Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1890-08-22

breadstu1s, 10 increase the One-sJdylhg
surplus and to decrease the price at the
farmers expense. And so it comes about
that the stump orators who argued that
duties on silks and satins could not affect
plain farmers whose wives and daughters
wore calico and gingham, misled their
hearers most previously.
AWAITING THEIR CONFESSION.
There is a striking similarity between
the condition Of the British parliamen
and Of the American congress. The former
was recently prorogued with most Of the
me smes Of the session incomplete,
while the latter is drawing to close
leaving like situation behimG Mere
circumstances show that majorities cannot
always pass Objectionable laws in the
face Of powerful and earnest
minority. When the English house of
commons met the government was intent
upon passing MIR BaIfour's Irish land
purchase bill, Mr.. Goshen's public houses
endowment bill, as it was nicknamed, and
the determined hostility of the opposition.
SO. too, the American house OF representa-
tives was intent upon passing the Mckn-
ley tariff bill, the Lodge election, or force,
bill and some other measures that met
with the determined hostility Of the entire
democracy and the more or less open oppo-
sitIon of many republicans. The English
measures have failed and the American
bills are on the point Of failure.
In commenting on this coincidence, the
Philadelphia Times says there never, Ter
maps was u more remarkable parallel than
in the character of the measures before
the two representative bodies Of the two
nations Like Mr. Lodges force bill, Mr.
Balfours Irish land purchase bill was
pure'y political in inception and purpose
They were alike in another respect no
body wanted either of them and those
who were supposed to have ne most inter
est in each were the most averse to 1t. So, |
too, with many of the features of the two |
revenue bills, Mr.. McKinIey's and Mr.. !
Goschens The tariff bill was intended 60 |
enrich the mouopolst at the expense ot |
the people, the farmers and the working |
men Tho compensation clauses IN the
public house licensing bill were for the en-
richment Of the British brewer at the OK
pense of the British taxpayer That two |
measures il two different countries should |
be so nearly alike in aim and intention are |
in themselves surprising parallels which |
can My be complete when both have met |
Al like fate.
Salisbury and Smith and Balfour have |
confessed to their defeat Now let Reed |
aud Mckinley and Hoar confess TO theirs. !
THE CONSUMER PAYS THE TAR
IFF TANES.
A favorite argument of the high tarithtes
used during the last campaign thousands
of times and ,;hich will be used thousands |
more in the economic contests OF the near
future, is that the foreign exporter really
pays all import duties and not the AmerI-
can consumers This fallacy has been vo-
ciferously proclaimed from the house
tops 10y bombastic stump orators,
and, no doubt, in almost countless in
stances farmers and Iaboring men have
been misled into believing it.
Ii will prove both interesting and in
structivo to follow in detail one of the
transactions such rs are common with
the American people, involving both
the exporting and importing of a
certain commodity. As an example
let it he supposed that the Minnesota
farmers alliance sends its wheat to its
own mill at Minneapolis and has it made
into flour and that the market price there
is g. a barrel. 1t concludes to ship few
thousand barrels, as an adventure to Eu-
ropean ports, and in order to see that
everything is right, and also to save the
profits of middcmen, 1t sends with it its
own agent as supercargo He finds that
the freight. insurance and a reasonable
profit amount to 81 u barrel and on ar
irving on the coast he sells it for 81
barrel
He SELLS 900 barrels at Liverpool or
Glasgow ut that figure. The -four mer-
chant there charges 10 per cent. for his
trouble ani profit, and as there is no duty
on Il r in treat Britain, the flour costs
the c, ,n.umcr s6 so per barrel
He leaves | 900 barrels at Bremen at the
same figure, 81 The duty there being,
say 20 per cent, the flour then after pay
ing this duty stands the dealer ut S7.20; to
this he adds his profit of 20 per cent. and
sells to the consumer at 1892 per barrel.
He sells another thousand to French
man in Hayre ut the same price St; for the
Frenchman 5 money is neither better nor
worse to him than the money of the Ger
man or Englishmau, but as the tariff duty
there is, say 30 pr cent, it thue costs the
French dealer 81 SO, to which he adds his
10 per cent. profit. making the barrel of
flour then cost the French consumer SS,5S.
This makes quite a serious difference to
the French artisan; on account of this
tariff his -four costs him 81 9S per barrel
more than the EnglshmanS 1t may be
argued that the Ereuchman and the Ger
man lulAuA tAiN tttt ItAlH ~ tN tAAbANtS
and thus save the tariff tax. Let us see.
The English farmer has, of course, TO sell,
his -four of the same quality at the same
price rs the Minneapolis article
brings. or he will find no sale;
while the French farmer, seeing
there is not enough wheat raised in
France to supply the home consumption
can ask and receive rs much for his -four
As the American article costs with duty
etc. added He is therefore protected to
the extent of 81 9S, while the consumer is
mulcted to this amount. Now, supposing
that the French laboring man gets as high
wages as the English workman-which he
does not-he is evidently much worse off
than his fellow workman across the chan
mel
The agent of the farmers alliance is in
structed to invest the net amount of his
sales in such articles as the Minnesota
farmers use and under the head of Wbo