Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-06-18
WE PAY THE TARIFF TAX.
Hon. owen Scott Points Out the FaIlacy
of Mck.nley's Statement.


of McK.nley's Statement.
But the apologists for this system of
spoliation say that the foreigner paws
the tax. The supreme court of the United
States, in the case of Brown versus The
State of Maryland, unanimously an
nounced that duty on imports is a
tax that is paid by the consumers"
Major Mckinley, in his canvass, said:
I'VE took the tax off of sugar and
now you don't have to pay it, See how
we have relieved you from taxation by
taking the tariff off from raw sugar"
In another breath this same distin-
guished gentleman says:
The foreigner pays it-you don't"
Now let US see who pays the tax.
Marshall Field & Co. imported 81 400
worth of pearl buttons and paid at Chi
cago So, 900 duty. This 81 400, with the
cost of transportation added, was the
cost to them and upon which they based
their sales of this article which went to
consumers and was paid by them Would
the button makers pay $1,000 tax to get
81 400 for their products:
Armour imported 800 900 pounds of
tin and paid Sc, 700 as duty. Ninety-nine
per cent. of this, as provided in the Nc
kinley law. was refunded to him. be-
cause the goods which this tin inclosed
were exported. If the foreigner paid the
tax on the tin, why throw the govern
ment's money away by refunding it to
Mr.. Armour: Mr.. Mckinley introduced
bill i'll this house last session to appro-
pirate $25, 600 to pay taxes on plate glass
for lighthouses to be built by the gov
eminent. If the foreigner pays the tax,
why was this necessary?
The Standard Oil company paid al
most million dollars duty on tin i'm
ported in 1890. Ninety mine per cent. Of
this was refunded to this giant corpora
ton under the provisions of the McKin-
ley law. If the foreigner paid the tax
on this tin, why was it necessary for con-
gress to provide for throwing away so
large a sum of the peoples money? 1t is
claimed by the friends of protection that
they have saved to the people of the
country 5000, 900 by taking the tariff
off of sugar. If the foreigner paws the
tax, why take it off: 1t would certainly
be good business sense to allow the for
eign manufacturers of sugar to pay into
the federal treasury this vast sum of
money each year-almost half enough to
pay the pensions of the disabled and
wounded soldiers of our country.
In this house. after the Chicago fire.
General Logan introduced bill to ad-
NIT building materials to that stricken
city free of tariff. If the tax was not
paid by the consumer, how would it bene-
fit the Chicago people who We're trying
to rebuild their city from the ashes that
were left by the great confagratiou: The
earnest protest from the lumber barons
induced congress to exempt lumber from
this provision. All other building ma
terials We're made free under the belief
that the consumers We're being benefited
by taking off the tax. The modern the
DRY of protectionists is that the people of
Chicago We're not benefited in this. but
that the foreigners who shipped their
iron and lead and other materials that
were used in constructing the magnif-
cent temples Of trade and commerce to
make the wonder Of the Nineteenth cen
fury We're the benehCiaries by this spe-
Cial provision. Similar requests We're
asked in regard to other cities that have
been unfortunate. AT a time when East
port, Me. burned down the gentleman
from Maine. Mr.. Boutelle, a member Of
this house, and insisting that the tariff Is
not a tax, introduced bill to take build
ing materials into that city free. Ii was
discovered. though, that the foreigner
paid the tax, and his bill did not pass.
Mr.. Wanamaker, the present postmas-
ter general, with others, brought a suit
| against the government to recover be
tween $1,000 600 and sic, 900 600 of rev
enues., If Mr.. Wanamaker has returned
this to the foreigner it has not been re-
ported. Neither has he paid it back to
| the country merchants who sold to the
consumers. In this case the people had
| to pay this tariff twice-once when they
| bought the goods and once when the
| government reimbursed Mr. Wanamaker
| out Of the treasury from the moneys
they had paid. 1t would seem from this
that the postmaster general did not APP
| preciate the fact that the foreigner paid
| the tax. All this shows conclusivelv,
! and the instances might be multiplied,
that the tariff is tax and the consumer
| pays it.-Congressional Record.
Mckinley Hates Cheap Cattle.
Among the changes in the tariff which
| the Mckinley hill has made that rnor