The state chronicle. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1883-1893, 1889-02-01
4 FIELD DAY.
VANCE AND COWLES WIN HONOR
AND PRAISE.
Our Correspondent Gives History of
the Tax on Salt and the Varying Price
of that Necessary of Life.

| day (January 14th) was 'neld day tor
! North Carolina, in both Houses of Con
gress In the Senate, Senator Vance made
an able and lucid exposition of the iniqui-
| ties of the salt duty, or IN palmer English,
| the tax on salt From 1916 to 1860 there
was no tax on imported salt, and the price
was 20 4 cents per bushel. At the latter
| period duty of IS cents per hundred
pounds was imposed, and the price rose 0
| 45 4 per bushel In other words, the price
was increased by the amount of the tax
and one cent over; and yet it is stoutly
maintained that the tariff is not tax on
consumers. This tax and range of prices
continued in force until 1878, when the
tax was reduced to s cents per hundred
pounds, and the price fell to 30 4 cents per
! bushel
| The Senator presented a table of invoice
| prices Of foreign, compared with domestic
| salt from the year 1868 to 1881 inclusive
The table shows that in the former year
the invoice price of imported salt was
| fraction over S3 cents per barrel, while
that of Michigan salt was 1S5 cents per
barrel, or nearly twice as much. But the
| price of the domestic article gradually fell
down, year after year, until 1877, when it
reached the figure S5 cents. 1t rallied
from this point in 1879, but fell again to
76. 33 cents in the year 1880, and il 1881
the price rose again to 81 cents. Mean
time the foreign article, after some fuc
| tuations in price, stood in 1891 at 04 cents
and one third, or one cent higher than in
| 1868. The great fall IN price of the do
meStic article was owing TO the enormous
increase III the production, which,i 1870,
was II, 800, 900 bushels and III 80, 20, 500,
000 But it is manifest that if the salt
boilers of Michigan could turn out salt at
81 S cents per Sarrel. in 1881, III competi
ton with the foreign producer at 81 3, the
price paid by the people IN 1868 for the
domestic article was due to the eAtortion
ate and wholly unnecessary tax
MANY Senator'S now present. said Mr.
! Vance, will remember a speech bat u
Bayard made in 1882 or 1888, when in the
Senate, in which he told US OF visit that
he made to the kanaWha Salt Works. He
described how nature had located every
thing for the convenience and oheapn2ss
of the manufacture of salt. R ,ht upon
the banks of a navigable river the salt
! wells were found. one bucket winch went
UP filed with the brine from the dissolved
salt rock let down another buckle! into the
well OF fresh water which was 70 replace
the dissolving process in the rc., and
within $50 or 300 yards across a little
space of level soil there was an outcrop, in
the edge of the mountain, of cod ,>aud
tram railway upon an inclined llane led
up to that coal, and the loaded ,ar that
ran down the inclined plane full O coal
and dumped it into the furnace tfat boil
ed the salt, pulled up the empty car 70 be
filed in its place. There, upon tie bank
of the stream, with almost the whoe oper-
alton automatic in its character. AID self
operating, the. salt was boiled put into
barrels or packages and rolled down an
inclined plane into fiat boat whance 1t
was 1oated down the river 10 gIrc urati,
| +-ho aJr1i-, : no =
packing establishment in the United states,
where more of it was sold than elsewhere.
Yet that institution for he rnanufac-
ture Of cheap salt and many Others III he
neighborhood and similarly situated, WAS
under what is called a dead rent hat Is.
the men from Syracuse n Y had paid
so much money 10 the proprietors 0. those
salt works to keep them from making salt,
to keep them idle. to keep them fro sup
plying the wants of the people o. this
country. l am told that the same thing
was done by the Canadian Salt Works
across the border, and that a number 5f
them were under dead rent to the people
: of Syracuse, or perhaps of the Stale Of
5 Michigan-I do not remember which
The Senator contrasted the treatment
of this necessary Of life, without which
neither men nor animals can live, with
, tho liberality of the Republicans in allow
| Ing tNe Tree importation OF luNuFles- Nt-'l
burdened with an SO per cent tax. and
the Ottar of Roses, on the free list, Tie tax
gatherer permits all sweet scented things
to come into the country free, while he fol
lows up salt wherever it is found, Wheth-
, er IN the great porkpacklng houses Of the
, north h-west, or in the cabins of the p0Cl,
into the gourds that hang in heir chimney
corners.
Mr.. Mitchell, of Oregon, inquired # the
, Senator from North Carolina had figured
out what the salt tax cost to each man,
woman and child in the county
Mr.. Vance replied that that had been
! done for him by gentleman on the other
! side, whose estimate was, that it vas ;
. cents per head, to which Mr.. Narce an
swered, that if it was big enough to TEAL,
was big enough to SAVE.
: Doubtless the estimate OF the gentle
> man on the other side was confined . the
amount paid per head, upon imported
salt to the government, and overlook d
the tax paid by the people to the home
5 manufacturers, which is generally five to
, t9n times as much as goes into the Treas
ury.
Senator Plumb, CT Kansas, tho, gI!t to
g be very sharp and smart in arraign.ng Air
!. Vance as Inconsistent, because he had nOt
r proposed reduction or abolition Of the
taxes imposed by the bill upon rice, ground
peas, mica and oumac. But the atter
, replied, ''He has no right to say whg:t
am going to do in relation to the dairy on
Il rice, for | have not yet been called upon
g to vote on it. But have this 10 say t.
!, him and TO all others. that there i, 40 pro
: duct Of my State on the dutiable list Ctnd
: there are only two or three that | wi
r not go as far as he, and great deal furth-
J., er than he, III reducing those of his State. >
;. ;, In the House of Representative, on the
same day, Mr.. Cowles, in "'the easiest way
It III the world, made a ten strike and up
It set the calculations of the protectionists,
: by introducing bill TO amend the later
nal Revenue laws. 1t is numbered lG, 10!
e The Speaker said the bill will be referred
: to the committee on Ways and Means.
It Mr.. COwles. | ask that the bill be re
). ferred to the committee on appropriations
. do so for the reason, that on The 17th
. day OF last December, introduceda reso
r luton to that effect, which was referrsd
is to the committee of Ways and Means, but
n that resolution has met with no response
The Speaker. 1t is not debateable-
Mr.. McAillin, Of Tennessee Let the
bill be read.
70 "Mr. COwles. | will state TO tha gentle
l. man from Tennessee, that it Contains
It VERBATIM EFT LITERATIM, the provisions o.
= no TO hn a Rav