Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1889-10-31
Let no Democrat stay away
from the polls next Tuesday.
The Tarifr and the Professional Man

LIBERTY CENTER o., Oct. 30th, 1889.
Is it possible for man to be taxed without
him knowing itp "The tariff does not hur time
that know Of" is what professional man
once said to the undersigned.
When we began the practice Of medicine
eight years ago, we paid $3.50 an ounce for
quinine. When in 1888 Congress began to talk
about removing the duty from quinine,
great lamantation, weeping, waiIing and
gnashing of teeth was heard from poor lit
tie pauper in Philadelphia by the name of
Weightman, who is reported to be worth $20,-
100000. ~
Powers d Weightman were the only
manufacturing chemists in the United States
at that time who manufactured quinine, and
they employed 400 hands. Their outcry was
that if the tariff was taken off of quinine it
would ruin their business. Congress did re-
duce the tariff on qainine and about that time
the great chemical works of Powers &
Weightman was destroyed by fire. The un-
dersigued went to Adrian, Mich, to purchase
some drugs few days after that fire, and
there was not drugstore in the city that
would sell one ounce of quinine. They held
it expecting corner on that commodity
But was Mr.. Weightman with his 1000 COO
ruined by the reduction of the tariff on
quinine in addition to the fire? Not bit of
it! They rebuilt their works, and instead of
400 hands which they had employed previous
to the fire, they afterwards employed 600; and
three other establishments within the United
States began the manufacture of quinine,
and to-day that article is exported, over 1000
hands are employed by the various firms
that manufacture quinine, and our drug
gists can retail it for less than 81 per ounce
and realize fair profit.
We would willingly stake our reputation
that if the tariff was taken off the raw ma
terial which enters into the manufactured
article, such as alcohol and cinchoha bark,
that every family in Henry county could have
on hand good supply of quinine at cost of
less than 25 cents per ounce. Nearly all
drugs are heavily taxed. The tax on NOR.
phine is 81 per ounce.
The statute reads thus: son all pills, pow
ders, tinctures, lozenges, syrups, cordials,
bitters, anodynes, tonics, plasters. drops,
waters, essences, spirits, oils, liniments,
pastes, or other medicinal preparations used
as remedies or specifics for any disease or
affections whatever, affecting the human or
animal bodies, fifty per centum advalorum;"
that is, fifty cents on every dollars WORTH
We presume that there is not a reader of the
NORTHWEST who does not realize the fact that
if man is so fortunate as to earn dollar,
that it will bring Just SO much more comfort
to his family if it is iudiciously expended.
But how many readers Of this paper or any
other paper, who is SO highly fovored with a
dollar, are cognizant Of the fact that instead
of its being worth 100 cents to him, he can
buy uuder the present tariff laws only 52115
cents worth of comforts and necessities for
his wife and little ones; and that the very
nature of the existing tariff laws compels him
to pay an average of 474 cents out of every
dollar of his earnings to some other party,
who seems to be the very elect and favored
ones of the land--also of q protective tariff.
Next week we will follow this professional
man a little farther. ,4r NJ.