Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1890-11-20
Farmers Puzzled.
Two of our farmer subscribers

ocrat and the other republican,
the following colloquy took place:
Democrat-Hallo neighbor Rep.
Haint seen you since election. How
do you like the result?
Repubican-How do, neighbor
Dem. What's the news anyway?
/ didn't attend election, being too
busy, and don't know how it went.
Dem.-Why we Knocked your
fellers clean out. Elected Peck and
the whole democratic state ticket
by about $4,000 majority. Got a
majority of the Legislature and
Congress.
Rep.-Indeed! And what do you
calculate will come of it; any good
to us farmers?
Dem.-Good to us, you bet. Why
we are going to reform the whole
country, and in two years will re-
peal the republican robber tariff, 50
that we won't have to pay 40 to 100
per cent. tax on every article of
clothing, and every piece of machin
cry and household furniture we buy.
Rep.-Then we shat. obtain those
things cheaper by 40 to 100 per
cent, Ell?
Dem.--Of course. And the mys
terry to me is why every farmer
don't vote the democratic ticket.
Rep.-1 see you have nice suit
of new winter clothes. | need a
suit myself. May | ask where you
got them, and how much they cost?
Dem.-It is a good suit | think.
All wool, well made and neat pat
tern. had to pay $l5 for it, at
Gundry, Gray 81 Co.'s.
Rep.-That seems to be reason
able tor such suit.
Dem.-Yes, but don't you know
that but for the outrageous tariff |
could have got it for about 80 per
cent. less?
Rep.--No! llow's that?
Dem.-Why, you see the tariff on
ready made wool clothing is 493
cents per pound, and 80 per cent. al
valorem, which supposlng TINS suit
to weigh about pounds, make to-
gether about so per cent. tar on this
suit Of clothes!
Rep.-But that suit is probably
not Imported?
Dem.-Probably not, and therein
is the greatest villany of the tariff,
as it enables the manufacturing
barons to rob us by taking as profit
the amount Of the tariff, whatever
it may be.
Rep.-Then you think the manu-
facturer of those clothes got a profit
of so per cent, or Sl2.
Dem.-Ot course he did.
Rep.-And of course Gundry,
Gray & Co. got some profit; bow
much, do you suppose?
Dem.-Well, maybe 20 per cent,
profit and freight.
Rep.-Let's see; if they got 20
per cent. profit on a suit which they
sold for $500, then it cost them
$3.50.
Dem.-Guess so. Will take your
word for it; | amt much on figures.
Rep.-Then if the manufacturer
profit was $1,000 and Gundry, Gray
~ Co.'S $3.50, the actual cost of
producing that suit of clothes was
just fifty cent?" Eh.
Dem.-l suppose 30.
Rep.-Now see here, friend Dem,
that's funny, amt It? But | under
stand that 1t takes about two pounds
of natural wool to make one pound
of wooden cloth such as is in them
clothes, so that there must have
been about II pounds of raw wool
used in making that suit. | sold
some wool last week for 25 cents
per pound, but the fellow that sold
the wool from which your clothes
were made couldn't have received
over Al cents per pound, and
the people who carded the wool,
spun it, wove it into cloth, fashioned
ana StNtu IL lllo blobIcS, Spl dpSO-
lutely nothing for their services.
Dem.--Oh, gol darn your repub-
lican figures! | know that Cleve-
land says "the tariff is tax" and
that all articles of home manufac-
ture are enhanced in value to the
consumer by the amount of duty
imposed on like articles of foreign
production. Down with the robber
tariff!
Rep.-Good bye, friend Dem, as
you seem TO want to go. l don't
say, remember, that them clothes
of yours cost only 80 cents to the
manufacturer, but present these
figures to illustrate how simple
Cleveland and his followers es-
innate the people to be, if they
expect to get us to vote the demo-
cratic ticket, by asserting that the
tariff is SO much added to the cost
of things, whether of foreign or
domestic manufacture.