds (oI
say 334 cents per barreD, and the
average price is not more than half that
of 1860. AS salt has been made the
subject OF SPECIAL attack it may be we'll
present price goes to the manufactures,
against wholt is saught co create pre-
judice. In 1851, at the works III Mich
igan. salt sold for 60 cents per barrel
and of this sum 20 cents was paid to the
cooper for making the barrel. All be-
tween this price and that paid by con,
sumers went for transportation and
profit of middlemen.
The manufactures of plate glass was
established in 1865. when the foreign
made articles sold for $50 per square
foot, and the price has steadily lowered
until now it is Is cents per square foot.
Pig Iron in 1860. sold for s22.75 pei
ton. With a tariff of Sc. - per ton ii
now sells for SIS.
; Steele rails were first made here in
1867, when the price was Sl66 per ton
The tariff has been as high as S23 pei
ton, and is now Sl7 Steele rails are
now quoted at $3l. and have sometimes
been lower.
A favolite plea of free traders'is that
with wool and woolens on the free lis
1.-The pOorman's blanket wOnld. .be solo
i for one-half it's present. price-When thu
. fact is prices for blankets of equd
quality are about the same in the Unitet
States and England. Here is the proof
Last year the secretary of war invited
bids or supplying army blankets o
4 four pounds weight, and allowed for
. eignerS to compete on the same term
q as American manufacturers. that ]
y without paying the tariff. The loves
n British bid was only so cent per blanke
II II less than that of America. The tariff
i If it had been charged, wonld be abou
VI Sl.5a. Our free cabinet officer pays IL
Ie taxes and buys nothing in this country
h The money for our national treasnr
- went to Il foreign country, and Amer
ia c;sn soldiers are to sleep under Britis
S, blankets. because they can be made
IS England for thirty cents less than
~ this country.
~ And here is some testimony from Il
ne other side: Matthew Arnold. the en-
el inent English scholar, statesman al
u. free trader advocate. recently decease
~ last year made tour of this countl
IL and afterwords gave his conclusions
the Nineteenth Century MagaZll
n (April, lSSS.) In this paper the writ
Nd admits that conditions in the Unit
''o States are favorable to that immen
MS class of people" whose incomes are le
of than 81 800 a year, While in Engla
ch the advantage rs greatly in favor
49, those with incomes above that sum
le' OF wages he says "the humble ki
to- of work is better paid in America tn
ch with us, the higher kind worse. l4u
Isl uries are. as | have said. very deal
,n, above all, European luXuries: but
aei workingman' clothing is nearly
for cheap as in England. and plain food
md on the whole cheaper.-Ex,