Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1888-08-24

upon that Of foreign production. Upon
one it is bounty, upon the other burden,
and the repeal of the tax must operate -
an equivalent reduction Of the price Of the
article, whether foreign or domestic. We
say 90 long as the importation continues,
the duty must Be paid by the purchaser
Of the article. The general and per
manent effect must be to increase
the price of the article to
the extent of additional duty, and il is
then paid by the consumer. II II were
not 90, if the general effect Of adding TO the
duty was to reduce the price of the article
upon which il il levied, the converse of
the proposition would also be true, and
the operation for increasing the price Of the
domestic article would be to repeal the
duty on the same article imported, an ex-
pertinent which the friends Of our internal
industry will not be desirous of making
We cannot subscribe, therefore, to the doc
trine that the duties of imports, protective
Of our own manufacturers, are paid by the
foreign merchant or manufacturer.
ANOTHER HIGH AUTHORITY.
But John Quincy Adams knew better,
and he was too honest Q man 10 make such
false pretense. Well, what said President
Arthur? In his annual message to Congress
! in 1882 -83 President Arthur said:
81 recommend On enlargement of the free
list; that is, Of goods that pay no duty-so
as to include within it the numerous ar.
ticles which yield an iDconsiderable rev.
enue Q simplifcation Of the complex and
inconsistent schedule Of duties upon Ger
tain manufactures, particularly those Of
cotton, iron and steel, and . substantial
reduction of the duties upon those articles
and upon sugar, molasses, wool and woolen
goods"
Well, that is precisely what the Demo
Gratis are striving to do That Is precisely
what the Mills bill, ss il is called, attempts
to do; and yet these gentlemen who are
bowling around about the benefits Of pro-
lection and the ruin that the Democrats
are bringing on the country tell you that
this thing which President Arthur recon-
mended only 40 lately is nothing in the
world but FREQ trade. They are more
afraid of free trade than they are of rattle.
snakes. Laughter and applause. They
are terribly alarmed lest they should ba
bitten by free trade Renewed laughter ]
Well, now, 30 far from this being free
trade, the most striking thing about the
Mills bill is that it is the most moderate
reduction of tariff duties that has ever
been attempted in this country. The
average duty levied under the present tariff
was AZ per cent and under the Mills bill
She average would be only about 40 per
cent, q reduction of only Z per cent. on all
commodities taken tagether. OF course
there are some things upon which the duty
was reduced more. For instance, the duty
is taken off of number of articles called
raw material, which are used by manufac-
turers in their work, in the fabrication Of
their products, and a. they receive this
great benefit of having their raw materials
free, or with snperlatively small duty,
the bill wisely provides that the articles
manufactured by them when brought into
the country shall pay lower rate Of duty
than they did before. But that Is nothing
more than compensation for taking of
the duty from the raw material.
PRESIDENT GARFIELD QUOTED.
President Garfield said in the House Of
Representatives on March 10. 1871: 81
was surprised at remark of the distin-
guished gentleman from Michigan-Q do
not know who that distinguished gentle
| man WAS, but he was Michigander.) He
asserted that there is no item in the whole
tariff that can stand alone on its merits,
but that sll must be taken in lump in
order to stand; that coal must take salt by
the hand and they, too, must take some
thing else by the hand; and thus all inter.
eats unite with all forces before they can
| make stand before the country. If this
remark be true it strikes q blow at the
whole tariff system; blow am not will
ing to striks. an unwilling TO admit
that bad taxes must be tied to good ones
and thus be kept afloat. think il is un-
wise to continue this duty on coal and
am therefore in favor of its repeal"
This Michigander came from ldmber
country I expect, and he was in favor Of
log-rolling Laughter. Log rolling on
the largest kind of scale; that the man
who wanted protection on one article
should log.roll with the man who wanted
protection on another, and thus by all
combining together and making one grand
syndicate or pool force their measure
through the Congress of the United States.
But James A. Garfield said (if this remark
be true): 1T strikes blow at the whole
tariff system and blow / am not willing
to strike. am unwilling to admit that
bad taxes must he tied 10 good ones and
thus he kept sAoat."
Now, my friends, there is another thing
TO which I wish 10 call your attention.
They say all at once (I say all at once. for
it is very late doctrine), these advocates
of protection are all ut once seized with
wonderful solicitude for the laboring man
of the country, and they want high pro-
tective tariff, not TO benefit the capitalist,
not TO benefit the monopolist, not TO beDe-
ft the manufacturer, according TO their
man. He il the man they seek to protect.
And how are they going 10 protect him?
Why, they say high protective tariff will
better his condition, give him more wages
better wages. / would like TO know
how that can be. / would like 10 know
how taxing lsboring man on everything
from the crown OF his head 10 ths sole Of
his foot il going to enrich him. Laugh
ter and applause.
| HOW THE THING WORKS.
Yet this IL exactly what the tariff tax
does. II taxes him on the hat that he
wears, on the cap that put on my head
to keep it warm. Applause and laugh
ter II taxes him on bis shirt, on his
necktie, on his underclothes, on his coat,
on his vest, on his breeches. on bis stock
ines, on his boots, on everything. Re
newed cheering II raises the price sud
taxes him D. the poor man can hardly
make enough UOney, even II he gets few
cents more wages in the day-it taxes
him until he can hardly mako enough
money to support himself and bis littls
family. II he has one. And yet they ssy
that this Is for the benefit Of the labor
ing man. Ny friends, that h . very bold
faced statement, II there ever wss one In
the world, bat there n another thing shout
it. How is he to get the high waes7 Why,
he is to get them because his employee, the
capitalist OF monopoiist, will make moro
money, and therefore can afford 10 pay bis
employees or hired men higher wages than
he paid them before. AgIee that be ecould;
I agree that IL incrssses the profits;
agree that he might, having thess increased
| protita. nav his IaborinR men more than