Evening journal., 1888-09-25
THEY CHANGED THEIR TUNE.

Fifty-tive years ago the great leaders
of the Calhoun school Of political
economy took the ground that the ex-
porters paid the duty Of the tariff system
They argued that the Southern planters
did nlost Of the exporting with their
cotton that this cotton paid for the
foreign importations which were etaxed"
about 90 per centum when they reached
this country, and that, therefore, their
cotton which was exchanged for the
foragn goods suffered the burdens
of the 90 per centum tariff The
federal tariff was therefore just as
burdensome upon them as a special levy
by the government directly on their cot
ton would have been On the strength
Of this argument they shook the peace
and prosperity Of the whole land South
Carolina threatened to secede and it
would have seeded had not Calhoun and
his free trade associates been afraid that
President jackson, who was stauneh
protectionist. would hang them as he in
turn had threatened TO do
To-day the leaders Of the Calhoun
theory Of political economy ignore the
ground taken by Calhoun, McDuiiie and
the other nullifers and claim that it is
the northern mechanic and laborer chiefly
who pay the tariff duties. 1t is the
poor fellow who carries his purchased
molasses home in bottle and who buys
woolen socks for his boys that pays the
tariff exactions The South exports
more cotton than 1883 aud the West
sends out infinitely more wheat and beef
but neither Of these sections. is Il
claimed now, pays the tariff. The modern
tariH reformeF has discovered that his
feachers and leaders Of fifty years ago
were mistaken and that they proceeded
10 wreck the Union on q false essump.
~tion. AT any rate the mudurn free trader
does not use the old argu-
ments. Probably the war taught him
shat the old sectional argument is not
safe. He had one apple ont Of that
bag. It grew on that famons tree at Ap-
pomattax Had Buchanan and not Jack
son been President in 1882 Calhoun would
have tried the same tricks and probably
plucked the same Dead sea fruit which
Jefferson Davis, Mr. Mills and the Breck-
enndges plucked in 1863
Their cry to day is that labor and not
exports are taxed-taxed at least
40 per ccntum. Is 1t not possible that
Messrs Mills, Vance and Breckenridge
are as much mistaken in their prop
osition as their elders were mistaken
when they claimed that exports, and
Southern exports at that, paid all the
tariff dutiesg Ii is net only possible, but
ii is positively 50, They are mistaken.
Mr. Vance said, for example, on Satur-
day evening, that the poor working
man was taxed 70 per centum on
the prints which his wife and
children wore. Cotton prints, good ones,
ean be bought at cents per yard. Sew
enty per centum of cents is 81 cents.
Hence the prints are actually worth only
cents minus 81 cents or II cents a yard.
This is preposterous; but it looks even
worse for the backwoods statesmen
when it is remembered that
the duty on prints is Al
and 8 cents per yard specific. Calico
prints that one can buy at Al cents q
yard are taxed" . cents yard. Hence
according to Senator Vances argument.
in case this Scent tariff should be re
moved from prints, the merchants Of VII
mington viii let their customers have
4s-cent print for nothing and pay then
One-half cent yard to carry it away
This is according to Senator Vance'i
argument According to common
sense it does not hold water. The truth
is that the workingman does not pay on,
mill Of tax on yard Of calico, notwith
standing the heavy tariff duty. He /,
buying his calico just as low as il is pos
sible. It wiz never be lower than it il
now. 1t has reached rock bottom
through American competition, mad,
possible and inspired wholly by the Amer
ican system of protection.