Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1890-10-23
New Tariff Does Not Enhance the
Cost Of Any One of
Them.
But it Has Been Wrongfully Taken
Advantage of by Dealers in
Some Instances.
Conclusive Reasons Advanced for
Recent Changes in the Cost Of
Certain Commodities.

Because prices of many articles are
higher than a month ago or year ago 1t
Is falsely alleged that the new tariff is
making necessaries of life more costly. The
assertion has not even a grain of excuse
in fact, though 1t Is true that some dis
honest and short-sighted dealers are TAX
ing advantage of popular ignorance, and
making up prices of goods which the taft
does not effect in the least, using the
measure as their pretext. Consumers can
punish this extortion, if they chose, by
transferring their trade to merchants who
are more honest That they may have
some light to guide them, brief review
of prices may be timely.
Breadstuffs are higher than amonth ago
and much higher than a year ago, and the
reason which controls the trade is found in
the official report of the department of
agriculture, showing that the frosts last
winter and the drouth last summer caused
loss of about 80, 000,0 600 bushels of wheat,
about a fifth of the corn crop and about
200. 10000 bushels of oats. The tariff
did not cause either the frosts or the
drought, nor has it caused the recent adj
vance In dairy products, nor the recent de-
cline in some vegetables and In cattle.
With short crop of corn, hog products
are naturally higher, but the supply of
hogs has been so large that the effect is as
yet but little felt Sugar, hops and rice
cost Just what they did month ago, and
coffee is little lower. On the whole,
farm products are much dearer than usual,
but owing to causes with which as yet the
tariff has nothing to do.
Cotton is little lower than a month
ago, while print cloths, sheetings, and
other cotton fabrics have not changed in
price Wool is shade higher, on many
grades about one cent per pound, but no
change has yet been made in prices OF
wooden goods of domestic make, and il
higher prices are oy anybody charged for
imported woolens it is on goods which
were imported at the old rate of duties
so that an advance in price is simply tax
ing advantage of customers. Carpets and
hannels are quoted just as they were a
month ago, and also boots and shoes, but
in the latter moderate advance vas made
some time before the tariff passed, on ac
count of the higher prices of hides and of
leather. Since the act has passed hides
have not changed at all and leather is a
little lower. There hos been no change in
iron or steel, or any of their important
products since the new bill passed. Tin
plates were advanced about month before
the act passed by heavy buying abroad in
order to import into this country, though
the new duty does not take effect until
July |, 1891. Tin is active in speculation,
though the new law makes no change for
three years in the duty, and copper has
not changed in price. Lead and products
of lead had advanced sharply before Sep
tembor, because of the act. Lumber and
brick are lower than month ago, and
lime, lath, glass, paints and paper are
unchanged.
The truth is that the new tariff does not
enhance the cost of single necessary of
life, hut reduces the duties on many. If
higher prices are charged by dealers for
any necessary of life and the tariff is men
toned as an excuse, the customer may
know that he is being cheated, and he can
find more honest traders VINO make no
such exaction. The cost has indeed been
enhanced by the partial failure of import
ant crops and the effect of this serious lo1s
is not yet fully felt perhaps. But
there is no manufactured product, in any
measure necessary of life, the cost of
which has up to this time been affected in
the least by the tariff. Political tricksters
who pretend the contrary need the merited
correction of defeat in November.