Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1888-08-30
IARIEE AND TAX.
False Statements of the Free Trade Papers
Refuted-Good Reading for Farmers.


Refuted-Good Reading for Farmers.
The Chicago Inter Ocean, in reply to
studied and able effort on the part OF
the New York Herald to persuade the
farmers of the Northwestern States that
they were taxed by the tariff for the
purpose of protecting home manufac
lures: ''There is no tax levied for pro-
tective purposes. Not cent of the tax
for any such purpose. The Herald Jug
giles with the word tax as if 1t were the
equivalent of duty
To this the Herald makes rejoinder:
We have only TO warn our Western I'M
protected friendS-the great mass of the
farmers, mechanics and laborers in the
great West, as well as in other parts-not
to be deluded. A tariff duty is a tax By
levying it the government gets revenue.
In this there are two falsities; I. ssOur
Western unprotected friends" Now the
Inter ocean insists that neither the Her.
aid nor any other existing entity has any
"Western unprotected friends" The
segis of tariff covers the whole Nation;
1T protects the farmer, the laborer, and
the manufacturer
z. Every source from which a govern
ment gets revenue" is not necessarily
ga tax" He who contributes nothing
to any specific source of revenue can not
justly be said to be taxed to swell that
source of revenue It is of the essence
of taxation, as administered in all free
countries, at any rate, that all subjects
shall contribute to its volume in pro-
portion to the means of each; taxation
is universal as to adult male population,
though not bearing equally in degree
upon all adult males. Free traders
ought not to object to any theory adj
vanced by Adam Smith, and to that
economist we are indebted for this
sound enunciation of an equitable prin-
Giple of taxation.
But if every source from which the
government gets its revenue were "a
tax then licenses on stills, on sales of
tobacco and whisky would be taxes-a
proposition too violent for consideration
But, admitting it to be sound, for argu-
ment sake, in what way would those
who do not use whisky, tobacco. or the
products of stills be affected by what
the Herald is pleased to term 'Ftaxes?"
Clearly not at all. Which brings the
whole discussion back to the orr ginal as
sertion of the Inter Ocean, that the
operation of the tariff is not that of
a tax. 1t is just thrashing out old wheat
to restate the as yet unrefuted protec-
zionist doctrine: ''No protective duty
was over laid upon a single article, the
home manufacture of which grew to
large proportions under it, without the
price being cheapened-the duty thus
operating as a boon instead of tax"
All this is plain enough. But the Her.
aid and all other free traders tell the
farmer that though he does not pay duty
10 the custom-house on his purchase of
homemade goods, he does paw the
amount of duty levied on the foreign
article to the Americans manufacturer,
who, as they say, adds the tariff impost
to the cost of his wares. This has been
disprOved time and again. The duty on
imported cotton prints is 5 cents per
yard; but the price of American prints
of equal quality to English is often low
er than cents per yard, and very seldom
more than one cent above it. A mower
which sells in England at from $50 to
500 is sold here at from $75 to sos That
violent free trader, Consul SchoenOff, |
wrote, as late IS August IA, 1886: $50
far as clothing and dry goods in general
are concerned, l find that cotton goods
are fully as cheap in the United States
as here. He was writing from Eng
land. Then, after speaking of the lower
price of the finer and tailOr-made articles
of clothing in England, he continued,
The difference III the price of ready
made goods Is not so great. In
workmanship and finish [ find CORE
spending articles superior in the United
States" The truth is that If the Ameri-
can farmer or workman would consent
to wear the same class of goods as his
English Congener he could clOthe him
self as cheaply. But, fortunately. he
will do nothing of the kind; he doesn't
have 10; his income is larger and he
clothes himself better.
And now a word to "our unprotected
Western friends of the Herald. They
do not exist The Western farmer is
protected upon every pound of wool that
he raises, on every ton of hemp, bushel
of wheat, corn, potatoes, rye, or oats
that he sells; on every pound of cheese,
meat. and butter that he SELLS 1t is the
policy advocated by the Herald that
would establish class of unprotected
Western friends" That first essay
toward free trade, the Mills bill, of which
the Herald approves, removes protec-
tion from wool, hemp, meats. beeswax,
and numerous products of the farm.
The wool tariff has so developed great
farming industry that we now produce
50 per cent. of all the wool that our fac
tories consume, or 80 per cent. if we ex-
clude the imports of quality of wool
which we have not yet tried to produce.
The farmer of the west is at least as well
protected as the manufacturer of the
East.