Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1888-08-30

Il
tariff could have bought it cheaper.
NOW, thore are men who say the con-
sumer doesu't pay the tax. havo said that
that is most audacious assertion, and l
have trie'l to show you that he must neces-
sarily paT the tax. But il they want au-
thority upon that subject, let me refer to
some men who have spoken upon it, and
whose words will hardly be gainsaid. First,
will go back to John Quincy Adams, and
dare say there arc plenty Of Republicans
and some Abolitionists in this crowd who
have great veneration for that mans men,
ory. knew him WE'LL served in the house
of representatives with him, and know
how intelligent he was, and know how
frank and outspoken he was. In the year
1889 he was chairman of the house commit
tee on manufactures, and he said in q report
made by him in that year: The doctrine
that duties of import seem to cheaper the
| price Of the articles on which they are lev
| led seems to conflict with the irst dictates Of
| common sense.
1.-THE duty constitutes part of the price
of the whole mass Of the articles OF the
market 1t is substantially paid upon the
article Of domestic manufacture as well as
upon that of foreign production. Upon one
it is bounty, upon the other a burden, and
the repeal OF the tax must operate as an
equivalent reduction Of the price of the arti-
| Gle, whether foreign or domestic. We say
so long as the importation continues, the
duty must be paid by the purchaser of the
article. The general and permanent effect
must be to increase the price of the article
to the extent of additional duty, and then it
| is paid by the consumer II it were not so,
if the general effect of adding to the duty
was to reduce the price of the article upon
which it is levied, the converse of the propo-
sition would also be true, and the operation
for increasing the price of the domestic arti-
| Gle would be TO repeal the duty on the same
article imported-an experiment which the
friends of our internal industry will not be
desirous of making We can not subscribe,
therefore, to the doctrine that the duties Of
imports, protective of our own manufactur-
ers, are paid by the foreign merchant or
manufacturer
"But John Quincy Adams knew better, and
he was too honest a man to make such
false pretense.
swell, what said President Arthur He
was good Republican. In his annual mes
said: 4 recommend an enlargement of the
free list-that is, of goods that pay no duty
so as to improve within it the numerous arti-
cles which yield an inconsiderable revenue, a
simplification of the complex and incon-
sistent schedule of duties upon certain man
ufactures, particularly those of cotton iron
and steel, and q 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 trying to do. That is precisely
what the Mills bill, as it is called, attempts
to do; and yet these gentlemen who are
bowling around about the benefits of protec
tion, and the ruin that the Democrats are
bringing on the country, tell you that this
thing which President Arthur recommended
only so lately is nothing in the world but
free trade.
"The Republicans are more afraid of free
trade than they are Of rattlesnakes.
daughter and applause.] They are terribly
alarmed lest they should be bitten by free
trade. [Renewed laughter.l Well, now, SO
far from this being free trade, the most
striking thing about the Mills bill is that it
is the most moderate reduction of tariff du.
ties that has ever been attempted in this
country. The average duty levied under
the present was AZ per cent, and under the
Mills bill the average would be only about
40 per cent, reduction of only I per cent
upon all commodities taken together OF
course there are some things upon which the
duty was reduced more.
"For instance, the duty is taken from
number of articles called raw material,
which are used by manufacturers in their
work, in the fabrication of their products.
And as they receive this great benefit of
having their raw materials free or with
comparatively 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 be-
fore. But that is nothing more than COM
pensation for taking off the duty from raw
material
president Garfield said in the house of
representatives ON March 10, 1871: Il was
surprised at remark of the distinguished
gentleman from Michigan II do not know
who that distinguished gentleman was, but
he was Mchiganderl He asserted that
there is no idea in the whole tariff that can
be taken in lump in order to stand That
coal must take salt by the hand and they,
too, must take something else by the hand,
and thus all interests unite with all forces
before they can make a stand before the
country. II this remark be true it strikes
blow at the whole tariff system, blow am
not willing to strike. I am unwilling to ad-
NIT that bad taxes must be tied to good
ones, and thus be kept afoat. I think it is
unwise to continue this duty on coal, and
am therefore, in favor of its repeal
'This Michigander came from lumber
country, 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 DO true, it strikes
blow at the whole tariff system, and a blow
I am not willing to strike. | am unwilling
to admit that bad taxes must be tiei to good
ones and thus kept afloat.
"Now, my friends, there is another thing
to which I wish to call your attention. They
say all at once Il say all at once, for it is a
very late doctrine) these advocates of pro.
lection are all at once seized with wonderful
solicitude for the laboring man of the coun.
try, and they want a high protective tariff
not to benefit the capitalist; not to benefit
the monopolist; not to benefit the manufac.
turer, according to their statement, but tc
benefit the laboring man. He is the man
they seek to protect. And how are they go.
TTYs