The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1890-10-01
HON. J. Q. SMITH
Writes an Address to the Farmers Of
Ohio.
The Cause of the Present Depression in
Agriculture Clearly Stated.-What
the Mckinley Bills is, and
How 1t Effects the

Farmers.
Every farmer in Ohio should read the
magnificent address to the farmers Of
the Tenth Congressional District by
Hon. j. Q. Smith, of Clinton County,
we'll known farmer and advocate of tar
iff reform. After some preliminary re-
marks, Mr.. Smith writes:
Now, what is the Mckinley bill?
| What are its most marked provisions?
| What are its results to be, if passed?
What will it fail to do?
The Senate Finance Committee Ia
Republican committee) reports to the
Senate that the Mckinley bill, as it
| passed the House, will increase the
money to be collected on importations
as large as last year as follows: On
chemicals, oils and paints; on earths,
earthenware and glassware; on metals
and manufactures of Metals; on wood and
manufactures of wood; On tobacco and
manufactures of tobacco; on agricultural
products and provisions; on spirits,
wines and other beverages; on cotton
manufactures; on fax, hemp and jute,
and manufactures of the same; on wool
and manufactures of wool; on silk and
silk goods; on pulp, paper and books; on
sugar and on sundries from $161, 40S, S46
to $2O6, 344, 977. This increase of duties
would amount, on 1894, 437, 1T worth of
goods, (the amount imported last year,
| to $44, ,936, 131. This would be an in
| crease in the average of tariff taxes on
all these goods Of from 41. "a per cent. to
SO. so per cent. This is an increase on
the average rate of duty of II. 46 per cent.
over our present enormously high tariff.
The increase in metals and metallic
goods is from s.24 per cent. to SO. 81 per
cent, or an average increase of all
metallic goods over the present rate of
14.37 per cent. If the Mckinley bill
should pass, by the report of the Repub-
lican Finance Committee of the Senate,
the people of this country would have to
pay an increase of tariff taxes on metal
goods alone the sum of $7,2S1, 234. On
woolen and woolen goods alone the in
crease would amount to $14, AT, 237. The
| average rate on wool and woolens would
be increased from So. 9s per cent. to Is. so
per cent, or 1850 per cent. of increase.
On these two classes of goods our in
creased taxes would amount to $21, 75s,- =
| All.
1t is true that the bill, asit passed the
House, made heavy reductions in the
duties on sugar. But if that feature Of
the bill should be retained in the bill.
Judge Edmunds declares that by the
| close of the present fiscal year there
would be a deficiency of revenue to sup
port the Government of $105, 900, 900. So
great has been the extravagant appro-
priations of this Congress! The sugar
duty must, of necessity, be retained in
the bill. Such are the general features
of this most monstrous bill that the Re-
publican candidate in this district must
take special pride" in approving. Every
| figure have given is of the highest au-
thority and furnished by the finance
committee of a Republican Senate.
The limits of this address will not
| permit me to point out in detail the
| changes that will be made in advancing
the tax on, and, consequently, the price
of thousands of articles. A few must
suffice. The duty on tin plate-that is,
on the tin we use to make roofs, buckets,
cans and all the ten thousands of things
made of this increased from 1c a
pound to 2.2c pound. There is not a
pound of tin plate made in this country.
But the finance committee tell US that
| the increased cost of tin plate under the
bill would be IS, 1856, 352; and this is to be
| done because a few men in Pittsburgh
promise to go into the business of MAX
ing tin plate if Congress will take from
the people this great sum of money and
| give it to them. The real object of the
increase of duties on tin plate is to en-
able the wealthy manufacturers of gal
vanized iron largely to advance their
prices on that article. We take special
pride,'' say the Republicans of the Tenth
Congressional District, in the Mckinley
bill!
The duties on cotton ties are increas-
ed from 35 per cent to 1O3.71 per cent
This monstrous increased tax is to be
paid almost entirely by the freed men
of the South, who after being robbed
of the proceeds of their labor for two
hundred years by the slavery they en-
dured, for the benefit of their masters,
are now to be robbed by national law
for the benefit of a few capitalists. We
set them free at an immense cost of life
and treasure, and now it is proposed, by
law, to suck the blood out of them to
fatten trusts" and pools" that are
manufacturing cotton ties; and the Re
publicans of this district can hardly
find words strong enough to express
| their pride" in It'll
The duties are to be increased by the
| bill on woolen yarn over $S21, 900; on
women and children's dress goods the
| iuties will be increased 81, 974, sos; blank
| cts, fannels and hats are increased from
50. 70 per cent. to 110.S4 per cent; silk
goods-'sluxuries' they are called by
| the committeeman only increased Ia
per cent. There is practically no change
in the duties on liquors. There are but
few samples of the provisions of the
Mckinley bill that the wounded and
disabled soldiers, farmers, mechanics,
teachers, doctors, lawyers, widows and
orphaned children of this district are to
be asked to take PRIDE in.
But great pretense is made that it is
bill especially designed to promote
the interests of the farmer! The rates
of duty, forsooth, are to be increased on
corn, oats, wheat, rye and barley, none
of which, except little barley, do we
ever import, Except a few bushels for
seed), while we export hundreds of mill
ions of bushels to sell in the open mar
kets of the world in competition with
grains raised Dy Gne CnedpoSG, modnSSt
and most degraded labor in all the earth.
If the farmers of this Congressional
District can be made to believe that
duties, however higher, will materially
advance the price of agricultural prod
ucts in the greatest producing and ex-
porting country of such articles in the
whole world, am greatly deceived in
regard to their intelligence. The idea
is so absurd and preposterous that
must decline to insult the farmers Of
the Tenth District by discussing it. A
duty of thousand dollars bushel or
wheat and corn would not raise the price
in any market in the Union one cent OF
million of bushels. The provision i;
put in the bill as mere sham, frauc
: and humbr,, to delude only the mos
; ignorant men. They may be founc
somewhere, but surely not in this Dis
> trict.
The bill adds heavily to the onorou
taxes We have so long borne. 1t in