The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1892-03-15

WO ANOCU u GOCOCCGOO
Tariff on Wheat
and Cotton?
Mr.. EDTToR:-In your issue of the
18th of January, Mr.. Amis comes back
at me on the Terrible Tariff" why
should Mr.. Murdoch advocate a tarltt
for revenue only on the articles OF his
second when he has proven so con
clusively that a high protective tariff,
as In the case of Bessemer steel, Will
transfer them to his third class where
competition at home will bring down
the price and force foreigners to pay
the tariff"
1t is conceded that as long as we
have governmental expenses we musC
have a revenue. AS long as we use tno
tariff to raise revenues we must nave
a tariff on something for a revenue. IL
we levy If on such things as we do not
nrod11ce the consumer will have to
nav the tariff to the extent Of the tariff
levied. Such things as we produce in
sufficient quantity to do us should be
reserved exclusively for American
labor and capital, whether it is on the
farm or in the mine or factory.
There is left the second class from
which to levy q evenue vice such
things as we do not produce in suth-
cient quantity to do SO. In our former
article we said Congress should appoint
a committee to examine all articles on
the second list and when they found
any article that we had the raw mate
rial to produce all we could consume,
they should report the fact to Congress
and recommend such legislation as
would secure the transfer Of the second
to the third with the least expense to
the people.
Such articles as we cannot produce
in sufficient quantity to do III should
be for revenue only. On all of this
class the tariff is paid partly by tho
consumer and partly by the foreigner.
On such things as we do not produce
in sufficient quantity to do us, the de
mand is greater than the supply. If
we levy a prOhibitive tariff on this
class it enables the producers to prac-
tice extortion. AS there is not sufi
cient raw material to supply the de-
mand, it gives the producers virtually
a monopoly on the article. Home com
petition could not force the price down
when there is not enough raw material
to employ capital to produce a supply
for the market. When the demand
for any article is greater than the sup
ply, the price advances and in this case
would advance one half more than the
amount Of the tariff levied, depending
upon how cheap the foreigner could
produce it. If the tariff was placed so
high that the article could not be i'm
ported and pay the import duty and
leave a profit, the tariff would be a tax
to the extent of the tariff Levied. We
insist that before the article is trans
ferred from the second to the third list
that we shall know to a certainty that
we have the raw material to produce
all we consume and that capital shall
give a guarantee that reasonable prices
will be charged while the article is
passing from the second to the third
list. Capital should not be allowed to
charge more than a reasonable profit
on the article any more than would be
charged on the article when cOmpeti-
ton had forced the price down. We
cannot have home competition on any
article when the demand is greater
than the supply. The tariff of Is cents
levied on Canadian wheat does not add
n cent to the price, neither does the
farmer receive one cent profit from this
tariff. Wheat belongs to the third
class, The third class Is divided into
two classes: First, such things as we
produce in sufficient quantity to sup
ply IOI10 A1dIh0LS anu d SUI p1uS W OK
port. Second, things we produce all
We can consume but prices of labor
here are so high we cannot compete
with the cheaper labor of other c0un-
tries. Because of cheap labor and
cheap money other countries can pro-
duce cheaper than we can. To protect
capital and labor in this country we
levya protective tariff onthese articles.
Free trade or home competition keeps
prices down until the prices are nOmi-
nal. Money is free to go when it
chooses, and it chooses to 90 when the
profits are the best. Though MANY
articles could be bought cheaper of
other countries where there is cheaper
labor, they r excluded because the
admission of these articles free would
drive capital and men out of the bust
ness and force them into other
This would take the gold out of the
country and deplete the circulation
n bring about a contraction and
shrlnkage IN values.
demand and supply regulate prices.
In the case Of wheat the demand is in
europe Tor u surplus wheat. The
spectators (the money deviD in Liver
pool, take q view Of the probable sup
ply or wheat In the civilized world and
mXes prices at Liverpool, England.
q hXes the prices of wheat all over
the world for the surplus and other
wheat The farmers who produce the
Wne have nothing to say as to the
price or wheat. They are tied to the
money devil OF Europe. The price
fixed at Liverpool on wheat 1xas the
price of wheat in the United States and
Canada. If wheat is n dollar at New
York, it will be the same price at anv
place in Canada with equal facilities
for shipping, and will be the same
price anywhere in Canada and the
United States, with equal facilities for
shipping. The reader must keep in
mind that the price of wheat all over
the world is fixed in Liverpool. We
have q LARGE ~sl1rnlns of Wheatin North