Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1892-08-04
M'KINLEY DROLLERY.
AMAZING EXHIBITION BY THE AU-
THOR OF THE TARIFF BILL

tHOH Or I1e IAhlFF BILL
Appropriateness In the Minneapolis Gath
ering which Put Little Ben Up to Be
Knocked Down-what the Infamous
Tarir Bill Does in Actual Practice.
The tariff controversy has provoked a
great many droll things, but the most
amazing exhibition of mingled drollery
and effrontery that has marked it was
reserved, as it should have been, for the
distinguished author of the Mckinley
bill, and the place chosen for the exhi-
bition was, as it ought to have been, the
Republican national convention of 1892.
We mean the wonderful body that met
at Minneapolis and nominated Harrison
and Reid. Major Mckinley was made
chairman of it, and this was another ex-
ample of fitness. The presidential con-
test is to be fought on the tariff ques-
ton, very largely, and it was in perfect
accordance with all the proprieties that
the most conspicuous exemplar of a
policy which takes three out of every
ten drops of productive sweat on
farmers brow and gives them over to
the favored manufacturing class should
preside over the deliberations of an as
semblage called to indorse this sweat
taxing system.
OF course Major Mckinley said some
thing about the protective tariff policy.
He was expected to, and he did. And
this is what, among other things, he
said:
"The Democratic party believes in di-
rect taxation; that is, in taxing our
selves; but we do not believe in that
principle SO long as we can find any
body else to tax. We propose to raise
our money to pay public expenses by
taxing the products of other nations
rather than by taxing the products of
our own people"
The meaning of this statement, as ex-
planned by similar assertions in his other
speeches, is that our protective tariff
forces outside nations to pay our taxes
and transfers from our shoulders to
theirs the burden Of paying the expenses
OF our government If this were true,
then the French protective tariff on
American grain compels our western
grain raisers to help support the French
government, and the German protective
tariff on American meats enables the
German empire to collect taxes in Mis-
souri, and Illinois. Last year we collect
ed $219, 100000 in duties on imported
goods. Major Mckinley pretends that
this money came out of the pockets of
foreign nations, but he knows better.
He knows that it was added to the price
of the $845, ,00C 900 worth of foreign goods
we imported, increasing the price Just
that much and compelling our people
to pay 81, 1854, 800, 900 for the $s45, 100000
worth of foreign goods, so that the $780,
100000 came out of their pockets in the
end.
When the Mckinley bill reduced the
duties on sugar the author of it asserted
that this reduction relieved the people
of $54, 600, 900 year in taxes, and in his
Ohio canvass speeches last year he
pleaded this relief as a claim on the
gratitude of the people. He did not
say, as he might, that Republican tar
iff had been for twenty-five years taxing
the people $54, 900, 900 a year on one of
the necessaries of life, when the govern
ment had no use for the money; he con-
tented himself with telling them that
they ought to be thankful to the party
for its magnanimity in consenting to rob
them no longer. But if what he said in
Ohio was true, how could that be true
which he said at Minneapolis? If the
sugar duties had been taking $54, 900, 900
year from our own people, how can he
have the effrontery to assert that the
other protective duties are not paid by
the same people?
But this is not the worst of it. If the
Mckinley tariff did nothing more than
collect the government revenue from
the people, it would not be so offensive
and oppressive. But it does a great deal
more. 1t forces the people not only to
supply their government with revenues,
but to supply the favored manufactur-
ers with revenues also. We imported
and consumed last year $S45, ,00O,0 600
worth Of foreign goods, paying on them
$219, 900 in duties to the public treas
ury; but in the same time we consumed
three times that value of protected home
manufactures, paying thereon three
times $219, 100000 to the favored class
engaged in making them. The very re-
lief of the people from sugar duties to
the amount Of $54,OOO,0 900 year was in
this way annulled by the increased du-
ties on other necessaries of life. In
fact the favored manufacturers got the
$54, 100000, and as much more besides,
and every dollar of it came out of the
pockets of oue Aown people.-st. Louis
Republic.