Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1888-08-24

confined to single topic, not that there
is but one thing that might sttract
your attention in this cam pslgn, but there
Is one trauscendent theme about which
so much is said that the people are eager
TO learn exactly what Is the truth
! [ refer to the tariff question. / presume
there is no man IL this vast aUdier ce who
does not know what Is meant by the word
"taIIf,' and Yet It can DO as no harm if
| | oegln by the definition of what is tar
If. tariff, my friends, Is 10 hing more
than a tax levIs d BY the general govern
ment upon lrnpUrratio1S brought into
| he United States for sale. The effect on
| which is TO raise the price
of every single commodity thus
i'm ported, also the prices OF all domes-
tic commodities OF the the same nature
made within the United S ates. This tax
Is paid by he consumer of the article.
When your state tax is levied on the
property, 1t is psd by the property.
The man of msch property pays much
more than the man of little property.
But tarIff is tax thst is paid by the
Consumer of the SO called articles. H
pays 1t ia the price he yes for every
protected article he buys. Let me suppose
tor instance, by way of illustration, thai
enough cloth TO make q suit OF clothes
he pays for it say ten dollars. He brings
1t to the United Safes. Before he Can
even get it out of the custom house at the
place where he lands, he must
pay on that s tax called tariff and the
probability Is among the enormous rates
! on the schedule on wooden goods that he
will pay tax of not less than sixty cents
on the dollar, so that by the time one of
you buy this cloth You have to pay from
SIG to $50 for that which originally cost
$40. So here has been 4 tax lm posed on
the consumer, which amounts in effect TO
nearly or quite rs much as the original
cost of the goods. There are men auda-
clous enough to say that
nigh protective tariff is for the
beueit of the laboring man.
Why in the name of all that is common
sense and reason, how can the laboring
man be aided by a tax that begins with
the crown of his head and extends to the
sOles OF his feet, and taxes everything.
How III the name of heaven can it be that
the laboring man is benefited by such
tax. OF all hunnbugs by which men
were attempted to be deceived
this humbug is the greatest | ever heard
of. But says some one, it enables the
manufacturers 70 pay higher wages and
therefore Is a benefit to the >labOring
men. Did on ever know any manufac-
tvrer thas paid higher wages to his hands
because of an increase of the tariff?
There Is man named Barnum
IN this country who has gathered
together in his show more curiosities
than perhaps can be found in any other
single place on the face of the earth, but
among all his Curiosities he has never
found such curiosity % the manUfic
turer who paid higher wages to his hands
because OF q raise in the tariff. Another
one of the deCeptions of these tariff or
high protection orators is to say that
the consumer does not pay the tax.
If he don't pay it, who does? 4 man who
stands fair i'll your community and who
has face that would license him as a
preacher, will get no before his fellow
citizens aud tell them that a high tariff
lessons the price of commodities. If SO,
why are all manufacturers III favor of a
high tariff? Do they want to re
duce the price OF their own goods?
These people come before you end draw
a glowing picture of the wealth and pros
perity Of our country. That is all very
we'll, indeed, although it W ruld be little
fairer if they would give tn" other side .;
the picture and show how the agrIcul
tural Interests and the value of aEricul
tural property has so wonderfully de-
creased since they had this high tariff in
operation. How can a country be made
rich by the government taxing It's
people far beyond any necessity thai the
government has tor taxation? How can
II be that you can be made rich hy Uncle
Sam thrusting his hands in your pockets
and taking from you far more than is nee
essary for the Support of the government?
There are now $1I5000 600 locked up in
the treasury beyond the amount that the
government needs for it's expenditures.
Ii il we're in the pockets of the people,
where 1t belongs, it would be used in
business, and for other nectssi
ties, which Tonld make tens
of thousands comfortable who
are now in destItutiOn and want. But 1t
is time for me- to stor. [ am to be fol
lowed by gentleman whom
commend TO your earnest and care
full attention. | have the pleas
ure OF presenting Hon. Joseph
Il. Outhwaite, of Columbus, and now, gen
tlemen, thank you for your kind atten-
tion.
At the conclusion of Judge Thurman's
speech, Congressman Cultivate and Hon.
P. &. Young spoke on campaign topics,
the crowd remaining until late hour.