Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1888-08-30


the tax received by the Government for the
use of the Government. In other words,
the whole country was taxed about 81 900,
900, 900 for the benefit of comparatively
small portion of the country. And that is
said 70 be justice; that is said to be fair
play; that is said to be for the benefit OF
the American people. Why don't they
carry it out? Why don't they, when they
find in Port Huron lawyer-I think
l may name them because / am lawyer
myself when they find one, the proceeds
of whose profession don't afford him and
his family a comfortable support-why
don't they tax you all for his benefit, so as
to protect him? Or when they find doc
tor whose income is not sufficient to sup
port him or his family, why don't they tax
all the people of Port Huron in order to
add to the wealth of that doctor? And 80
on with everything else Why don't they
do it? And yet they do tax man, or did
tax him, and do yet, pretty highly some
times, on the medicine that he is obliged
to take. / remember one Of the most sat-
isfactory votes that cast when in the SEN
ate of the United States was to abolish the
tax on quinine, so that man with the
fever and sgue could have his quinine
without being robbed of his means of sub
sistence. Applause.
WAVES THE BANDANA.
know there are few cases, but they
are very few and exceptional and not of
sufficient Importance to make it necessary
for me to speak of them to-day, in the
limited time have to speak, in which the
duty or tariff tax is not all paid by the
consumer, but they are so trihing in
amount and so insignificant that it is not
necessary that l should occupy your time
with them. The principle, the general
fact, is that this tax-(Here the speaker
was interrupted by cheering and applause
which followed his producing bsndana
handkerchief) Well, gentlemen, this is
a good, honest handkerchief, and could
have bought it good deal cheaper if it
had not been for the tariff tax. Great
laughter and prolonged cheering
Now, there are men who say the con-
sumner don't pay the tax. have said that
that is a most audacious assertion, and
have tried to show you that he must neces-
sarily pay the tax. But if they want au-
thority upon that subject let me refer to
some men who have spoken upon it and
whose words will hardly be gainsaid.
First, l will 90 back to John Quincy Ad-
ans, and daresay there are plenty of Re-
publicans and some Abolitionists in this
crowd who have great veneration for that
mans memory. knew him well; served
in the House of Representatives with him,
and know how intelligent he was, and
know how frank and outspoken he was.
In the year 1882 he was Chairman of the
House Committee on Manufactures, and
he said in report made by him in that
year:
1.-The doctrine that duties of import SEEN
to cheaper the price of the article on
which they are levied seems to conflict
with the first dictates Of common sense.
The duty constitutes part of the price,
the whole mass of the article in the mar
ket. 1t is substantially paid upon the
article of domestic manufacture, as we'll as
upon that of foreign production. Upon
one it is bounty, upon the other burden,
and the repeal of the tax must operate as
an equivalent reduction of the price of the
article, whether foreign or domestic. We
say so long as the importation continues,
the duty must be paid by the purchaser
of the article The general and per-
manent effect must be to increase
the price of the article to
the extent of additional duty, and it is
then paid by the consumer If it were
not so, if the general effect of adding to the
duty was to reduce the price of the article
upon which it is levied, the converse of
the proposition would also be true, and
the operation for increasing the price of the
domestic article would be to repeal the
duty on the same article imported, an ex-
pertinent which the friends of our internal
industry will not be DESTROYS of making.
We cannot subscribe, therefore, to the doc
trine that the duties of imports, protective
of our own manufacturers, are paid by the
foreign merchant or manufacturer.
ANOTHER HIGH AUTHORITY.
But John Quincy Adams knew better,
and he was too honest man to make such /
a false pretense. Well, what said President
Arthur? In his annual message to Congress |
in 1928 President Arthur said:
81 recommend an enlargement Of the free |
list; that is, of goods that pay no duty-so |
as to include within it the numerous ar
ticles which yield an inconsidersble rev.
enue a simplifcation Of the complex and |
inconsistent schedule of duties upon GER
tain manufactures, particularly those Of
cotton, iron and steel, and a substantial |
reduction of the duties upon those articles
and upon sugar, molasses, wool and wooden
goods"
Well, that is precisely what the Demo
Gratis are striving to do That is precisely
what the Mills bill, as it is called, attempts
to do; and vet these gentlemen who are