Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1891-08-06
The Moral Side of the Tariff Question

ed upon the sordid basis disadvantage.
Its advocates have rested their case
upon the supposed material benefits
it confers upon particular sections of
the country. and thereby indirectly
upon the whole country. The show
ing that tariff legislation supplies
more men with employment at better
wages, would not, if it could be done,
furnish sufficient reason for it's eX-
istence. The money that the italian
eler undoub tedly is of advantage to
the province he infests, for it is there
that it is spent, and it is usually only
a part of the travellers surplus that
he takes; but who, for that reason,
will claim that his act is not morally
wrong? The power to forcibly take
money from the people to support the
government is necessary to its exist
ence. This is conceded by everybody.
The manufacturer says, in effect, "Use
the governments taxing power to give
me so much money, and will operate
business in the section in which
am located that will furnish employ
ment to thousands of hands at good
wages, and at the same time enable
me to make fair profit" This would
not be SO bad if all men agreed to it,
but unfortunately certain parties OBJ
ject and argue that the wealth man
creates is absolutely his OVID, and that
when the government takes it by force,
and bestows it upon another for his
private use and benefit, it is robbery,
just as it would be if the Italian Ban
ditti had taken it from him.
Mr.. A, starts mandatory in Iron
county. After awhile he comes to the
citizens of Ironton and says, "Do not
permit any one outside of Iron county
to sell goods that MANUFACTURED in the
county, and will give two thousand
of your citizens work" This being
agreed to, the manufacturer continues
operations. After awhile people find
that they can get the same goods in
Madison county at fifty per cent. less
than they are paying for them here.
That fifty per cent. goes out of their
pocket, but who gets the money? The
county does not. The working man
does not, for his wages are not even
twenty-five per cent. above his Madi-
son county worker, and if there be any
excess in his wages, above the sur
rounding counties, it is used up in the
increased price he is compelled to pay
for what he has to use. Who, then,
gets this money? Clearly, the manu-
facturer. He prevents me buying from
any one else but him with one hand,
and coolly runs up the price of the arti-
Gle 1 am compelled to buy from him
with the other. If the working man.
in whose supposed interest this in
EQUITY was committed, ask for an in
crease of wages, after his employer has
received his privilege to take other
peoples money without an equivalent,
he is told that he is managing his own
business this year and does not need
his advice or assistance at the office,
and that if he is not satisfied with his
job he had better look up another sit
uation. This is the operation of the
protective system in this country.
The whole system is indefensible. 1t
is wrong from the beginning, and any
system must be that takes money out
of the pocket of one man and turns it
over to the private use of another. All
arguments tending to show that the
country is more prosperous under this
state of affairs fall fiat, for prosperity
cannot create new morality, nor can
it make stealing anything else but
stealing.