Iron County register., 1890-03-27
LETTERS TO FARMERS.
Taxes PaId Indirectly on CrOckery
Glassware and Cooking Utensils.

| Glassware and Cooking Utensils.
Senator Sherman, eX-secretarv of
the Treasury, and for y years a presi-
dentiai-sick candidate, has told the
people of this country in general, and
his hearers III Springfield, H.. in par
ticular, that our protective tariff is so
justly and scientifically adjusted that,
with the exception Cf the duty collect
ed on sugar. which he benevolently
considers a necessity, nearly all 9th er
duties are collected from articles Of
luxury mainly consumed by the rich.
Such q statement would have been in-
excusable almost if it came from an ig-
nOrant backwoods stump-speaker, but
coming as ii did from senator who
has been many years chairman OF the
Senate Finance Committee and ex-Sec-
retary OF the Treasury, it was worse
than wilful misstatement or political
crime. It was simply blunder. One
is at loss to understand how such q
man could deliberately commit such
an unheard of folly. There may how,
ever, have been an incident just fresh
on the political tapis which compelled
the Ohio statesman to commit this
blunder, namely: an Industrial Protec-
tive League has been started in New
Di ~ ii''St tblttt -. II : ti all ~
raise d little revenue of 500 600 to be
spent annually to educate the dull and
the pervert, and second, should the
dull and pervert who may happen TO
be candidates for Congress. and, OF
course for the Presidential office, refuse g
to be educated. or not be put up to the
mark, they must be "laid out.' Now,
if there is a nightmare or any other
shock ing event which the Ohio states
man dreais more than anything else
it is the fear of being Laid outn in
the nomination as President in 1883.
However, | will show to-day how the
tariff affects the farmer, on some arti-
cles which nsnphisticated plain, prac-
teal people would class as necessaries
but which in Senator Sherman's tariff
definitions are luXuries.
In furnishing his new house, which
the American farmer may build in the
West, Far West, or anywhere else, it
is certainly necessary that he should
have crorkery and glassware. In the
first place the question arises: Are
crockery and glassware luXuries? |
must admit that there are countries
where crockery or chinaware and glass
are luxuries. For instance, perhaps,
50 per cent. of the Russian population,
or nearly all the Laplanders, use wood
Ell utensils, our of which they eat their
food or drink water ana "wudka.n AS
the object of protective tariff is to re-
strict commerce and intercourse, and
the result even thus far, after 25 wears
IF existence of the American tariff has
tended to narrow the immense wealth
Of the country into the possession of a
limited number of cunning million
aires, It i Of course only a question of
time when this great Republic Will be
divided into two Classes-the great
feutial miiliouaires and the working
serf>. Don't let my readers rashJy
think that this assertion is merely
vain suppOsition. When the proud
multi ude become poor and needy 1t is
then that the wealth of the few be-
comes pow erful. Wealth and extreme
wealth in the hands of the few has
proved this in every country during
the last 1000 years. Just see the as
sumption Of this in the very fact of this
New York Protective League. AS a
beglnuii Z 500. 000 will be spent annu
ally in educating to keep up mon0po-
lies, and i'll ''laying out" those who
may have will of their own and de-
sire congressional position. But
digress. All I want 10 show is that as
we are surely growing poorer-i mean
the great mullitudt-a time may not
be far off when cr0Ckery and china
| ware will be considered luxury, and
we may 20 back to the use of wooden
utensils. But as the farmer is still IL
dep udent and believes, God help him,
that lie Is not very outrageously taxed, ,
I VIII merely show him what it costs
him for the luxury ofusiDg plates, cups
and Saucers, and glassware.
'Itl44 IntN n tttlIna. norcp ain. D9fflO
and bisque ware, plain white, and not
OrHumented or decorated i'll any man
uer," is 50 per cent. Now, let the
farmer and, tor that matter, any other
tariff sert" remember this duty is for
plain, unornamented and unpainted
crockery. On painted and decorated
il is so per cent. Is tie ;arner aware
W hat 81 per cent. means? 1t is, OF
course, more than ofe-third the value
of the goods. Or, in other words, if he
buys SI5 worth of crockery he pays a
tax OF about So p to somebody, either
to the government or home manutact-
urer. The total consumption Of crock
cry aud chinaWare is about as near a.
possible:
Home made at present ..........S SO ,C00, ,0o0
Imported in 1886. 9"2,215
The duty on the imported was.... 2,S29, ,035
Total. ,S21 ,149
The average duty was $3.50 per cent.
At the very lowest calculation the
country paid tax Of about S6,000,000
in 1856 for the privilege of using crock
ery. And now let me show what this
mighty home industry really Is. III
$50, according to the census, the
whole capital invested in the manufac
turp Of stone, crocnery and cninware
was Sc $50, 600 (Perh APPS much of this
assumed capital was watered.) But
let us say there really is 5000 900 in
vested in this industry. 1t would fol-
low that the consumers Of crOckery are
annually taxed as mitch as will pay
for all the capital invested. In 1880
the hands employed werr:
Women. .-.....-..........-.. 94S
CniiaI Ien..-...,.. '....I ! ,oiI
The total wages paid them were So,
30 335. \ Nv. suppose the wages are
INV 81 600 600. Then it follows that
the country j. taxed rot only the total
wages paid, but $4,000, 900 in addition
(that is Sc 900 O00l, TO enable the aris-
tocratic potterits of the United States
10 compete with the pauper potteries
of Europe.
Now, there is another phase to this.
Up To 1888 the duty on cr0ckery was
respectively 10, 45 and so per cent.
THIS heavy autv WAS raised bV the