Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1888-04-12
4srl11tn,tt Chronicle.
THURSDAY. APRIL u. 1883.
THE ANALYSIS OF THE BILL.

II M. -hil2oi y. oouAc lidpFs SlA"AANN'
should finally come 20 understand the
minority report on his bill, he will know
more about the tariff than he does now
There was never made a more thorough
demolition of an iIl-advised attempt to
meddle with the industries and fiscal
concerns of 4 great nation. The report
proves what the Nail and ErpreSs has
simply disturbs the vested interests of
the country for the selfish and unpatr.-
otic purpose Of making political issue.
The reductions of duty are wild strikes
at nearly all the producers of the coGn-
try, except the farmers and planters of
the South. All the products of the sol
which come INTO competition with Cana
dian produce are to lose the protection.
if the bill becomes a law, which tie gov
ernment now gives them. The woods,
linseed, garden seeds, meats, milk, veg
etables of the Northern farmer are to be
added to the free list, although Canada
protects her own farmers by tariff, and
fails to keep her promise, expressed IN
statute, that her markets would be free
for vegetables, grains, -four, fruits. fish
and other articles going from the Uni
ted States, when Canadian produce OF
the same kind was admitted to the Uni
ted States without the payment OF du-
ties. While the protection is taken from
the Northern farmer, that given to the
Southern rice grower is increased. The
rate on cleaned rice is reduced One-quar-
ter of a cent pound. The equivalent
ad valorem rate is now about ll3 per
cent. Under the Mills bill and on the
basis of last years importationS it would
be about 100 per cent. The additional
protection, however, is given by change
in the definition of cleaned rice, which
would compel large amount OF rice
TO come in under the head OF cleaned
rice. Another provision of the bill in
tended for the benefit Of the South is
that which adds cotton ties to the free
list. All consumers Of hoop iron of the
same size, except cotton planters, are to
continue to pay dutE.
These are illustrations Of one Of the
evil features of the bill. In undertak-
ing to make free trade an issue, the
plotters have sought to catch the votes
of the unwary, and, while they hold out
a lure to the American farmer in one
schedule, they destroy him in another
schedule. They are impartial III their
pursuit of their game The same story
is told of the workingmen, or the poor
men, Or whatever the free-trade dema-
gogues are pleased to call the wage earn
ers of the country. The rate on cheap
blankets is made equal to the rate on
high-priced blankets, and much the larg-
est part of the free list is made up of
products of farms, mines and forests, In
behalf of which the free traders profess
to be most jealous.
The manufacturer is, OF course, the
most immediate victim. He is the first
to be struck, although to strike him is to
strike at labor and to take away its
wages in order to give cheap blankets,
cheap fiannels and cheap hats. TO the
free trade mind the golden age will be
reached when flannel undershlrts sell for
ten cents apiece, and workingmen's
wages are in proportion. lns some cases
the Mills bill provides for duties on the
manufactured articles that are less than
the proposed duties on the raw materi-
ais from which they are made. The
space that can be devoted to one article
will not suffice for complete presenta-
ton OF the minority report. What we
have said will show that the Mills bill
l. In, icn of re n
We can only briefly add that the bill
would maxi cheap clothing thing OF
history. Clothes are as cheap mere as
they are anywhere in the world. y
workinoman can buy a substantial suit
of clothes for so. This is possible
because the wool from which the cloth
is made is a home product. European
cheap wools would not make such good
cloth, and the introduction of fine Aus
tralian wool, free Of duty, would destroy
the wool growing indnstry of the United
States. Then the workingmen would
realize Just how much there is in
the free trade promise Of cheaper cloth
ing, especially when, added to the cost
Of cloth By the suspension OF the wool
growing industry, would be the Grip
ping OF the ready-made clothing busi-
ness through the reduction of rates on
clothes On this point the minority re-
port is very strong. 1t shows that, with
the retention Of the rates on the articles
which 60 into clothing, the reduction
of rates on the clothes removes every
vcstige of protection.
Every industry that is touched by the
Mills bill is touched iniuriously, and the
minority report demonstrates that the
enactment of the proposed law must
bring commercial disaster; but that
would be worth nothing to the free
traders. What they are after is an issue.
THE EFFECTS OF PROTECTION.
From Speech of Senator Brown, of Georgia.
Twelve or fourteen years ago | pur-
chased the first one hundred tons of Bes-
semer steel which was laid on the West
Z 81 n