Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1892-04-07


cent coat Innings l42 per cent, l6
cent coat liinngs ~ per cent less;
35 cent astrachans $50 per cent, 4s
cent astrachans l72 per cent; 8 cent
dress goods lO3 per cent, Is cent
dress goods 80 per cent less; 80 cent
henrietta cloth 81 per cent, so cent
henrietta cloth % per cent less; 80
cent woolen or part woolcn dress
goods 93 per cent, 81 woolen or part
wooden dress goods S4 per cent less;
10 cent cotton velvet 81 per cent,
90 cent cotton velvet 81 per cent
less; 81 cent satin 6s per cent, Al
cent satin per cent less; 81 yard
all-silk satin 81 per cent less; 81 cent
silks 81 per cent, $2,1O silks 80 per
cent less; As cent silk and cotton
velvcts lis per cent, 1926 all-sill1
velvet Ga per cent less; 35 cent
coarse crash for towels 65 per cent,
fine linen towels and table cloths
costing four times as much, 6 per
cent less; lowest quality of buttons
500 per cent, finest quality 400 per
cent less, and so on throughout the
entire bill.
The Republican rule that the
coarsest goods shall pay the highest
taxes and the finest luxurics the low
est, is applied uniformly. But the
rates above quoted are enough to
illustrate the practical workings Of
the republican rule.
The duties collected on foreign
goods last year am ounted to 1885,
429,sSs. Under such rule of tariff
revision as that Of the Mckinley act
high for necessaries and low for
luxuries-it is inevitable that by far
the larger part of that sum should
be paid by the laboring people, those
who buy the commoner grades of
goods. 1t is perhaps only fair to
the republican politicians to say that
they would not have followed this
rule if they could have helped it.
But they could not help it. They
were forced to it by their monopoly
allies.
The reason is very simple and is
worth considering. American goods
are not usually sold on their merits,
but on the merits Of the high taxes
which shut out competition. There
fore American goods are rarely of
the best quality. For example, we
have about 100 shoddy mills in this
country turning out loO,ooO,ooO
pounds of shoddy which is manufac-
tured into goods which are sold as
woolen and at the price Of genuine
woolen goods. There is more money
in making goods Of shoddy or Other
coarse material, without regard to
finish, and selling them at tariff
prices, than there is in selecting good
material, doing careful work and
turning out goods which will sell Oh
their merits. This is inevitable
under the law of the higher the pro
lection the less the necessity fol
selling on merit.
AS American manufacturers Cal
make more by not selling on merit
they have foreigners to make til.
goods which will sell without thu
aid Of restrictive taxes. Hence tho
goods Of the better qualities compete
less with American goods than dc
the coarser and commoner grades
If the coarser grades of foreign
goods are shut out of this market
coarse American goods Of the SANE
, grade will bring prices almost if no
quite as high as the finest grades
of foreign goods, and the profits OF
them will be four or five times Al
; great as on the manufacture Of good
Of a better quality. So the who'll
pressure Of protected monopoly wa
brought to bear on the republican
politicians to force them to put tn
t highest taxes on the commonest ne
cessaries of life. Anybody can se'
that this rule Of the republican tarif
puts the heaviest burden on tn
I poorest people, and collects from