The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1892-04-04
THE TARIFF NOT A TAX.
William L. Wilson's "Inexorablo
Logic of Facts" Answered.
THE REMOVAL OF THE SUGAR TAX
and tho Consequent Chcapcning OF
tho Article Docs not Show TINT tho
Tariff Raises the Prices on Other
Protected Articlcs..Whcrcl Lies
tho DiIercnoo-..Some ]"IncxoraOlo
Logic" Found In Some Other Facts.
To the Editor Of Ne Intelintncer.

LOGIC" fOuhu III some Otner Eucts.
IL Inc Editor ofte IntelliNtnctr.
SIR:;-Pcrmit II few words from tho
other side" in reply, in n general way,
to q recent letter Of Hon. William l..
Wilson in tho st. Louis Rcpublic. Mr..
Wilson claims that ''thc removal OF tho
sugar tariff has given lis tho memorable
logic Of facts" which, according 10 his
logic is, that II taking tho tariff OF sugar
cheapencd it by SO much, taking it OF
all other articles would cheaper them
accordingly-thus holding with the ora.
Gle OF the sage OF Lakewood (his politi.
cal file leader) that "the tariff is a tax
and must be paid by tho consumer"
OF course tho "tarilf is 4 tax," but lot
us inquire impartiully who pays tho
tax, under what conditions it il paid
by tho consumer and under what con.
ditions by the importer, and under
what conditions the cost of tho taxed
Tor protectcd) article is increased and
under whn. conditions decreased by
protection?
Now, I lay it down as nh infallible
rule-l might with propriety say, an
eternal principle--thnt when tho tax is
levied upon al article which is not pro.
duced in this country, or cannot be pro.
duccd in sufficient quantity to regulate
its price, the importer adds tho tax to
the market price OF his goods, and tho
consumer must pay it; but when the
homo production is sufficient to cstab.
lish and regulate the price, the tax must
be paid by the importer-he pays the
tariff for tho privilege Of selling his
goods Mt tho price already established,
and If his importation has any effect
upon tho market, it is to lower rather
than raise it,-not, however, on account
OF the tariff, but on the broad principle
of supply and demand.
Stimulated by protection, home CON-
petition s,arpencd by labor-saving ma
chinery and improved methods, forces
the price below the figure previously
paid for the imported article, and home
production reveals a surplus for export.
The result is q chcapcning OF the article
not only in this country, but all over
the world.
Keeping these broad principles al,
ways in view, we have no difficulty in
understanding how taking the tariff Off
sugar cheapened it, while putting and
keeping it on steel rails, plate glass, cot
ton and wooden goods and numborless
other articles have cheapened them.
The writer we'll remembers when his
father paid % cents per yard, by the
bolt, for calico for family use, which
u now be bought for 6 toS Scent Eng
land then monopolize1 the market,
and We had to pay her price or do with
out. The tariff now on calico, which
can be bought ut retail for 5 to S cents
per yard is 5 cents per yard. Now if
the Britisher brings his calico here and
sells it, who pays the the tax? Flo is
not only forced to sell here at the price
established by home production and
competition, but to sell ut home and in
the other markets OF the world at the
samc-clse we would m%onopolizc them
all, for remember, Uncle Sam is a 'bil-
lion country" The same is literally
true with respect to the other articles
mentioned-steel rails, plate glass, &t:s
Does any n suppose If England had
this monopoly OF tho trade in these ar.
ticles now, that we could buy calico at
less than % cents per yard and steel
rails at less than $l60 per ton withoat
any tariff?
When the above mentioned price rs
ccnts) was paid for@calico the writer's
father vas hiring n white man with a
family to do ali kinds Of farm work
through the summer, except harvesting,
ut S. per month; good cows could be
bought for $40 per head, sheep for 81 to
81 %, and other farm products in pro-
portion.
Now, for the sake OF tho argument,
let lis admit that the consumer pays the
tax. Political economists estimate that
on an average about 90 per cent OF the
cost OF manufactured articles is charge
able to the wages OF labor. Let us take
q ton Of steel rails, cost S2S. Then
$50 20 represents labor. The tariff OH
this is Sl3 A. If, according to free
trade logic, tho consumer pays this tax
the cost, less the tariff, would be S14 Sc.
But the entire tariff, representing 531
per cent, would Of necessity como off
the wages OF labor, leaving but Sll 7B.
Are the w~age:earners OF this country
prepared for this condition of things?
Protectionists are further able to show
that the farmers are more benefited by
protection than those following any
other branch OF industry by withdraw
ing a large proportion OF wage-earners
from agriculture and creating Il homo
market for their surplus products, not
only OF staple, but OF perishablo articles.
1t is by the showing OF "the inexor-
able logic OF iacts'' such as these that
the protectionist is enabled to claim for
his system the maximum Of prices for
farm products and wages, and tho min
imums OF price Tor manufactured goods.
There never was before a tax bill
passed in the history Of this or any
other country which SO cilectually re-
lieves the consumer aud levies tho duty
upon the importer and at the same time
(by its reciprocity %clause) opens the
markets OF the world to our surplus
products, MS the Mckinley b%ill-else, If
w pay tho tax, why need the foreigner
complain? Why aro foreign workshops,
closed and foreign manufacturers NOV.
ing their plants into this country?
GEORGE r. LATHAM.
Buckhannon, W. Va, aApril /.