Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1890-03-04
The High Tariff and Trusts.

The constant iteration and reiteration
o! the assertion by the high tariff advo-
Gates that the tariff has nothing To do
with trusts. finally upset the patience OF
ID. c. Peck. Of Bridgeport. Conn. who is
provoked into telling how the tariff
worked on one industry. at least, that he
knows all about. towlt. the wall paper
industry. Ten years ago. says MIR. Peck,
the manufacturers OF wall paper formed
a combination and advanced the prices Of
their products very largely, and pres
scribed fine of 81 900 as the penalty for
selling below the combination prices.
But any OF them was at liberty to sell his
product In Europe for any price he
pleased. The consequence was that
American wall paper was sold iu England
for about half the price that was exscted
from Americans.
This combination held together about
seven years, when II broke up, many new
plants having been established. and the
prices went away down. The existing
plants can produce twice as much wall
paper as can be disposed of In the Amer
lean market. But the manufacturers. in.
stead OF seeking foreign markets for their
surplus, are talking about another COM
bins to fleece the American public, re,
peating the old game OF exacting twice as
much from Americans as from foreign
ers.
or course It is the tariff on wall paper
that enables the manufacturers to play
this game, for it shuts out foreign COM
petition until they have added the full
amount Of the tax to the price of their
goods. The fact that they have along
been able to sell in Europe in competition
with European manufacturers and their
"pauper labor" proves conclusively that
they could make a fair profit without any
tariff protection. The tariff has simply
enabledm the to exact from their own
countrymen twice as much as their goods
are worth, while selling to foreigners al
fair prices. II has enriched them at the
expense OF the American consumers, in
Guiding farmers. Mr. Peck says tina,
during the dozen years the combine lasted
it plucked American consumers to the
extent OF at least IS 900 600
This is only one Of many instances,
adds the Chicago Times. in which the
tariff operated TO enrich the few at the ex-
pense of the many. 10 the case of cop
per, for instance. it is notorious that for
many years the producers sold to foreign
ers cheaper than they did to Americans.
Do the millions thus wrung from Ameri.
cans who are forced to earn their living
without government aid 90 to improve
the condition OF workingmeny Another
fact stated by Mr.. Peck will shed light
on that question. Speaking Of pauper.
ism In Bridgeport, he says: ''In 1860 the
books Of the selectmen show that one
pauper WAS aided by the town to every
forty-one OF the population; in 1850 one
in every fourteen of the entire population.
And still the demand Of the republican
leaders Ia more tariff BE il observed
that 10 1880 ii had what the protection,
lists are pleased 10 call a free trade
tariff " II lacked good deal Of being
that, but II was tariff less than half ns
high ~ that we now have. and good
deal lower than that formulated in the
Mills bill. II doesn't look MS though high
tarif had helped workingmen much in
the manufacturing state OF Connecticut