Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1888-10-19
rARIFr soPHIsrRIKs.

On monopolstic friends are the most
amusing fellows on earth when they get
., ~"arguing." They must have very pc
culiarly constr ucted intellects If they hon
sstly bali their own assertions. They
never cpsn their mouths without con-
t-adicting them,elyssin the most amusing
way. They say for instance, very heat, d
", thst the tariff is net Q tai, that 1t does
not increase but lowers the price Of the
home article to- home con:uuers. Then,
they say in the nsxt breath that the tariff
is put on to "pro'ect American indus
tries.n In the name of clear headsdness,
If the tariff lowers CT Decent raise the
prics Of the homemade article, how can It
protect ii? II il lowered, or diin't raise
the price of his gods, would any sane
manufactures want il? III lowered, the
price of the American msde article, 1t
would, according 10 the logic Of our mon
CD list friends, lower the wages of the Am
erican workingman, and they declare 1t is
there to keep up American wages.
GEORGE WESLEY ATKINSON, the most
reckless m~,nopolistie bns- bsck rider in the
West Virginia ring, declared on the Island
wednesday night, and there were many
people in the audia2cs who really believed
that the Hon. G. ". was sincere, that:
Zone main reasonI am in favor Of q protective
tar q Is that il protects the laborer. Mr.. PendIe-
ton says it does not, but / can show you II does,
There Is not an article made in America OF
Whlch IL Is rue that the consumer pays the cost
with the tariff added. They cannot name a
But IL Is true tina: wages are Maintained by the
tariff"
Now here we have o complete all sides
of-the question proposition. The tariff
protects but it dos not raise ths price Of
the homemade article.
The tariff, says Mr. ATKINSON, keeps
up wages? Who pays the wages? The
manufacturer, Of couese. How could the
tariff help him to pay increased wages as
| Mr.. A. declares it dcea unless it en-
ab,ed him to charge an increxei price for
his product? Ho. cln the tariff project
the lsborer, therefore, unless it does raise
the price of his pioduct3 Common sense
alone would tell thst it could not work
otherwise, even though we had not the
conclusive every day proof. And further
more tie c,nsCm' IT pays every cent OF the
cost with the tariff added wherever there
is q we'll organized trust in the article 10
throttle comps;i!;no. IfeVsry cant o! the
tariff Is not TAKEN advantage OF by the
trusts and monopole3 why do they raise
such q howl when it is proposed to take II
per csat OF? Can Mr.. ATKINS ,
or any other advocate Of high
taxes honest V snswsr? Oh course theJ
can not. They can dishonesty answer,
however, by quoting al article IN which
there is no tru t or for which thu market IS
dull, but on which thersis q tariff. AMI
n doing this they prove the strength and
Justice of the Democratic position. For
instance, ATKINSON taxes nsils SS an at''-
Gle to the cast Of which tie tariff Is net
sdded and which is cheaper in Am Hica
than in England. There is no trust IN nails,
and therefore The tariff on nails is not needed,
az any nail manufacturer will stare. This
is the very argument the REGISTER has
frequently used 10 shoS how trusts op'rate
to keep Up the p ice under cover OF the
tariff. Trere is free composition in nails,
hence the price is lower than in Englsnd
although The tcages an America are higher,
and the tar.f on nails is sckuo Slsdged by
all to be Of no earthly uss. The trusts are
what the Demcc as are after and a reduc
ton Of the peoples harden.
II is vain for the monop,list5 to attempt
to obscure this question. 1t is too plain
and simple.