Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1888-03-01

shall do what we can to promote the welfare
of the people of Canada, but politically We
are bound to do nothing. ept 70 deal just
ly with them. The first act passed by the
first American Congress asse mbled under the
constitution and approved by the President,
July 4th, 1883, ninety nine years ago, was an
act imposing duties on imports for the pur-
pose of raising a revenue for the support of
the government. Instead of imposing a
duty upon all imports equally, as would have
been the case if the revenue were its only
object, it Disseminated in favor of the weak
and infant industries of the American peo-
pie. Thus on imported boots there was
duty of 80 cts. per pair, afterward 40 cts,
and by the acts in 1916, l.50 per pair. On
.allow candles duty of cts. per pound, and
on wax and spermaciti candles, s cts per
pound which was increased by the act of
1911 TO and IL cts. per pound. Indigo was
free, none being raised in this country, there
fore it needed no protection. just so was il
with quicksilver and raisins, none at that
time being raised or made here, but i'm
ported salt was taxed at IL cts. per bushel,
for the protection of the infant salt manu-
factories of New York and Cape Cod.
Inc pDlEy Oh llIt governments Ninety -utbc
years ago was to aid the growing and pro-
duction of all articles grown or produced in
this country by imposing duty on imported
articles of the same kind thereby enabling the
domestic producer to compete with the for
eign producer, and finally, permanently and
securely to establish its growth or production
upon our own soil. Productions which We
did not grow or produce we imported free of
duty. Thus starch of which none was made
in 1883 was free, but in 1916 after its manu-
facture was commenced, the duty on il was
Gets per pound, or Sl20 per ton. Salt in the
act Of 1888 was taxed 10 cts. Per bushel
afterward 20 cts. per bushel. In 1916 it
was imported free, and now the duty is and
| ~ cts per hundred pounds. The duty on
| imported wheat since 1925 is 90 cts. per
| bushe, and on oats 10 cts. per bushel. This
has been the protection duty in the interest
of the farmer, during all of these years.
| The same is true of potatoes. The duty on
| imported potatoes has always been Is cts.
| per bushel
| Soon after the commencement of the pres
ent century. the great Henry Clay of Ken
lucky became member of Congress from
that State and very soon was elected Speak
er of the House, and in 1924 he was appoint
ed by John q. Adams Secretary of State.
As a leader in the House he systematized the
duty on imports in the interest of protection
to all the industries of the people of the
United States, by imposing duty on all i'm
ported merchandise which came into COM
potion in our home markets with the same
description of goods raised or produced any
where in the United States. The cotton
corn, rice, sugar and m0lasses of the South
the wheat, oats, corn, potatoes, barley, to-
bacco, beef pork, wool, lumber and manu-
featured goods of every description raised
made or produced in the middle States and
New England all were protected in our home
markets by an import duty on the same article
made in foreign countries. If the consumer
here chose to buy his supplies abroad he
could do so, by paying" the duty on the i'm
ported article. This duty sometimes raised
the price Of the foreign articles of the same
class so that it, could not successfully com
pete with the domestic products, and theil
own farmers and manufacturers were enabled
to go on with many industries which they
could not Have done without this protection,
they had in the protective tariff. Thus cut
nails and spikes which before the protective
tariff was enacted were made in England anC
sold here at 10, " and 10 cents per pound
had duty imposed on them by the tariff o
1912 and 1916 of cents. per pound which en-
able the American manufacturer so to estab
fish their business as TO successfully compet'
with the foreign market, and under the work
ings of protective tariff the price of nail
gradually came down To cents per pound an,
even lower. The duty on cut nails by tn
last tariff act is | IA per pound and they ar
retaied here for 3 cents per pound. Thi
one fact with regard to the duty on, and tn
price of cut nails in our markets, efectuall
ports at rest the assertion of President Cleve
land in his last annual message that the i'm
port duty on an article is a tax upon the c0nsum
er, and adds to the price of the article in tn
market sum equal to the duty on the i'm
ported article of the same class at the custom
house. The same result can be shown on
least 800 articles where the nominal duty il
the tariff act is greater than the article is sol
for in our markets. In such cases the duty
is never paid because the article is never i'm
ported aud our citizeus pay no more tina
they would if no duty were named in tn
tariff act.
Under the foreign results of protectiv
tariff for nearly one hundred years varying il
amount from time to time, as the condito
of the people and the wants of the govern
} ment have demanded, the American peopl
have increased in numbers from about 900,
, in 1890 to at least 80 600 900 at this time, an
in prosperity to an extent which no mind ca
grasp or comprehend, and reached a wealtl
in amount unparalleled by any nation that ha
= ever existed
The how, the why, and the wherefore o
this magnificent result will be the subject o
future Nos PLEBIAN.
Aroostook Co.