West Virginia Democrat. [volume] (Charles Town, W. Va.) 1885-1890, 1888-01-13

experts estimate the tax paid to the
manufacturer at figure four or five
times as great as the revenue from
customs, the total paid for ''protec-
tion"-by the poor chiefy-being
increased thus TO over a billion of
dollars. The st. Louis Republican
traces the wealth accumulated in
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts,,
New Hampshire, New Jersey, New
York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island
and Vermont largely to the influx
of the money of the rest Of the Union
into these States under the opera
ton of the tariff tax. The flow has
certainly been large and constant
enough to account for their pros
peritv. and at the same time for
much of the poverty and misery OF
the agricultural sections. The value
of the manufactured products of the
nine industrial States in the north
east corner of the Union in 1880 was
S3.1S6. $4,000, which figure repre-
sents the aggregate price of their
wares with the 30 per cent. duty adj
ded. The duty enabled the States
named in the census year to add,
roughly speaking, 81, 0O0,OO0,00O to
their income, the tariff law compel
ing the people to increase their pro-
fits TO that extent. The high price
of their products forbade exporta-
ton to any considerable amount, but
the law gave them control of the
home market and they worked it for
all 1t was worth. When competition
brought down prices manufacturers
combined to put them up again to
the highest notch the tariff duty of
that date permitted. The consum-
ers were accordingly, in 1880, forced
to pay $3,OOO,000,000 for articles for
which without the tariffthey should
not have paid over $2,OOO,O0O,O00.
1t is proper objection to say that
some of the enumerated industries
are not protected. That is true, but
the tariff schedules embrace over
| four thousand articles and cover
| four-fifths of all the industries of
/ the nine industrial States. If, how
ever. one fourth of the billion tax be
struck off in consideration of the
/ fact that few industries were not
susceptible of protection, there re-
mains $750,000,000, according to the
Republicans calculation, as the
price the people of the rest of the
Union pay to enrich small corner
of the country. The Republican
asks, with just Indignation, "Why
the vocations of nine States should
be fostered, nurtured and maintain
ed by favors granted at cost to
twenty nine poorer States of $780,
| 100000? 1t is not because manu-
featuring is less profitable than
farming, for the census shows that
the profits Of manufacturing in the
industrial States in 1880, ON the
Capital invested, was 80 per cent,
while the average profit of farming
was but 81 per cent" If the nine
Industrial States were extremely
poor their disposition to absorb the
wealth of the other States would
command some sympathy, but they
possess,it is estimated, $24, $3.50, 000,-
600 worth of property, while the
twenty nine agricultural States and
Territories are worth, all put to-
sether, but $19,0l2,000,000. With
one-th,rd of the population they
have much more than onc-half the
wealth of the country While they
receive some $300,000,000 year in
interest and dividends on property
located in the agricultural States,
they have law which compels the
latter States to pay them over $780,
100000 a year to maintain their
mills, furnaces and factories. The
silent working of iniquitous laws
enriches thus one section of the
country at the expense of the rest.