Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1888-08-25
OPEN!
fCnniinued from Second Paae.l

IN'"te"tt .I'V"s SSNN''N 'JN'I
We are told that high tariff makes the
country richer, 81 if it were possible to
make country rich by oppresslyely taxing
lts people. Applause Amt that new
way tn make man rich? To run your
hand into his pocket and tske out what
YOU fiud there, and that without any just
reason whatsoever tor doing so? Is not that
a singular way to make anybody rich?
I Applause Aud yet that is precisely the
plan that these people tell US is the plan to
adopt to enrich this country; that this
country is TO be made wealthy by means OF
high taxation. Again, they have the sudac'
ity to say that this tariff tax is not paid by
the consumers of the article which IL taxed.
Why, il the consumsrso of these taxed ar
ticles do not pay the tax, / would like to
know whe does Do the protectiouist or
ators pay il? Do the manufacturers pay III
Who pays it if the people who consume the
articles taxed do not pay it? No man car
answer that question to the satisfaction
Here note was handed to the speaker
A LADY'S SURPLUS REDUCED.
Judge Thurman - Gentlemen, L an
afraid there are some high protectioDisti
in this audience, for y note II sent up fol
me to read as follows: "A lady has Just
had her pocket picked, and she thinks 1t II
those high tariff scOOpers." l believe n
is, or some such word. | hope that high
tariff fellow who has taken that money
will be caught aud made to refund before
he leaves Port Huron. Great laughter
and cheering
Now, my friends, if you will reflect for 8
moment you will see that it is necess rlly
the case that the tariff taxes are paid bY
the consumers of the articles which arr
taxed, and of all domestic articles OF like
sind which are manufactured 10 thu
United States For it IS q curious fact
and one of the worst things about thu
tariff tax, that, while the government gets
81 resulting from the tax, the domestic
manufacturers get s., as 1t is best estima
ted, that never goes into the Treasury at
all Great cheering.
Well, how does tins happen? A mar
called an importer brings goods into the
United States TO be sold. He cannot sci
= ward ur q pound until he pays the tariff
tax. He pays the tax. therefore, and ther
srlls 10 the Wholesale merchant. Or cnurss
ne must get this tax back in the prices fol
when be sells or he would lose money anC
his business would break up at once. tie
would stop it. And therefore he puts the
tax onto the original cost of the goods,
md with that price added and with toe
coat of transportation and his reason
able commercial profits, he sells those
goods 10 the wholesale merchant
The Wholesale merchant sells To the
retail merchant, and OF course this tax
which enters into the price continues III the
prlce, and to ID is added the profit OF the
merchant. Then the retail merchant sells
To on, and OF course he must keep within
the price, for otherwise he would sell fol
less than he gave for the goods, and no mar
of sense would do that Therefore the tax
is in when the cloth is sold to You, and you
IN the price you pay this retail merchant
for the goods, pay the whole OF the tariff
Tax, the importers profit, the wholesale
merchants profit and the retail merchant
profit, besides interest on the money. II
- IA plain as that two and two make four
i'll were q sehoolmsster, and teaching
boy ten years old, and he could not under
-tand that with ten minutes instruction,
wonld give him mp rs q hopeless idiot.
TGreat laughter and applause
WHAT THE FIGURES SAY.
Well, that now is the fact in respect tG
this. How much do you pay? WHY, the
amount of goods imported into the United
Sratss-of dutiable goods-in the year
1887, the last year for which We have any
returns, were in value $3.50, S25, 422. The
tariff duties collected were $2l2 032, 42i
There were, therefore, in that single yeal
taxes levied in the United States by the
operation of this tariff law Of $2l2, OS2, 424
which went into the Treasury of the
United States. But that, rs / have told
you, was the least part of the bur-
den. The domestic manufacturers
of the same kind Of commodities
amounted that year to $3.50 5I9, l9l {.
That IL, in other words, to S, 369, 600, 600,
snd as the price of those goods was raised by
the tariff in nearly equal proportions to the
price of the goods that were imported into
the country, the amount which the people
paid in these high prices of what they had
TO buy and had to use, amounted to y, OOO,'
0O0, 600, or to about five times as much as
the tax received by the Government for the
use Of the Government. In other words,
the whole country was taxed about III goo,
O00, 900 for the benefit of comparatively
small portion Of the country. And that u
said TO be Justice; that is said to be fan
| - -
nj 4 a. MANY 4