The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1891-10-24
H WEEKLY
WHO PAYS THE TAX.

tItlV- 'ops iiN ~ INV cuiiip hioi
ket place. The Erie county farmer take
30 cents home with him. The Canadian
farmer takes 80 cents less p cents, tn
American taritf."-From Major Mckin
ley's Ada, Ohio, speech.
The above except, taken from Mr.. Nc
Kinley's speech is reproduced by repub
lican organs in Montana to show tina
the importer pays the tax on imported
goods. 1t is one of the thinnest. mos
demagogical and %silliest presentation
of the question the tribune has seen
Now let us ask reasonable men to ana.
lyze this proposition as Mr.. Mckinley
presents it. The Canadian farmer takes
his wheat to Buffalo. At the boundary
line he pays the % cents per bushel duty
to the custom house officer, imposed by
the Mckinley tariff, before he can cross
into the United States to sell his wheat.
He sells his wheat in Buffalo for 90 cents
and pockets 90 cents net cash per bushel
for his load. This % cents duty he pays
to the United States government. In
other words he pays % cents per bushel
for the privilege Of selling his wheat in
an American market. If he makes
money by the transaction he is a wise
man. If he loses he is a Ounce. These
are plain propositions.
The Erie county farmer sells his wheat
in Buffalo for 30 cents and pockets all
the cash. He pays nothing for the priv
ilege of selling there. Now let us follow
up those bushels of wheat. The Cana
dian farmers wheat is placed beside the
Erie county farmers wheat. Both have
been sold at 90 cents per bushcl. They
are both alike in quality and in price.
and the consumer pays the 80 cents a
bushel for both. The tariff has not
%cheapened the price to him. On the
contrary it has raised the price p cents
IA bushel. Anyone can see that. For if
it had not been for the tariff of p cents
a bushcl he could have bought his wheat
for 50 cents, the price at which the
Canadian farmer sold his wheat. This i,
fact proves that the consumer pays ajax
Of - cents a bushel for his wheat.
But in this instance he pays the tax
TO the American producer instead of to /
the government as the foreign producer Ii
did. This is also plain. And it is also +
plain that Mr.. Mckinley proved more S
than he intended to prove by his wheat fl
story. He conclusively proved that the C
of the Erie county farmers Il
wheat paid "a tariff tax of % cents a Il
bushel for the privilege of buying his Ii
wheat in an American market. He
could have bought il in a Canadian mar !,
kct for 60 cents a bushel but Mr.. Ne
kinlcy wouldn't let him. However as :,
this tax is for the benefit of the .Ameri- -
Fan farmer no one kicks about it. He is -
to death upon everything he and j.
his family consumes and upon every i'm ~
he uses upon his farm and the ,4
little tax Of - cents a hushcl which the nc
consumer is supposed to pay for wheat he
: not taken into account. ~
We say supposed to pay" alvisedly
or really We DO not pay Il cent duty ON
heat. This country is aE exporter. not
n importer Of the article and Mr.. Me n.y.
Illustration loses its value IN
he face uf the fact. But as h" used it L.,
p e&nmplify the workings of lis tariff 49,,
- viii stay by il and see where that -.
heat will land him and his pet meas 10
re- For the purpose We will transform a..
is Canadian farmer INTO an English
manufacturer. and his Eric county farm
r into an American manufacturer. Both fo,
the same article we will say nj.
9th for mems wear. The English ra
,anuracturer is met at Buffalo with a do
uty 81 Sl,G2 cents a yard for his cloth. co
Ic sells it at - a yard. The American fin
.anufacturer sells his cloth at 81 a ,h
ird. As far as the cost Of production str
concerned there is. as in the case of mn,
heat growing. little or no difference.
he consumer who buys the home made J
'ticlc pays the manufactures Sl.G2 a pre-
lrd for the privilege Of purchasing no
ON him. while the English manufactur- POI
pays our government Sl.62 for the Mo
'ivilegc of selling in the American gre
arket. That is plain enough. If the tn,
Il q" 10 Aui i''S' II 'ilN
m~crican manufacturer puts down the do
of his goods just a shade below the
st cost of and duty upon the English
anufactured article, the home manu- ke,
gets all the benefit of the tariff an
ID the government gets nothing. This tl'
also plain. And for this purpose Mr.. ere
cKinlcy's tariff measure became a law. ne
Now the thinking reader can see who
.ys the tan. The of home
own wheat pays a tax Of - cents a ~,
lshel when it comes in competition -.
.th foreign-grown wheat. This is w.,
He'd protection to the American
The wearer of American man ~,
clothes pays a tax of Sl.G2 a M
I'd when it comes in competition with ~"