The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1888-02-16
15,sO,4S6.

:. !. - IS 2.229. go
Dec. 81, IS $4,000.
1896, 1856.
To this long list Of failures might
have been added 10000 homes a
month for several Of these yeSrs from
the foreclosure Of and sales under
mortgages, from which the debtors
were unable to redeem. These FORE
closures and sales are the direct re-
suit Of contraction Of the currency
through various methods Of legisia-
ton little less than criminal. From
the numbers thus foreclosed, sold out
and saciiiced to the greed of Wall
Street, come the tenant faruters of
America, seventy thousand Of whom
are now in Iowa.
A Tariff is schedule Of tolls levied
on trade at the Custom Houses. Our
laws confine these tolls to taxes on
imports. AT present such taxes are
necessary because We cannot raise
sufficient revenue to defray the ex-
penses Of the government without
them. The controversy oyer the tar
i'll il supply whether this taxation
shall be limited to the amount OF
revenue required to support the gov.
eminent, or whether to encourage
certain eastern capitalists, it shall
make foreign products too dear for
exchange with American products,
and draw from the people more rev.
enue than the government needs or
knows what to do with. This il the
issue between tariff reformers aud
the followers Of Mr.. Kelley and
Blaine. The reforlners desire to as
certain the needs Of the government
and levy the taxes to meet them.
The Kelley and Blaine idea is to
make our taxes high enough to keep
up the prices OF foreign products and
then look up methods for spending
the money. The reforners say tax
for revenue; their opponents say for
protection.
The principle Of protection is to ia
vor American productions by making
foreign ones too dear to compete
with them. This enables home pro-
ducers to raise their prices to Il point
that makes production profitable.
Hence it is clear that whatever profit
producers make by this means must
be paid by the consumers.
or course all producers consume,
and most consumers produce, but
the things produced by the great
mass Of the American people are not
and never can be protected by tar
in. They are therefore simply con-
sumers Of protected commodities, and
whatever advantage IL given to the
producers of such articles Is given ut
their expense. A tariff is tax up
on those industries to which coun-
try and people are adapted for the
the benefit of industries to which it
is not adapted. For instance we cnn
beat the world in making clocks and
watches. but though We have tariff
OF IS per cent Oh Japanese fans: we
can never cope with japanese artists
in their production. Boots and shoes
can he made by our people in per.
lection. but though We levy tax Of
IS per cent on wooden villages, No.
abs Arks, and wooden horses made
by the hereditary wood carvers OF
the Swiss mountains, yet no pros
porous American worker can afford
to make them.
1t is az impossible for tariff tax to
help oil industries as for six men to
become rich picking each others
pockets Those Of theln who get
away with the Doodle Of the others
are to that extent improved in their
financial condition. but the others
IRE proportionateiy injnrad. SO. If
n ,ariff raises prices proportionasess
injured. So, If tariff raises prices
proportionat+ly all around no one IL
benefited thereby. II II because
prices are not raised all around, he.
cause some are protected und others
not, that anybody gains by tariff.
aud what one gains, somebody must
lose.
TIE farmer is the Chief loser. he
is absolutely unprotected and no
matter what may he the intention Of
our law makers snust 10 remain.
What he produces is either too bulky
or perisl,uble to I've putin competition
with foreign goods II produced in
suci, quatstixiex that they must be ex-
ported to find Il H.srilat the prices
are fixed III that market f.sasa;czs Vi
the American tariff. The .i:aericas,
wheat grower sells his wheat at the
Liverpool price, less the cost of trans
por:ation. The twenty cents tariff
never helps him n ceat. But whcl
he lays in his supplies it taxes him 40
to 30 per cent N. his clothes. ID on:I
his b ,ots, 30 to 10 un his hats. IS ets:.i
, ton Oh his coal, IS per cent on his