The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1890-01-11
1T is a Condition that Confronts Us
Not a Theory.

On most of articles of domestic
manufacture, where well established,
the consumer pays about one. half the
price the same articles cost twenty
years ago. Salt of domestic manu-
facture is purchasable at 80 cents per
280 pounds. that sold 20 years ago at
81 80. The present price is less than
the duty on foreign salt. Soda ash
that cost S48 per ton to import. with
SIS per ton duty added, is selling now
at $28 per ton. The consumption of
the country is about 10000 tons
yearly. There are made at Syracuse
$4,000 tons annually. Wind0w-glass
Is fifty per cent. less in price than it
was 20 years ago, and plate.gIass that
used to sell at $3.50 per square foot
Gun now be obtained at 70 cents per
square foot. BOrax that was formerly
imported at % to SO cents per pound
is now selling for domestic produc.
ton at CT cents per pound. Steel
rails that sold in 1873 at $l66 currency
or Sl3S gold per ton have sold within
the year at S26 to S29 per ton. with
duty SIT per ton. Pig-iron is now
cheaper under a Protective Tariff
than at any time in the last So years.
Cotton cloth Is purchasable at any
retail store in the country at about
the duty charged on imported. The
Free.Trader alleges that the cotton
manufacturers in this country make
enormous profits. The answer to
this is that So cotton mills in Massa-
chusetts and New Hampshire. with
1882, 900 capital, averaged annual
dividends during the IA years from
1874 to 1857 of 6 149.10O0 per cent.
Carpets. body Brussels of foreign
make. with crude colors AMI bad de-
signs, that in 1861 were 50 rs to So so
per yard, can now be purchased of
Philadelphia manufacture, of origi.
nal and chaste designs, fine color, at
SIPS per yard, and ingram carpets
that sold in 1851 at $l.35 to Sl.50 can
now be purchased ut Is cents per
yard.
Wooden blankets, of American
make. for army hospital use were
offered to the late Secretary of War
of quality superior to the foreign at
80 cents per pair more than the Gov
eminent paid for foreign blankets
that were imported free of duty.
Steel IA inch files, that were formerly
imported at 81 per dozen, 10 per cent.
off. with duty 81 so. are now selling
at 50 to $2.10 for American make, or
40 to so cents less than the duty.
Wooden clothing can be purchased in
New York of equal quality, finish
and color as cheaply as in London or
Liverpool. The list of articles can
be indefinitely extended. showing Il
reduction in the price of most articles
In twenty years to the American con.
sumner of fully fifty per cent. An in.
crease in thirty years of 40 per cent.
in wages and decrease in price. of
nearly everything the American con.
sumner buys, of fifty per cent, is a
result quite unlike the Free-Trader's
theory. On more than Is per cent.
of the 1920, 900 600 duties collected on
imports the foreigner paws the duty
in the diminished net price of which
he sells his goods and the money
goes into the United States Govern
ment Treasury. For illustration :
A Minnesota and a Canadian farmer
each send the same quantity ard
quality of wheat TO the New York
market, where wheat Is worth 81 per
bushel. The duty on the Cana liam
wheat is 20 cents per bushel, which
the New York consignee pays and
charges to the Canadian farmer, net
ting him 80 cents against 81 which
the Minnesota farmer receives. The
result Is similar on all articles where
we control the market. Still with
all these wonderful advantages at.
tained under the Protective policy
the Free.trader is not happy. ut is
q condition that confronts US, not a