Nevada County picayune., 1890-06-25
LET HIM ANSWER WHO CAN


 States. 4 long time prior to that date they had represented to Con- gress that the manufacture of quinine was an infant industry" in the United States. and could not be made successful here without Govern mental protection against the impor tation of quinine from foreign coun- tries. So. in reality to protect those manufacturers against foreign com ! petition, but ostensibly toprovide rev enue for carrying on the war, Congress in 1862 laid high protective tariff on all quininc imported into this coum- try from any foreign country. So high indeed was this tax that no im- porter could pay it and then com pete in price with Powers & Weight man and Rosengarten Sons. Con- sequently it practically prohibited the importation of quinine from any l foreign country. and gave our two home manufacturers exclusive con- trol of the trade in that article in this country. This high protective tariff on quinine was pcrpetuatcd for sixteen years. During the whole of that time the two concerns above mentioned supplied all the quinine consumed in the United States. The protective tariff, which had been lad in reality more for their protection ! than for revenue, had shut off all. competition, and given them T com plete monopoly of the quinine trade. They never allowed the price to go below s3.5O per ounce, and 1t some times reached SC, and generally ranged at about S4.j0.
 But in 1879 the Democrats in Con- gross, after hard fight, caused quinine to be placed on the free list. l A the result of heroic effort on their part, a law was enacted re- moving the duty from this iadispen- sable medicine, and providing for it's perfectly free importation into this country from any foreign country.
 Powers X Weightman and Rosen- garten Sons opposed this movement with great spirit and determination. They brought every influence to bear that could be enlisted in their be- half. They declared that if they should be left unprotected against foreign compctition--against impor- ted quinine-thcy could not survive :; that they would be compelled to shut down their factories and go out of business. The Democrats disputed this and relaxed no effort until they forced the enactment of a law per hitting the importation of qunine into the United States from any other country absolutely free of duty.
 The resulting benefit to the con ,sumers of quinne-the people-was an almost immediate decline in the retail price from S5 per ounce, at which it was then ranging, to sl.25, and then to 75 cents per ounce, where it now stands.
 And instead of Powers X Weight man and Rosengarten Sons being forced to retire from business, as they declared they would be, they have continued right on to the pres sent day without interruption. Not only this, but they have enlarged their factories to double their capac- ity at that time. Moreover, five other factories have been established in the United States since that date, and they, like the two pioneer concerns, are all doing pros porous business,
 And these concerns have not only been able to successfully meet foreign competition here at home under ths free trade and sailors rights poli- cy," but they have successfully met it in other countries also. They not only supply this country with all, or nearly all, the quinine consumed here, but they actually export large quantities annually to other countries
 And as the removal of the protec- tive tariff on quinine resulted in such great benefit to the people, and no apparent injustice to the manufac- turers, why would not reduction, at least, of the high protective tariff on all other articles of actual neceS- sity, except quinine, bring cores bonding relief to the peoplet If so, i.l II H. ,l T iii