Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1888-09-06

Chairman OF the House Committee on
Manufactures, and in a report made by
him in that year he said: "The doctrine
that duty on Imports serves to cheaper the
prices of commodities watch they are
levied upon seems to conflict with the first
dictates OF common sense" Laughter
Thedut constitutes part Of tho price of
the whole mass of article in market. It is
substantially paid on the article of do
nestle manufacture, and as well as upon
foreign production. Upon one it is duty,
upon the other it is a burden, and the re-
peal of the tax must operate as an equiva-
lent 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 genuine and prom nent effect
must be to increase the price of the article
to the extent of the additional duty, and it
is then paid by the consumer. II it were
not so, if the general effect of adding on \
duty were to reduce the price of articles up
on which it was levied, the converse of the
proposition would also be true, and the op-
GRAFTON for reducing the price of the domes-
tic article would be to repeal the duty on
some article imported. We can not sub
scribe, therefore, to the doctrine that du-
ties of imports are paid by foreign mer-
chants or manufacturers. And yet there
are scores-I don't know but there are
hundreds-of men perambulating the coun-
try or speaking in the halls of Congress to-
day who tell you that this tax is paid by
the importer or by the foreign manufact-
urer. John Quincy Adams knew better,
and he was too honest a man to make such
q false preterse. Well, what said Presi-
dent Arthur! He was q good Republican.
In his annual message to Congress in 1882
or 1883, he said: 81 recommend the en-
largement of the free list That is, all
Ia nat Or1fU IN
within it the numerous art cles VIII -ch yield
inconSiderable revenue, simplihcation OF
the complex and inconsistent schedule of
duties on certain manufactures, particu-
larly on cotton, iron and steel, and sub
stantial reduction on those articles and
upon sugars, molasses, woodland woolcn
goods" Well, that iso precisely what the.
Democrats are striving to do. That is pre-
ciselyo what the Mills bill, as it is called,
attempts to do. And yet those gentlemen
who are bowling around about the beauties
of protection and the ruin the Democrats
are bringing on the country tell you that
this thing which President Arthur recon-
mended only so recently is nothing in the
world but free trade.
AIMS OF TIE MILLS BILL
The Republicans are more afraid. Of free
trade than they are of rattlesnakes.
Laughter. They are terribly alarmed
less they should be bitten by free trade.
[Renewed laughter and cheers Now, so
far from this Mills bill being free trade,
the most striking thing about it is that lit
is the most modest reduction, of tariff
= duties that has almost ever been attempted
in thisocountry.o The average duties levied
under tho present tariff are AZ per cent
Under the Mills bill the average duties
. WILDE only about 40 par cent A mere re-
duction of per cent. on all the duties
taken together. OF course there are some
things upon which the duties are. reduced
more. For Instance, duties taken off q
number of articles called raw materials
which are used oby the manufacturers in
Z tneir work, in the fabrication of their prod
uct. Q And as othey receive this great
benefit of having their raw materials free
OF. at a comparatively small duty, the bill
Owisely provides that articles manufact-
ured by them when brought into the coun-
try shall pay lower rate of duty than
they did before, but that isP nothing moro
than Compensation for taking off the duty
on raw materials. President Garfield
said 0in 0the House of Representatives
p ono March 10, o1S71 . 81 was sur
prised at the remark of the distin-
guished gentleman from Michigan. III don't
know who that distinguished gentleman
was, butoahe was a. MichiganderJ Ho7 as
serted that there is mo item in the whole
tar. # that stands alone on it's own merits,
but that it must all be taken in "a lump in
order to stand.''o He was a high protection
0ist this Michigan man, 50 he said there was
no item in theowhole tariff @ando there age
A. 600 and odd items in it on WHICH az tax is
Ievied) that couldostand On its own merits.
and ct was necessary to take them into a
Jump entire SO that they might stand. He
meant that coal must take salt byo theShand
and they must take something else oby the
hand and that all the interests should unite
the1g' forces before they could make q stand
before the coTntrya This @Michigander
camc from log country, expect, and was
in fayoraof1og rollingsand log rolling on
| the largest Kind of q scale. He believed
/ that the man Who wanted protection ON
'one article. should log rollc0with' oSe whe
wanted protection OFF another, and thus,
by ALL UNI ting together and making sone
andsyndcate orop0ol, force the measure
t rough the Congress ofthe United States.
Whatssaid Mr. Garfield? fsIf this remarkbe
/ true it strikes blow at the whole tariff
system, a blowoI am unwilling 80 strike. ]
am unwilling to admit thatobad taxes must
be tel to goodones and thus be Ike 1T afoat.
T I think lit unwisee to continue this duty
on coaNthey' were them talking
about coalAand 1 >. am, therefore. in
favor of it's repeal.;' There is another
thing to which wish. to call your atten-
ton. They say all at once-I say all ct
7 once, because it is a very late doctrine
those advocates of protection are all at
once seized with a wonderful soiicitude
for the laboring-men of the country, and
they want a high-protective tariff. not to
benefit capitalists, not to benefit the
monopolists, not to benefit the manufact-
urer, according to their statements. but to
| benefit the 1aboring- man. He is the man
| they seek to protect. Well, how are, they
| going to protect him? They say a high
| protective tariff will better his condition
| and give him more wages Iwould like to
| know how that can be; would like to know
how taxing labor ing-man on every thing,
from the crown of his head to the solcs of
his feet, for that is exactly what this tariff
| does. is going to enrich hims This pro
| tective tariff taxes him on tie hat he
| wears, on the coat he wears, on his shirt,
| on his neclktie his underclothes, his vest