The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-11-06

duty of 2l@ cents per square yard; all that ex-
coed two hundred threads, and do not
exceed three hundred, pay cents per square
yard, etc.; so that the coarsest cloth in any one
OF these classifcations pays as much duty as
the finest although it may not be worth half
as much; when the quality goes above three
hundred threads TO the square inch there is a
duty of only 40 per cent. ad yalorem laid;
while the coarser article, by the peculiar adj
justment of the specific duty, is required to
pay much more.
The injustice Of this system is much more
forcibly shown in the adjustment or the tariff
on wooden goods.
Wooden cloths wooden shawls and all manu-
| features of wool valued at not exceeding so
cents per pound, pay 80 cents per pound and 30
per cent. al valorem, and all valued at above
so cents per pound, 80 cents per pound and 40
per cent. ad valorem. Here you have the
specific and ad valorem duties mixed Under
this adjustment you will see that the pound
tax bears most heavily on the coarse fabrics
worn by persons in moderate circumstances.
Let me illustrate this:
yard of common cheviot cloth, all wool,
worth say Sl.20 per yard, any merchant tailor
will tell you, will weigh about thirty-two
ounces, or two pounds. This makes 1t worth
less than so cents pound, but at 30 cents a
pound the tariff on 1t is 20 cents per yard.
Now take yard of fine cloth, worth $50 or 50
a yard and the same authority will tell you
that it will weigh only pound and half.
This too, only pays pound tax
pound tax only 5215 cents per yard.
or III cents less on the yard than the coarse
article pays. But when you apply this to still
cOarser woolens, such as blankets and heavy
shawls, the injustice is still more glaring. Ii
may be said that higher ad valorem duty is
placed upon the fine goods to equalize the
tariff but the difference, you will see, is only
per cent, and that difference exists only
with respect to goods that are worth less than
so cents per pound, as all goods over 50 cents
per pound pay the same ad valorem duty, what
ever may be their valuel The Mills bill
struck out the pound tax and placed an al
valorem duty of 40 per cent on all wooden
goods; so that under the Mills bill each article
would be taxed according to its value, and
not according to its weight The senate
substitute increased the present pound tax to
40 cents pound and applied it to all wooden
goods worth 90 cents pound or over. and this
would embrace almost every article of clothing
however coarse, manufactured from wool, as
none of the eOarser goods weigh less than two
pounds to the yard. All such, under the SEN
ate substitute if it had become law, would
have been taxed so cents per yard, while the
finer and more costly article would nave only
paid 60 cents per yard, or 20 cents per yard
less thad the coarse goods.
There has been no measure before congress
and the country in the last quarter OF a CEN
fury that has been so unqualifiedly denounced
and been subjected to so much misrepreseDta-
ton as the Mills bill | shall not take up your
time by replying to all the grounds of objection
that have been made to it, but shall conine
myself to those which appear to have the most
political significance. The first in importance
seems to be the charge that il is free trade
measure and if adopted would embarrass, If not
ruin, many branches OF American In
dustry, and particularly our wool-growing and
wooden manufactures. With regard to the
charge that it is a free trade measure, | may
say no political party in this country has ever
advocated the doctrine of free trade, and no
party ever will until some better mode of rails
ing revenue for the federal government can
be found than that of tariff taxes, and to
call measure like the Mills bill, which,
according TO the estimates Of the treasury de-
partment, would bring an income from custom
duties of at least S165 O00 900 year. free trade
measure is but bod assertion against stub
horn fact and ought to nave no weight with
the people. As to its effect, have already
said its chief features consisted in placing on
the free list those articles OF foreign merchan-
disc which are imported in a crude or partially
manufactured state, and which are intended for
use In our own manufactures as raw material,
and in reducing the tariff on the necessaries of
life. You have seen that our manufactures are
now paying duty of $40,000,0O0 on foreign
merchandise which they use as raw material,
and which they must collect off of the people
to whom they sell these goods with profit By
the Mills bill they would be relieved of above
One-half of this amount How this could tend
TO their ruin is beyond my comprehension. 1t
is very clear that they could sell these goods
for that much less and make the same profit,
and this would tend to increase their sales and
to extend their markets. What American
manufacturers want more than anything else is
a market-not the home market for that
they can always command under proper
circumstances, but the worlds mar
ket They have the capital and
the enterprise and all they want is the oppor-
tunity; but while they handicapped by
protective tariff upon the essentials to their
successful work, they cannot have the opportu-
nifty. Do you think our manufacturers can pay
$40 100000 year on the materials they use and
then meet the foreign manufacturer who is not
thus taxed in the neutral markets and sell in
competition with him? ii you do. very brief
examination into the state of our exports to
foreign countries will dispel the illusion. For
you will see that OF the $1SO,OO0,0OO OF dOmes-
tic merchandise exported during the last fiscal
year, less than 20 per cent. are domestic manu-
features. Men who are engaged in manufac-
turing American goods know better than any
one else the disadvantages under which they
labor in this respect, but they have been har-
messed up TO the car OF protection so long that
they are afraid to break away from it. They
have built their plants and purchased their
machinery under protection prices, and they
fear the depression which would follow, but
the time is not far distant when they will rebel
against the dogma of protection and lead the
way in favor of that kind of free trade which
will place the American manufacturer on an
equal footing with his foreign competitor and
when that is done we will be able to keep our
home market by being able to meet our adver-
saries In any foreign market, and our people
will reap the benefit OF il In the reduced prices
in that market.
south American Trade.
This is good time to study this problem.
The disadvantages under which our foreign
commerce is carried on are not questioned.
Even now we are looking anxiousy to Mexico
and to Central and South America for some
means of improving trade with them. We
purchase largely of them and sell to them but
| little. The reason is obvious. We are COM
! PEELED to have their productions. and they can
| buy from England and other countries the arti-
Giles of manufacture they need (they do not
want the products of our soil) cheaper than we
| can sell to them. So they take our money and
| buy in other countries Even with Mexico
| there is every year n large balance of trade in
| her favor At this time there are in this coun-
| try representatives from ali of those countries
| who have come here on the invitation of our
| government TO hold a conference with us on
these subjects. As preparation for that con-
| ference, and as the guests OF the nation, they
| are making tour through the country TO be-
| come acquainted with its resources and the
character of its industries. A few days since
| they in the city of Cleveland, the great
! iron mongering center of your state enjoying
the widely-knOwn hospitality OF her people,
and viewing with astonlshmentand wonder her
mammoth iron works. 1t is said they are
| taking notes of the cost of the productions in
the various manufactures they visit. At the
| banquet which followed their day of observa-
ton, your distinguished republican senator, Mr..