The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1888-01-12
Letters from the People
Editor Slner;-

from them viii make combined effort t.
that end, so Ezra, instead of kicking
and clawms the empty air simply becaus,
class that are better paid are making {
great hubbub, possess your soul in patience
or kick at something tangible; to be oh
ligcd to work fourteen hours for one dol
lar and half while others receive three
and half for ten hours is bad enough
but to be obliged to pay large per cent
of your dollar and Il half every time you
buy an article on which there is duty To
Increase their wages is II thing worth kick
ing at, To be obliged to pay an average
of forty per cent on many articles of ac-
tual necessity, when the government does
not need so much, is bad enough, but this
is not the full measure of the extra cost
to the consumer. Twenty years ago the
profits on a pound of tea was more than
the present retail price, and the former
duty per pound was more than the retail
price of some classes now. When it cost
ufacture boots, the retail price was from
four to seven dollars, now at first cost
of from two to three dollars the farmer
can buy them at two and half to three
and half. This illustration might be
carried through whole column of arti-
cles, but these are sufficient to show that
by tariff the consumer is taxed not only
to support government and protect home
industry, but to increase the profits of
merchants, also. Probably few, if any,
imported goods are bought by the consul
mer at less than fifty per cent profit to
the importer, wholesale jobber and retail
dealer, then if a bill of goods, without
any duty, cost the importer ten dollars
the same wonld cost the consumer fifteen,
but a first cost of fourteen dollars as it
fifty per cent profit makes the cost to the
consumer twenty-one dollars, government
receiving four dollars minus the proper
ton of custom officers, salaries &c. to be
deducted, while the merchants receive the
other two as compensation for the great
er amount of their investment As the
cost of factories and machinery and the
expenses of operatives is greater, the ac-
tual cost of manufacturing is greater, so
that with a tariff, domestic goods must
necessarily be sold for more or the tariff
would damage manufactures and their
added something more or the tariff is not
protective, but as the manufacturer can
get the same price for similar article
that the importer pays including the duty
the consumer has to pay the same price
for articles of domestic manufacture that
he does for imported, hence, the two hun
bred millions paid in duties for the sup
port of government and one hundred mil
lions extra profits paid to merchants on
imported goods is only such part of the
extra tax on consumers incident to the
taritias the amount of imports is of the
whole amount of goods consumed of
such kinds as are subject to duty. Then
if the farmer wants to know just how
bad fix he is in let him not only consider
tti The discrepancy IL "FegeS. but that every
time he buys twenty-one dollars worth OF
goods he has paid six dollars more on ac-
count of tariff and that portion which
m oil ba &c and
without excuse save that the dollars taken
from his small earnings adds 1.-THE
to the wages of those who get three and
a half
A word in regard to the criticism of the
Presidents message declaring it to be a
free trade document Free trade means
the privilege of importing all kinds of
goods wherever produced and selling free
of duty or license tax. Now everybody
knows that it requires two hundred mil
lions of dollars annually above the receipts
from internal revenue to run the govern
ment. Now the President proposes to
raise by tariff, on such articles as shall
best protect home industry and be the
least burdensome to the poor class Of con-
As the matter now stands the la
boring man, who has to wear out the
most tools and clothing, pays more tax
than his more forward neighbor who can |
live without labor. There is quite a diff
ference between two hundred millions of |
dollars and nothing, and that is just the |
Inference between the Presidents policy |
md free trade. The real issues in regard |
20 tariff in my opinion are these: Shall
government indulge in certain eXpendi
,ures and so maintain the present tariff
for protection, or continue the present
policy? Shall the tax be TAX
IN off from whiskey and tobacco, or from
food, tools, clothing &C., sufficient to re-
luce the tax upon consumers to the
AMOUNT actually needed to pay expenses
Of government? All are willing to SUBJ
nit to tariff sufficient to supply funds
for the payment of necessary expenses in
Excess of what is paid by the tax on
yhiskey and tobacco.
FARMER JACOB.
Echoes from the Press.