Roseburg review. [volume] (Roseburg, Or.) 1885-1920, 1888-08-31

case, the merchant who did business IN
that way would soon come to grief.
For instance there is duty of 60 /
per cent on some classes of woolen
goods. Suppose an importer invests
one hundred dollars in such goods in
when they are landed at the
custom house in New York, he pays |
the 60 per cent duty, he then has one
hundred and sixty dollars invested,
and when he sells he must make the |
same per cent profit on the sixty dol.
lars which he paid as duty as upon the |
hundred dollars invested in the goods, |
hence if his profits he twenty per cent
(which is very moderately he will sell
the goods for, one hundred and ninety
two dollars, where without the duty,
it would be only one hundred and
twenty dollars, the sixty per cent duty
has grown to be seyenty-two per cent,
the hrst time the goods have changed
hands, and this per cent (extort:onate
as it seems) will be increased if the
goods pass through more than one
merchants hands between the importer
and the consumer.
But our home manufacturer who
has so long been protected by the gov
ernment at the expense of TIE people,
and who, with his improved machinery
and skilled labor) statistics show can
manufacture goods as cheap as in
England does not have this sixty per
cent duty; but he takes advantage of
the duty on imports and adds sixty
per cent to the cost price, but it is
fcticious value there is no money in
vested; so he does not have to make
the twenty per cent duty on that sixty
dollars which the importer has to. con-
sequently he can increase the price of
his goods just the amount of the pro-
lection on that class and still undersell
the importer, this is precisely what
the manufactursrs are doing, and it is
because the money is coming their
way, that they want to continue tins
unjust system of taxation.
As before stated this surpzus reve-
nue. mot ally has amounted to $ll5,-
900, 900 and AS the most carefully pre-
pared statistics indicate that the mum
ufacturer receives five dollars to every
one the governments gets, it makes the
amount the manufacturers have re-
ceived in the year $575,000,0o0
add to this the Sl15, 100000 which has
gone into the treasury as a surplus, draw.
ing no interest, doingno one any good,
and we have a grand total S690,000,-
900 unjustly extorted from the people.
Now let us see if we can get this sum
in a shape that we can comprehend the
prodigious amount. The capacity of
an ordinary freight car is ten tons and
is thirty-two feet long, if this sum was
represented in silver dollars let US see
how many train loads of silver we
would have of thirty cars to the train,
and ten tons to the car. A silver
dollar weighs one ounce or sixteen dol
lars to the pound, hence in ten tons or
an ordinary carload there would be
$500, 900, now in S690,000,000 there
would be as many carloads as S320,O0O
(amount in one carload) is contained
in that sum or 2l56 carloads. Divide
them up into trainloads of 80 cars
each and we have II trains. Just
think of it, II trains of cars and thirty
cars in each train, and ten tens of sill
yer dollars in each car. Let us see
how many miles they would reach if
strung out one train behind the other
on straight track, allowing thirty-two
| feet for each car and fifty for each en-
CINE and tender.
/ We find by mathematical calcula-
ton that they would reach distance
of twelve miles. To load this amount
I
on wagons of one ton each, each wagon
to be drawn by two horses it would re-
quire u, $50 wagons, 43, l20 horses,
and strung out on road as close as
one team could walk behind another
they would reach over one hundred
miles. Is it any wonder that after
moro than twenty years Of this unjust
taxation that we find the money consol-
idated IN the hands of few, put there
at the expense of the manyl
Is it surprising that we lave strikesl
Industrious farmers are you sur.
prised that your productive farms are
mortgaged despite your economy and
self denlal2
is it strange that the great corpora
tions have money to loan upon farms
All the great mass of consolidated
wealth acts as great central magnet
and attracts more to it every year as il
earns not less than ten per cent o.
itself each year, thus at the end of ter
years the amount is doubled and tht
grip of the monopolist upon the people
is doubled with it and nearly thirty
years of protection, the strain is be
coming too strong to be borne and fru
Gal industrious farmers from the Allan
tie to the Pacific are beginning tt
J break; the mortgage Is taking thei
homes. In 1860 a mortgaged farm