Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1888-08-30

reduction of tariff duties that has ever
been attempted in this country. The
average duty levied under the present tariff
was AZ per cent. and under the Mills bill
the average would be only about 40 per
cent, a reduction of only 7 per cent on all
commodities taken tagether. OF course
there are some things upon which the duty
was reduced more. For instance, the duty
is taken off of number of articles called
raw material, which are used by manufac-
turers in their work, in the fabrication of
their products, and as they receive this
great benefit of having their raw materials
free, or with superlstively small duty,
the bill wisely provides that the articles
manufactured by them when brought into
the country shall pay lower rate of duty
than they did before. But that is nothing
more than a compensation for taking off
the duty from the raw material.
PRESIDENT GARFIELD QUOTED.
President Garfield said in the House of
Representatives on March 10, 1871: 81
was surprised at remark of the distin-
guished gentleman from Michigan-U do
not know who that distinguished gentle
man was, but he was Michigander. He
asserted that there is no item in the whole
tariff that can stand alone On its merits,
but that all must be taken in lump in
order to stand; that coal must take salt by
the hand and they, too, must take some
thing else by the hand; and thus all inter
ests unite with all forces before they can
make stand before the country. If this
remark be true it strikes blow at the
whole tariff system; blow l am not will
ing to strike. am unwilling to admit
that bad taxes must be tied to good ones
and thus be kept afoat. think it is un-
wise to continue this duty on coal and l
am therefore in favor of its repeal"
This Michigander came from lumber
country l expect, and he was in favor of
log-rolling. Laughter. Log-rolling on
the largest kind of scale; that the man
who wanted protection on one article
should log-roll with the man who wanted
protection on another, and thus by all
combining together and making one grand
syndicate or pool force their measure
through the Congress of the United States.
But James A. Garfield said (if this remark
be true): ''It strikes blow at the whole
tariff system and a blow am net willing
to strike. am unwilling to admit that
bad taxes must be tied to good ones and
thus be kept a6oat."
Now, my friends, there is another thing
to which / wish to call your attention.
They say all at once Il say all at once for
it is q very late doctrine), these advocates
of protection are all at once seizsd with
wonderful solicitude for the laboring man
of the country, and they want high pro-
tective tariff not to benefit the capitalist,
not to benefit the monopolist, not to bene-
fit the manufacturer, according to their
but to benefit the lsboriDg
man. He is the man they seek to protect
And how are they going to protect him?
Why, they say high protective tariff will
better his condition, give him more wages
better wages. l would like to know
how that can be. l would like to know
how taxing laboring man on everything
from the crown OF his head to the sole of
his foot is going to enrich him. Laugh
ter and applause.
HOW THE THING WORKS.
Yet this is exactly what the tariff tax
does. 1t taxes him on the hat that he
wears, on the cap that / put on my head
to keep it warm. Applause and laugh
ter. I It taxes him on his shirt, on his
necktie, on his underclothes, on his coat,
ON his vest, on his breeches, on his stock /
ings, on his boots, on everything. Re-
newed cheering. 1t raises the price and
taxes him until the poor man can hardly |
make enough money, even If he gets few
cents more wages in the day-it taxes I
him until he can hardly make enough /
money to support himself and his little
family, if he has one. And yet they say /
that this is for the benefit of the labor
ing man. My friends, that is very bold
faced statement, if there ever was one in |
the world, but there is another thing about
it. How is he to get the high wages? Why,
be is to get them because his employer, the
capitalist or monopoiist, will make more
money, and therefore can afford to pay his
or hired men higher wages than
be paid them before. agree that he could;
agree that il increases the profits; /
agree that he might, having these increased
profits, pay his lsboring men more than
hey were paid before. But does he do it?
That is the question. Applause and cries
If mo, no." Did You ever know him to
lott? Cries of mo, no."]
The tariff has been raised again and
gain and again; ii was immensely raised
,y the act Of 1851 or 1862, forget which
If these years it was. 1t was raised in
ew years again, and again it has been
aised again and again, and yet in all that
lime I never have been able TO find the
or capitalist who, upon
he raising of the tariff, has increas-
d the price paid to his laborers. If there
vas such q case il has escaped the atten-