Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1888-09-29
ARE THE FARMERS FooLs7
Neao York Press.

| Inc ETeSS mas De6n called on Dy not
less than six readers to reply to that
foot in.the.graye old chestnut about
the farmer being taxed 50 per cent,
on his flannel shirt, 81 per cent. on
his coat, &c. Incredible as it may
seem to intelligent people, the Dem.
ocratic National Committe is insult
ing the intelligence of the farmers Of
of this State by circulating an ex.
ploded relic OF Free Trade argument.
The object of this shallow circular
is to make the farmer believe the
Free Trade theory enunciated by
Grover Cleveland that the price of
domestic product is increased by ex-
actly the amount of the duty.
Here is the practical outcome OF
the concentrated wisdom of the Nat.
ional Committee. A common fan
mel shirt costs IN England IS. Cd, or
81 cents. The cost here would be
nearly double, or s1.6S. The actual
price is 81.
A common suit Of clothes in Eng.
land 30s., or $3.50. The cost here.
therefore would be $3.50. The
actual cost is $3.50, same as in Eng
land. An all.wool $40 suit such as
that exhibited by Major Mckinley
costs just f2, or 80, in London.
In England common boots costs
6s. $3.50 and fair ones los. $3.50.
Instead of costing one.third more
here the price is S1.25 for we'll made
brogans and $3.50 for fair boots.
A IS. Cd. (S4 cents) hat in Eng.
land can be got here for 81, and it
does not cost nearly SO, as asserted.
A tin bowl costing lOd., or 20 cts,
in England can be got here for about
the same price, or at most 20 cents.
On the other hand, kitchen utensils
as whole are cheaper in this country
than in England, our ingenuity in
making such articles being greater
than it is in England.
A cheap cotton towel in this tax.
ridden land. quality for quality, costs
less here than IN England. The
Press can prove this to the satisfac-
tion of all.
The lie about thread is stale aud
Improbable one. Here is what the
Grafton Linen Mills, who have
places on both sides of the Atlantic.
say on this subjet awe sell a
large proportion of the product of
our mills at Grafton, Mass, at prices
that are as low absolutely as prices
obtained in Britain for similar quail.
ties made at our mills in tombstone,
Scotland" Wages here are 100 per
cent. higher.
All knit goods are cheaper here
than in England, especially jerseys
such as women wear. So are the
commoner grades of stockings and
socks.
American farming implements of
all kinds are exported and sold in
competition with English. They
are better, more ingeniously made,
more durable and cheaper than the
farming implements of any country
in the world.
American cutlery is imported by
and sold in England. Does not this
prove that the price is no higher
than English cutlery! Pottery and
window glass cost One.third what
they did when we depended on
England to manufacture the articles
for us. The difference in the price
to-day is not the duty.
Sugar is a Democratic industry,
and rice " taxed" 102 per cent. is
carefully ignored. The Republicans
repealed half the internal tax onto
bacco in 1888, and would have re.
pealed the balance last session only
Speaker Carlisle refused to recog.
nize Judge Kelly for this purpose.
What folly, therefore, to talk about
1919 per cent. on chewing tobacco. In
Free Trade England the workman
pays 1000 per cent. on bis tobacco,
Blankets vary in cost here from
81 to So a pair. The retail price in
England is practically the same, and
the blankets compare favorably
that is, a pair of S. blankets here
would cost about FL, its equivalent,
in England. The Government, in a
recent purchase of blankets made
abroad, discovered the difference in
the price was only 80 cents a pair.
A calico dress can be bought in
this country as low as six cents per
yard, a sum equivalent to the duty.
If the price is increased by the
amount of the duty, calico dresses
costs nothing in England. And yet
th people go ragged. The fact
is they cost more in England than
here. And this is true of all staple
cotton goods. A stuff dress can be
bought here as low as ten cents, and
the duty is II cents. Thus on the
theory that the duty is a "tax," in,
England these dresses are given
away and Z cents a yard bonus for
taking them.
An example even more astonish-
ing is found IN fact that while chlor-
oform iS Snhioct tO n dutv of IN cants