Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1890-06-04

or our largest manufacturers and ex-
porters of agricultural machinery, has
written a letter to the New York
Tribune in which he calls attention to
the barrassments which combine to
make the drawback or rebate provision
practically dead letter. THE least of
these" he says, sis the fact that the
duty is not refunded but only
portion of it-90 per cent. Then the
regulations which are required by the
Treasury Department to guard against
frauds the necessity approving that the
imported goods in each article exceed
half its value, the limit of time in which
drawbacks can be claimed, the danger
of having orders countermanded by con-
tinual delays, practically involve so
much annoyance and precious time as
to eat up all the profits there were in
the drawbacks, even when the material
was as much as 80 per cent cheaper in
England than here"
And thus it is seen that the tariff
makers talk about his rebate placing
all the advantages of free trade in the
hands of the manufacturers. is simply
piece of pretense. 1t is like his duty
on eggs, which Mr.. Butterworth, his
Republican colleague from Ohio, says
means lone omelet year"
But why should Mr.. Mckinley propose
to give foreign buyers great advantage
over the home consumer at the doors of
the home market factories? He held up
his bill as IAN American bill not a
European bill" Why then should
Americans be Disseminated against in
this precious American bill? Our tariff
maker gives Europeans, who buy the
products of our factories, the advantage
of free raw materials; but he refuses
this same advantage to the American
buyer. And yet he calls it an "Ameri-
can bill" What has the American citi-
zen done, that he must be made to pay
duties on raw materials which are offered
to the European without duty? Does
Mckinley think that the people will
look upon this as just and fair to them?
This looks as if Mr.. Mckinley regard
ed the home market theory as a hum
bug, and the home market itself as en-
titled to no special consideration. 1t is
known that many of our manufacturers
secretly entertain the same feelings
toward the home market. They will
contribute literally for election ex-
penses to hold the home market for
themselves, and will make expensive
trips to Washington to see that the
agreement is carried out by putting on
high tarif-all this they will do; but
when it comes to the question of show
ing how tender they love the home
consumer by selling cheaper to him than
to foreigners-no, s.r, they refuse to do
that every time! Not only so, but many
OF them actually sell to the foreigners
cheaper than to the American fellow
citizen. Of course such men believe in
the home market, for they make bigger
profits out Of it.
This suggests one important ques-
ton: If these people can deduct part
of the. price of their goods in order to
sell them in foreign countries, would it
not be just for the American people to
reduce the duties which protect these
manufacturers, and by such reduction
compel them to sell their goods at lower
prices to their fellow-citizens as we'll as
to foreigners? Is it not singular that
these men can reduce prices in order to
sell in the markets of the world, and
then claim that they need the highest
kind of protection from those very
markets of the world so that they may
be able to hold their own home markets.
Curious! Is it not?