Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1890-10-30
Superintendent of Peshtigo Lumber &c

Superintendent of Peshtigo Lumber Co.
1.-The above figures were taken from the
books of the company and showed the
wholesale prices. 1t will be seen by the
above that the prices in all the articles
have been reduced over one-haf. The year
1857 was revenue tariff period, 1853
protective tariff period. As years in the
life of nation are the same as moments
in the life of an individual, so must we
wait for years to get the honest results of
practical legislation in the industry of
nation.
THE object of protective tariff is to
bring the consumer and producer close to-
gether, thus localizing a diversii-d in
dustry within the country, and developing
the largest possible commerce and wealth
between the people of the nation, without
the loss and friction of freights to foreign
countries, excepting in so far as a devel
oped industry may have produced sur
plus. Then, of course, it is a profit and
not loss to ship to foreign countries, be-
cause we have gem rally added labor to our
out Of other nations
This result has been wonderfully
brought about by our protective tariff, as
Investigation Of the facts will clearly
prove. While visiting the city of Will
mington, Del, in 1870, ! met very in
telligent old lady who lived in that city,
and learning that was looking for some
facts on the industrial question she gave
me the following statement from her
own life to show the
GREAT VALUE TO THE FARMER
Of bringing the farm and the factory close
together. She said
Fifty years ago (Which would carry
her lack to the revenue-taritf period of
1920 was a SRI Is years old living with
my sister, father, and mother on a farm a
few miles outside of the city. One day
my father had loaded up four-horse
wagon with wheat raised on our farm and
started to Wilmington to sell it My
mother asked him to buy too dresses, one
for my sister and one for me- The next
cay he returned and LAID bundle on the
table, and said to my mother: Jane,
there are twenty-four bushels of our wheat.
sold the wheat for SO cents per bushe
and paid so cents per yard for calico. ,
Now, said the lady, my children are living
on the same farm They can drive in or
send in their grain by railroad get Sl.25
per bushel for it chat was the figure at
the tlme), and buy better calico for 81
cents per yard In 1920 we depended
on England for our goods, today we manu-
tacture the calico on the Brandywine
river net many miles from here
Here was a practical lesson, and
could never sec where the tariff was a tax,
for 1t must be borne in mind that there was
and Is cents per yard tariff on calico,
while the goods in most cases sell for less
than the amount of the tariff.
But, say our tree-trade friends, the
farmer is robbed by this tariff If that be
true, then it Is equally true that the far
mer Is the biggest robber in the coun-
try as the following illustration will
prove:
In 1880 We raised on American farms
2,691 1852 456 bushels of corn, wheat, oats,
barley, rye, and buck wheat, and exported
2s',55O0l9 bushels. consuming in the
United States 2.410,612437 bushels. If
the democratic theories lie true that the
tariff is tax. then the American farmer
robbed the American people out of S3l3,-
@'9,6l6.8l, or over s44 100000 more than
me government Elected that year out of
all the imports, b, cause there is an aver
age tariff of - cents per bu bel on the
aemocratic statesmen, Is the first thing
mat has to be plid by the consumer, no
.matter whether it is imported or bought
rom the home manufacturers in the
Aght of these facts our farmers must be
growing very wealthy, for this mas been
gong on every since the republican party
enacted the tariff Are our farmers play
'us possum and hiding all this wealth?
NOTHING MORE RIDICULOUS
was ever uttered than the falsehood that
lle t'rlif is a tax Again the free traders
say that they can not sell to the outside
world unless we open our markets to Them
Erfe again facts contradict those theorists
W., according to the following United
Slt'es treasury report. we have increased
ylf sales to the outside world tenfod since
''e enactment Of protective legislation
exports from the United States in
s1llars for the following years selected
I'm dates yerlng revenue tariff and
protective tariff period