Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1890-03-26


The advocates of protection state
that their system of giving bonnties
TO owners of mines and manufactures
has made them exceedingly prosper
Gus, and all informed persons agree
with them. Any business that re-
ceives, in addition to its actual ex-
pense, bonus of from % to IA per
cent, ought to be paying one. If
such bonus protected business does
not pay good dividends to the persons
who invested their money in said bus
mess, then there has been mismanage-
ment in the carrying on of the bust
ness.
There is no doubt that mining and
manufacturing have been profitable,
and that immense fortunes have been
accumulated by thousands of those
who have invested their money in
protected industries.
Take wooden goods for an illustra-
ton, and this is protected industry
that, of late years, has not been as
prosperous as those who had their
money invested in it would like it to
be. Now we consider the real value
of wooden goods is what they could be
bought for provided there was no tar
if tax levied upon them. The artif-
cial value is the increased price by
reason of the protective tariff.
During the year 1888, WOODEN goods
to the value of S47 ,158,04S were i'm
ported to this country, and OH those
goods tariff tax of s32,2l3,121 was
paid by the American farmers and Ia
borers. The tax paid ranged from 33
per cent to SO per cent, and the aver
age tax paid on all the wooden goods
imported was 68 per cent.
The above imported wooden goods,
valued at SAT, 158,04S, were manufac-
tured in foreign countries, shipped
across the Atlantic ocean to this coun.
try, and were taxed, on their arrival
here, to the amount Of s32, 213,121
by the custom officials. The actual
cost of said goods, delivered in Amer.
lea, was therefore CAT ,158, O48, and
the artificial cost, by reason of the tar
iff tax, was $32,213,12l. The wooden
goods thus imported cost the Ameri.
can farmers and laborers $79,371 1854,
Of which S32,213,121 was tax col
lected by the government.
During the same period an enor-
nous amount of wooden goods was
manufactured in this country, the ex-
act value of which it is impossible
state. The Z. s. census of 1880 places
the value of the wooden manufactures
that year at little over 5000, 100000
The value Of those manufactured dur
ing 1888, or eight years later, must
have been great deal larger, say
s250,O00,O0O.
Now, by reason of the protective
tax, the American manufactures has
been enabled to increase the price of
the goods he manufactured from 33 to
SO per cent, and supposing that he
sold his goods lower than the import
ed goods, for pure love of patriotism,
and charged his customers an average
of so per cent, which would be 1S per
cent lower than the average tax charg-
ed on foreign goods by the govern
ment, then the amount of tax paid to
American manufacturers, by the
American farmers and laborers, would
be S125,000,000. To that amount
add the tax paid to the government,
which was S32,213,121, and the farm
ers and laborers can see that they
were taxed on what wooden goods they
purchased during 1888, the enormous
sum of $157,213,121.
The American farmers and laborers
therefore contributed out of their small
earnings, as bonus, 157,213,121, to
aid the protected wool industry. Could
they afford it?
In return for that bonus of $751;
600, 900, what return have they
received? Reports from farming dis
tricts show that farmers have received
less for the products of their farms
than il cost to raise them. The farm
ers, therefore, can not afford to pay
large bonus to support manufactures.
Laborers have seen pauper labor i'm.
ported from foreign countries to COM
pete with them and lower wages SO
that it is difficult task for laboring
man with family to make bare liv-
ing. They, therefore, cannot afford
to take part Of their scanty wages
and give them to the manufacturer as
bonus. Their own families need all
they can earn.
A few have grown immensely
wealthy out of this accursed system,
but the great mass Of the people have
become poor. If an industry lie given
a bonus to makes it successful the
amount donated must come from the
people in the shape of taA.
Farmers and laborers, think Of
1857 100000 taxes paid out Of your
wages in one year, and the greater
part went into the Golfers Of the favor
ed few. No wonder that immense for
tunes are so rapidly accumulated.