Semi-weekly south Kentuckian., 1888-08-21

: Y53, ,OOO,OOO OF the T2l2UUU,UVO OF taNc
that are now paid on the total o
: $450000,000 of imports. This is al
average reduction of say III per cent
on the imports, and of % per cent. o
the rate of taxes. The Commission
recommended that from 20 TO % pc
cent. be taken of. They meant from
: the income. You see il talllcs. Blu
as our taxes are largely specific, ant
as prices arc higher now than then
we don't propose TO do really as mucl
as the commission said was needed
by the country and would be bene
fetal to our working people, for they
would have left the rate of protection
at say 81 per cent, and our bill as first
offered left it at 40 per cent"
"What was the rate of the tariff
when the commission made its reco'
lamentations !"
"a little over ~ per cent. as com
pared with over AZ per cent. nOw."
"Now coming back to the changes
made since the bill was first formula
ted, what would be the average
amount of duty left after these
Changes."
"The average duty on the taxed
list would be over ~ per cent, or as
high as it was in 1883, when the
Tariff Commission said it was from
20 to 25 per cent. too high for the best
interests of our laboring people. To
be exact, il now would be left at 42 -
per cent, as compared with ~ 81 for
the six months prior TO the RECON-
mendations of the commission z"
"What about the claim that any
reductions will impair the command
of the home marketp'
"Tbat was practically answered in
what | said at the outset, But | will
take it up as covered by our bill from
this standpoint. Apart from the
question of things VIC don't make,
and coming to a necessary article that
we do make, suppose the tax
on iron and steel rails were
twice or three times what it
is, and the steel-rai combination put
up the prices to the point of the for
eign price with the increased duty
added, then the foreigner could come
in for a part of the market just as he
does now. Railroad iron is neces-
sary ofbusiness and We would have to
have it at almost any price. The only
tax then that would shut out all i'm
ports of necessaries is tax that
would enable a monopoly to charge
our people far more than the indus
try really or honestly needs. Even
at this rate imports would likely
come in from time TO time. We now
import alittlc of some articles that are
actually taxed 500 per cent. The cry
you have quoted will always remain
while the people have life and the
monopolies have neither heart nor
conscience. But it is The position of
the Chicago platform, for the Repub-
lican says they will, abolish the entire
internal revenue taxes, il remem-
Der the exact words, before they will
surrender any part of the protective
system Now, the system consist
solely of the existing rates and regu-
lations. Our opponents go further
and propose to make the rates higher.
All of this is new doctrine, just as
the claim you speak of about the
home market is new claim"
TIE TRUE THEORY OF PROTECTION.
"Some articles need protection in
order 10 keep control of the home
market, and some don't. Let us take
the two kinds, one at time.
"lf we make any article cheaper
than other people do and then
protect il, we certainly do for that
article what it does not need. The
only result is to build up a needless
wall behind which combinations may
be formed to unduly put up prices
on our own people, and thus TO re
duce the consumsiOn of the articll
in question. This means, in turn, Il
reduce the amount of production
and this means to reduce the demand
il would naturally and justly allort
for labor. This robs the consumer
Q turns the laborer out half the time h
{ look for a job where he best can flint
| it and reduces his wages, reduces th
( wages of other laborers with whom
e he is made to compete; and as the
e are also consumers, they catch il ais
4 on that side when they go TO spen,
n what money they do earn. This Gel
l tainly serves no good or public puI
/. pose
s "Now take an article that need
T. protection. The first question il
s how much does it need? 1t does IL
: good to say that Chinaman with
Y bamboo needle works for so much
day against our women with shuttle
# driven by steam for so much a day
h or, as to foreign labor, that an oil
1 woman here or young child Their
C or some cripple yonder, too battere
J. up or infirm TO be conscripted int
Is a despot's army-to merely say thi
v any or all of these work (when the
|. do work., at so much a day or weel
Il These figures don't prove anything
C The question is, which makes the al
f ticle the cheaper? Having settle
# this, the only public claim is that W
u need enough protection TO fairly an
i fully cover the difference. If you 9
;, beyond this difference you go
If needless length. BY common confe
Is sion you then do needless and,
# the working people and the concur
era, you do hurtful thing, with M
)" a single feature in it 10 pay thel
: back for the injury done them. WI
n needs this? Nobody. Who can d.
70 sire it2 Only the proprietor who
y wholly given TO selfishness, or Il
g workingman who looks at thingslil
II some Cinnamon in Hong Kong
e Pekin. When YOU 90 beyond IL
+ protective point you don't get al
better command of the home market
Q you only hurt il after you have a
- ready commanded il. In that cas-
d we have what may be called tw
y walls. One may be called the Amel
IS lean wall, the other is now tho CHI
d nese wall. This latter was built u