Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1888-08-30
INDUSTRIOUS MEASUREMENTS,
Misleading and Erroneous Assertions In
Growers Message the Tariff.

The man who would make the follow
ing statement in the most important po-
litical document which could possibly
be written, namely presidential mes
sage, whether made through ignorance
or malgnity, is utterly unfit to be chief
magistrate of this republic. Here is a
passage from the last presidential mes
sage: "Those who buy imports pay the
duty charged thereon into the public
treasury, but the great majority of our
citizens who buy domestic articles of
the same class pay sum at least ap
proximately equal to this duty to the
home manufacturer. This reference to
the operation of our tariff laws is not
made by way of instruction. but in
order That we may 10 constantly re-
minded of the manner in which they
impose burden upon those who con-
sumo domestic products, as we'll as those
who consume imported articles and thus
create tax upon all Our people,"
There is absolutely no general truth at
all In the above statement. 1t might be
thatJust after the imposition of a tariff
on an article of foreign manufacture,
the price paid to a domestic manufac-
turer for the same species of goods as
which tariff was imposed, would be
dearer by about the amount Of duty
levied on them; but the general tenden-
cy of protection is to cheaper and not
to make dear all articles of domestic
manufacture, and this can be fully
proved. Let US take two articles of
general use all over the country, and we
Will find how utterly they confute the
dogmatic assertion that every manufac-
tured domestic article is dearer by the
amount of the tariff imposed upon the
same kind of article when coming from
foreign countries. The two articles we
will take are cotton cloths and carpets.
Cotton manufactured articles are pro-
tected by a tariff which will average
about 40 per cent. ad yalorem all round
Carpets are protected by tariff averag-
ing about 90 per cent. ad valorem all
round. Yet cotton cloths are cheaper
and better in America than in any other
country in the world. American cot
tons are largely sold in China and Japan.
In the former of those countries, Eng
land has been selling cotton cloths for
generations; vet American cottons are
preferred to English cottons by the Chi
nese; and if America had the same IA
cilities for shipping cotton cloths to
China that England has, she would
| probably soon drive English cottons
from the markets of China. Now let us
take carpets. 1t is hardly more than
twenty years since America began to
manufacture carpets to any extent, but
to-day she stands ahead of any other
country in the world as a manufacturer
of carpets. In spite Of the fact that
there Is duty amounting to about 90
| per cent. ad valorem imposed on foreign
carpets coming into this country. car
pets are on the whole cheaper and better
/ in America than in Free Trade England
Low grades of carpeting are slightly
cheaper in England than here: but the
American goods are generally so much
better finished and so superior in pat
| terms. that. taking everything into con-
| sideration. they are absolutely cheaper
in America than in England, in spite of
protection amounting to 60 per cent.
ad valorem.
| Let Grover Cleveland, Frank Hurd
and England's other commercial and
political allies in America take these
| things to heart and ponder over them
Finertys Citizen.