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

live, but do say that some people some
times seem to lose their senses 30 that they
cannot see the truth and often unfortu.
nstely cannot speak it. Laughter and
applause.
Now, Just think of it for one moment.
We are told that high tariff makes the
country richer. a. if it were possible to
make q country rich by oppressively taxing
its people. Applsuse. Amt that new
way to make Q man rich? To run your
hand into his pocket and take ont what
you find there, and that without any Just
reason Whatsoever for doing SO? Is not that
a singular way to make anybody riehi
Applause. And yet that is precisely the
plan that these people tell rs is the plan tC
adopt to enrich this country; that this
country is to be made wealthy by means Of
high taxation. Again, they have the audsc
ity to say that this tariff tax is not paid by
the consumers of the article which is taxed.
Why, If the consumers of these taxed ar
ticles do not pay the tax, would like Il
know whe does. Do the protectionist or,
ators pay il? Do the manufacturers pay iii
Who pays it if the people who consume the
articles taxed do not pay it? No man CAR
answer that question to the satisfaction
Here note was handed to the speaker.
LADY's SURPLUS REDUCED.
Judge Thurman - Gentlemen, I am
afraid there are some high protectionists
in this audience, for q note is sent MP for
me to read as follows: "a lady has Just
had her pocket picked, aud she thinks it ID
those high tariff scoopers." I believe il
is, or some such word. / hope that high
tariff fellow who has taken that money
will be caught and made to refund before
he leaves Port Huron. Great laughter
and cheering
Now, my friends, if you will reflect for q
moment You will see that it is necess srily
the case that the tariff taxes are paid by
the consumers of the articles which are
taxed, and of all domestic articles of like
kind which are manufactured in the
United States. For it is q curious fact,
and one of the worst things about this
tariff tax, that, while the government gets
81 resulting from the tax, the domestic
manufacturers get S., as it is best estima-
ted, that never goes into the Treasury at
all. Great cheering.
Well, how does this happen? A man
called an importer brings goods into the
United States to be sold. He cannot sell
yard or pound until he pays the tariff
tax. He pays the tax, therefore, and then
sells to tho Wholesale merchant OF course
he must get this tax back in the prices for
which he sells or he would lose money and
his business would break mp at once. He
would stop it. Aud therefore he puts the
tax onto the original cost of the goods,
and with that price added and with the
cost of transportation and his reason.
able commercial profits, he sells those
goods to the wholesale merchant.
The wholesale merchant sells TO the
retail merchant, and of course this tax
which enters into the price continues in the
price, and to it is added the profit of the
merchant. Then the retail merchant sells
to you, and of course he must keep within
the price, for otherwise he would sell for
less than he gave for the goods, and no man
of sense would do that. Therefore the tax
is in when the cloth is sold to You, and you,
in the price you pay this retail merchant
for the goods, pay the whole Of the tariff
tax, the importers profit, the Wholesale
merchants profit and the retail merchants
profit, besides interest on the money. II
il IA plain as that two and two make four
If were schoOlmaster, and teaching q
boy ten years old, and he could not under
stand that with ten minutes instruction,
l wonld give him up as hopeless idiot.
Great laughter and applause.
WHAT THE FIGURES SAY.
Well, that now is the fact in respect te
this. How much do you payP Why, the
amount Of goods imported into the United
States-of dutiable goods-in the yeal
1887, the last year for which we have any
returns, were in value $3.50, 325, 422. Thu
tariff duties collected were $212, 032, 424
There were, therefore, in that single yea
taxes levied in the United States by tn,
operation of this tariff law Of $2l2, ,032, 424
which went into the Treasury of the
United States. Bat that, as have told
you, was the least part of the bur
den. The domestic manufacturer,
of the same kind of commodities
amounted that year to S., 1859. $40, l 81
That is, in other words, to S., 1886, OOO, ,OOO
and as the price of those goods was raised by
the tariff in nearly equal proportions to the
price Of the goods that were imported into
the country, the amount which the people
paid in these high prices of what they had
to buy aud had to use, amounted to 81 ,O00,'
000, 900, or to about five times ss much a,
the tax received by the Government for the
use of the Government. In other words,
the whole country was taxed about 81 ,0O0,.
000, 900 for the benefit of a comparatively
small portion of the country. And that ID
said to be Justice; that is said to be fail
play; that is said TO be for the benefit oi
the American people. Why don't they
carry it out9 Why don't they, when they
find in Port Huron lawyer-I think
l may name them because am lawyer
myself-wben they find one, the proceed;
of whose profession don't afford him and
his family q comfortable support-why
dom they tax you all for his benefit, 80 a.
to protect him? Or when they fiud doc.
tor whose income is not sufficient to sup
port him or his family, why don't they tai
all the people of Port Huron in order "
add to the wealth Of that doctorf And &C
on with everything else. Why don't they
do il? And yet they do tax map, or did
tax him, and do yet. pretty highly some
times, on the medicine that he is Obliged
to take. remember one of the most sst
isfactory votes that / cast when in the Sen
ate of the United States was to abolish The
tax on quinine, 30 that man with the
fever and sgue could have his quinins
without being robbed Of his means of sub
sistenoe. Applsuse
WAVES THE BANDAHA.
know there are few cases, but they
are very few and exceptional and not Of
sufficient importance to make IL necessary
tor me to speak Of them to-day, in the
limited time have TO speak, in which the
duty or tariff tar Is not all paid by the
consumer, but they are 80 trifiEg in
amount and 80 insignificant that II is no,
necessary that should occupy your tims
with them. The principle, the general
fact, is that this tax-(Here the speaker
was interrupted by cheering and applause
which followed his producing bsndana
haudkerchief) Well, gentlemen, this il
q good, honest handkerchief, and / could
have bought II Q good deal cheaper IL II
had not been for the tariff tar. [Great
laughter and prolonged cheering
Now, there are men who say the con-
d.