The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1892-07-30

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Free Trader
A tariff is a duty or custom paid on
goods imported into this country and
this duty or custom is paid in the first
instance by the importer; and the
amount OF this duty, which under the
Mckinley bill is an average of about
As per cent. on the value of the goods,
is charged or added to the cost and
carriage Of the goods. This cost and
tariff the wholesale merchant pays
when he buys the goods, and these
goods are by the wholesale dealer sold
to the retail dealer with all these
charges on them, together with the
wholesale dealers per centum Of prof
it. The retail dealer in turn, sells
these goods to his customers with all
these charges added to their price, plus
the retailers profits on it, and these
customers being the consumers of the
goods pay the whole cost, tariff, prof
its and all, and never get it back, SO
that an article that costs one dollar in
Liverpool, plus tariff and cost OF
transportation to New York will cost
about one dollar and fifty cents. Add to
this the wholesale merchants profits,
the cost Of transportation to Morgan
town and reasonable profits to retail
merchant and it will cost the consum-
er at least two dollars on the average.
Free trade would give the importer
the right to bring said goods to this
country and land them at any port of
entry, free of any tariff, so that these
goods would cost As per cent less in
New York than with the tariff, and
the consumer would save this tariff
and the wholesale and retail dealers
profits on said A. per cent. tariff;
which together would enable the GUS
toner or consumer to buy said goods
here at less than One-hdlf what they
cost him now under the Mckinley
tariff bill.
But it may be truthfully said that
all the goods we buy and consume are
not imported, but much of them are
manufactured in this country. Now
while this is true, yet the Mckinley
tariff being laid for protection, that is
to say to protect the domestic or home
manufacturer against foreign compe-
tition it must follow that to have that
effect, the domestic manufacturer
will put up the price of his products
to about what the foreign product cost
at the custom house in this country
which includes the original cost of
transportation and tariff duty, so that
while the government does not get any
duty or tariff on the goods manufac-
tured here but the manufactures gets
the As per cent. Of tariff as profit on
the goods he manufactures, and the
consumer pays about the same enor-
nous price for all the goods he pur-
chases and consumes.
Now let it not be forgotten that
whatever per cent Of tariff duty is i'm
posed, it makes the goods cost the
consumer that much more. So that
truthfully and candidly tariff is tao;
and a very heavy one on the consumer
Webster, among the many definitions
Of the word tax, says it is a charge, a
pecuniary burden imposed by authori-
ty on the person, ga burdensome duty
or charge"
That the tariff or tax is not paid to
the government but to the rich manu-
facturer only makes it the worse, be-
cause it not only makes the rich rich
er, but does so at the expense of the
poor laborer. This is sin and a
crime.
But this high tax or tariff, not only
makes the rich richer at the expense
of the poor laborer, but at the same
time makes it cost the poor la
borer about twice as much to live and
clothe himself and family as it would
without the tariff, and at the same time
does not increase the laborer's wages
one cent, but on the contrary, reduces
his wages as is now seen at the Home
stead iron works, where the laborers
are shut out of employment because
they would not submit to a reduction of
about 80 per cent IN their soages.
But let it not be understood or even
inferred, that we, or the great demo-
cratic party of this country are in ia
vor of, or advocate free trade, as the
Post and other misleading republican
papers insinuate. They know that
such assertion is false. They know
that neither of the two great political
parties advocate free trade (barring
that the republican platform, by
adopting the reciprocity provision of
the Mckinley bill, which is pure and
simple free trade to the extent it is
given effect.)
The republican platform and party
want tariff for protection, so high as
to virtually shut out all foreign COM
petition, and at the same time enable
the home manufacturers to put up the
price Of their products SO high as to
make themselves millionaires by i'm
poverishing labor.
The democratic platform and party
ask tariff for revenue, and so high
as to defray the expenses of the gener-
al government economically admins
tered and affording incidental protec-
ton.
The republican tariff has for its OBJ
ject high protection to American man
ufacturers (affordihg incidental rev.
enue.) The democratic tariff has for
its object revenue enough to support
the government ecomically admins
tered, and affording incidental protec-
tion only. The expense of our gov
eminent as now administered is over