The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-01-01
PROTECTIVE TARIFF.
Does Such a Tax Benefit the
I Country?
ITS FALEACIES BROUGHT OUT.
Professor Paul Cutters Into
Thorough ..iscussiou of the
Much Mooted Question.
BY J. b. PAUL.

BY J. Il. PAUL.
The protective tariff is special tax
laid on articles of foreign production
that come into our markets. The object
of this special tax is to raise the price OF
the articles taxed till they can pro6tably
be produced in our own country. 1t Is
proposed to investigate the protective
tariff and to determine whether or not
such tax Is beneficial to the country at
large.
I.-oF TAXES IN GENERAL.
A tax is certain value paid by citi-
zens to the State for the protection it
affords them. Any government can
and does tax only its own subjects. A
government may, in q negative fashion,
reduce the profits of citizens of other
countries, but it cannot collect money
from them. 1t must be born in mind,
then, that when our government leYies
tax on foreign goods, aUe pay the tax,
not the foreigners who make the goods.
We often hear men say, Germany
taxes our products, let US tax hers to
get even with her" This amounts to
saying that Germany taxes such sub
jects OF hers as use our goods, so let US
tax our subjects to make the loss even.
Adam Smith laid down four fundamen
f.l MI nf 70 a
ness of which statesmen hitherto have
never disputed. Whoever thinks it
worth his while may read the complete
demonstration of their truth in Smiths
Wealth of Nations" Briefly these
canons of taxation are as follows:
Taxes should, if possible, DE equal.
2.-They should be definite in amount
mot uncertain or variab le.)
3-They should be collected, as far as
pjss b e, at the time most convenient %
he pater so as not TO crlpuie the pro-
cess of production
4.-The state ought to obtain IS much
as possible of the Who'll. al unit that IS
really levied from the taX-pAyer.
| claim that IN gectlve tariff
grossly violates three Of these four rules
of taxation almost In their entirety and
partially violates the other one. rro
tective taxes are not equal; their very
purpose il to act unequally. Pney are
not definite III amount, varying In
loose wdN from year TO year. The state
derives the least ALI from them OF any
taxes eyied. i'll proportion to the amount
really paid by the tax pay.r. Finally
these taxes SERIOUSLY in erfere with the
process of production. Protective
taxes are hostile to revenue because
their purpose is to prevent impUTta
tons The moment. however, that d
tariff begins t. have this effect. it pre-
vents revenue. Hence where protsc-
tion begins here revenue ends. It
will be granted. think, that If the no
tective tag has no { ff-ct In ex ludlIg the
taxed artl lie. tits = failure Yet large
portion the protective tariff IS of this
uatuT.'. just a. much of the taxed article
b ing inIpof cd as before this tax was
laid upon Il, and no n"me II dustry IN
tuAt arucle mas originated and proOably
aver Will In this case, the tax Cor
what is lefi OF Il after pa. ing the Gus
Clubhouse oihcers) goes TO support he
government. Therefore, 1t is only to
he extern, that the tariff fails in its OBJ
iz-ct that the government derives any
ming !.uIu / Finally. It should not De
forgotten hat pros ct'v- tariffs are not
levied for the supporl OF the govern
menL, nor are fheY nec>sSary to that
end.
Just consider" .nys unner, what
taxa ION is We pay taxSs III The first
pla, for the ne essay organization OF
SOci, tx tha ~ e. HAY set together and
uot ut c.oss purposes like & mob; but II
that were all the STATE had to DO t.Xes
would he vsrv rms't. We must support
:uurts and police a.,'f army and navy.
FLess We ne=,i for peace and Justice and
>eruriIv Bat suppose there were none
ma. rad the will - rob, swlndle, cheat,
or 90 violence and the Expenditures
urder this head would dwindle to uotn
ing. It follows that taxes are the
tribute we paw o ayarice, violence,
apine etc. Taxes are only.tho evils
translated into ruorey and spread over
t:... community. They are loss and
ussLs, to almost their entire extent. !"
He. clres in another place the favorits
rnu c,ionist propositions:
The United States is the richest
G, untry in the world in natural e.
sources and has only q sparse popula-
ton.
2-This favored country is in great
distress.
3.-What it needs is more taxation 10
enable its people to get a livingout of it.
The protective tag on sugar in one
wear was $50, 600, 600; in the same year
SIS 600 600 was the total yield of sugar II
the United States, To support this
great industry of $5OO0,0O0 a year we
pay a tax of $50 100000 year. If we
could suppress sugar growing and giys
the planters SIS, 900 900 to do nothing, We
should save $45,000,000 year and still
get the same amount of sugar. But
you say, the government gets this 49,
GOO, 600; no, the custom-house men gel
most OF it. Or, it may be urged, We
have furnished our citizens with sc
much more work by this means, and We
must have work. No! The less wort
we can get along with, the better for us
| 1t isn't work we want, but results. VIZ
want wealth and leisure; weshall Away:
! find plenty Of work.
The notion that there is some way t
increase our wealth by taxation has hat
a full trial among US, and the history O
100 wears in the United States gives full
refutation of that fallaey. We hav'
| protected infant industries by taxation
for nearly a century. To-day they ar
| IS, =