St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-10-26
TARIFF AND WAGES.
The Whole Subject Vigorously
Dissected by Thomas G.
Shearman.
Why the Tariff Is a Tax and
the Foreigner Does Not
Pay 1t.
Daniel w. LaWlep Given an
Enthusiastic Reception in
Minneapolis.
He Gave the People a Taste
of the Purely State
Issues.

The big Democrotic rally at the Lye
ceum theater, Minneapolis, last night
was success III every way. There was
a large crowd. and enthusiasm was as
plentiful as the sands on the sea shore.
Several hundred ladies were present,
giving the audience an aspect Of
sprightllness and mirroring the lat
est fashion in hats and coats.
On the stage was life-size
portrait of Grover Cleveland, draped
with the United States flag. The meet
ing was rather late in beginning, and
the audience evinced an impatience.
When the speakers of the evening made
their appearance on the stage, however,
all discomfort vanished before smiles of
anticipation. w. H. Lynn acted as
chairman. and he proved capable one.
He was loudly applauded when in a
brief Introductory he referred to-
the names of the speakers,
Hon. Daniel W. Lawler. Thomas G.
Shearman of New York, J. G. Haynes,
Judge Nethaway and Harry Hawkins.
Especially was the applause fervid
when Mr.. Lawler'S name was men-
toned. and when that gentleman ar
rived Oh the stage from another meet
ing the ovation which greeted him was
tumultuous. Mr.. LAWYERS natural mod
esty caused him to flush to the eyes at
the reception.
The Cleveland G1ee club was accorded
the first place on the programme. and
responded to a request of Chairman
Lynn for song by rendering musical
selection entitled "Oh, Grover Cleveland
will be there" The song was encOred.
and when another verse had been sung
Mr.. Shearman was introduced. The
speech he delivered was interesting. and
replete with arguments against the Nc
Kinley tariff. which were staggerers to
the opposition. He said:
Every Tariff Tax.
The great issue in this campaign is
| the question whether the tariff shall be
maintained for the purpose of govern
| ment revenue only or whether it shall
| be perverted into means of taxing the
whole people for the profit of a few.
| Upon some things all American states
men are agreed. We used to hear from
many orators and to read in many news
papers that the tariff was not a tax.
| But that has been completely disposed
of by Maj. Mckinley and Mr.. Foster,
secretary of the, treasury. who must
be accepted by all good Republicans as
clare that every tariff is a tax, that
tariff for revenue is tax upon Ameri-
can consumers and that tariff for pro-
lection is a tax upon foreigners. But in
either case it is a tax.
Does fIae Foreigner Pay the Take
This being the admitted effect of a
tariff for revenue, the only question
which remains is whether protective
tariff also collects taxes from the Amer
ican people, or whether these taxes are
paid by foreigners, as MIR. Mckinley
says they are. Now, if the foreigner
pays the taxes, it is perfectly clear that
he must sell the article upon which he
has paid the tax just as cheaply in this
country as he would be willing to sell it
in any other. The present Republican
administration has Republican consuls
in every important foreign port who are
sworn to report the true market
values of goods sent by foreign
| ers to this country. We import
every year about $300,000,000 worth Of
foreign goods, upon which "DrOtectiOn"
taxes are levied. | leave out of account
the remaining S500,000,000 worth which
are admitted under the revenue part, or
tree Of duty. On these $500, ,000. 900
worth tax of S150,00O,O0O is paid every
year to our government. Mr.. Mckinley
says that the foreigner pays all this tax,
and that no American pays penny of
it. OF course what Mr. Mckinley says
must he true. 1t follows, therefore, that
the generous foreigners send to lis goods
which cost them $500. 600, 900, that they
pay the tax of $50, 100000, making the
cost Of the goods when delivered here
$3.50, 900, and then sell them to the
American people for $500, 100000, and
that they have been doing this. year
aft
Protection to Wages.
But it is said that this enables rich
men to pay good wages to their EN-
ployes, and that this system of taxing
poor men for the benefit of rich men
must be kept up in order to enable rich
men to pay high wages to small mum.
Der of poor men. Now IL this were
true it would only amount to taxing all
poor men in order to give very small
number OF them wages little better
than they would otherwise get. The
whole number of wOrkmen who can, by
any possibility, benefit by protective
tariff, or who are engaged in protected
industries, does not exceed 100000;
while there are at least 19,000,000
workmen who are engaged in in
duStrieS which are not protected, and
cannot be, by any tariff. No workman
III tne hour HILLS In minnesota gets tnG
smallest benefit from the tariff, because
you export -four, and do not import any.
No workman III Minneapolis can get the
smallest benefit from the tariff, because
you are too far from the sea coast to
make it possible for foreigners to COM
pete with you. If you need any prot c.
tion at all by way of a tariff, you ~ lst
have tariff put up against lilly ois,
Ohio and Indiana. Nothing else VII do
you any good.
Wages Not Raised by Tay ifs.
But there is no truth whatevfr in tin.
pretense that the wages of any con-
siderable number of American work
men are raised or ever were raised by
protective tariff. The protective man.
ufacturerS pay no more wages than
anybody else, and do not pretend to;
and as they number only One-tenth part
of the manufacturers of the country,
their number is too small to affect the
rate of wages. Wages are not cut down
by the admission of foreign goods. 1t
is the admission of foreign laborers
which reduces the rate of wages, so far
as anything foreign has that effect. But
in fact the rate OF wages grows higher,
as more goods are imported from
abroad. We import goods that we do
want and send out goods that we do not
want; and the whole country is there
fore vastly richer for the exchange.
The country being made richer, its
people generally are able to pay better