New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-04-02
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this country were trying to believe, and thou
sands of journalists and orators trying to make
them believe, that consumers in the United
States had to pay on domestic products Of all
sorts a tax equal II, the duty on similar i'm
ported products. Only the ignorant had an
excuse for believing the story then, and nobody
had any excuse for telling IL; but partisan
feeling sometimes accounts for miracles OF
human credulity Possibly some current events
may now impress the minds Of mon a little
more, the passion Of partisanship having
abated.
There are duties on lumber. But during
the seven months ending with January there
went from this country 100000 900 feet Of
lumber TO Great Britain, worth over 81 900, 900,
and 81, 900, 900 feet to British possessions
in Australasia. Sir Charles Dixie, re-
porting on a railroad which British capital
Is building in Northern India, primarily
TO facilitate tho movement Of troops for defence
of the Afghanistan frontier, records tho fact
that the timber used in tunnels, bridges and
other railroad work in that far-of land comes
from Washington Territory. 1t must perforcc
be concluded that American consumers do not
pay any intolerable tax on their lumber.
Leather is another product Of large import
ance on which there are duties. But In the
same seven months there went from this coun-
try to Great Britain IA, 968,6i2 ID of sole
leather alone, costing S2,3s0,570, and
| Sl,539,4O2 worth of other leather, besides
| exports to every other part OF the globe, in
GLIDING especially Germany and other countries
| in Europe II will cost the Free Traders some
thing to admit that in this "tax-idden" country
| leather is actually cheaper than in free-trade
England and so much cheaper that the Amer
| lean product goes In preference TO the English
into Germany and France, but possibly at a
time when partisanship does not stupefy the
mind the fact may have some weight.
| It is supposed by ignorant Free Traders that
duties on cotton cloths burden this people.
But in the same seven months nearly 100000
yards Of such cloth went to Great Britain, tho
| chief producer. How came this to pass unless
prices here are actually lower than in Great
Britain? Or how comes 1t to pass that into
markets where the American must compete
| with the British maker, American cloths were
sent at the rate Of 9, 900, 900 yards into Mexico
in seven months, 100000 into Central
| America, 6,0O0,O 900 into the West Indies,
81, 600, 900 yards into South America, 9,000,-
J 900 yards into China, and 100000 into
other countries Of Asia? II Americans do not
undersell British traders, are they exporting
these goods for fun?
The duties on iron and steel and manufact-
ures thereof are supposed TO burden Americans
dreadfully, and closet philosophers Of the free
trade sort have had much to say of the dis
| tress OF cotton and other manufacturers, be-
cause they had to pay monopoly prices for
machinery to protected makers But somehow
this country exported So, 300, 900 worth of
machinery in the seven months ending with
January, and more than 81, 100, 900 worth to
| Great Britain, as much more to the West Indies,
over S550,000 worth to British possessions in
Australasia, and other shipments are recorded
to Germany, France, Canada and Africa. In
fact engines and mills for British mine in
South Africa were shipped within that period.
| Then there were also the materials for that
great bridge in Australia which American
builders are constructing, having secured the
contract in competition with British firms
In the glass business, Americans are sup
posed to be taxed by most onerous duties and
yet a recent number Of % The American Manu-
facturerp records heavy exports from Pittsburg
to Germany. Another fact worth noting is
that British makers Of tools are beginning to
advertise widely that they will furnish their
customers tools American STYLE" in the hope
Of retaining vanishing custom. The Free
Trader who still wants TO learn anything, one
would suppose, might get an idea or two
from incidents like these.