The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1893-12-09
A Business Mans Tariff.
Cleveland Plain Dealer.

In this country every man is III
terested in the question of taxa
tion. The business of the country
has to pay for carrying on the gov
ernment and all business is carried
on by the skill and work of men.
If taxes are eXtortionate then busi-
| ness becomes dull and it is far more
difficult when business is dull and
times are hard to raise the money
with which to pay taxes.
Now, the tariff is a tax and like
all other forms of taxes it has final
ly to be paid by the business of the
country. 1t is more than idle folly
to claim that the foreigner pays
our taxes. You might as well say
that he bought all our boots, cloth
ing and food and gave them to us
as to say that he paid the expenses
of carrying on our government.
1t is a very plausible sophistry
for the Republicans TO assert in
political campaigns that the foreig.
ner pays our taxes. 1t is strange
that any American who is qualified
to vote should believe such state
ments.
The day is coming and is close
at hand when the business men of
the country will study this tariff
question as they do their business
and they will make it a part Of
their business. They will find out
that it is unjust for one class of the
people to have the privilege by
law of collecting tribute from all
the rest of the people. lILey will
begin to see that a tariff for reven-
ue is one thing and that tariff for
tribute is quite another thing. A
high protective tariff, so high that
it virtually prohibits goods from
coming from foreign countries to
this country, enables the manu-
facturer to raise the price Of his
products to the line of a prohibi
tive tariff. IT says In very strong
Language to manufacturers, "Unite
together, combine into trust, es-
tablish monopoly and force the
people to pay the price which you
exact" And it says further to the
consumer, "Why in the name ol
common sense do you vote for mel
and measures that will permit the
organization of these monopolies
which will compel you to pay ex,
orbitant prices for the nccessaries
:. of life ?"
1t is this voice that has gone
through the land and is driving 81
many men to the other extreme o
free trade. If the old Democratic
policy of tariff for revenue will
incidental protection had beer
maintained instead of the war tarif
re-enacted into the Mckinley; bill
3 we should have found none of thes
e great commercial disturbances
I We would have found very fey
: men drifting off into the doctrin
3 of free trade. 1t is time for bust
ness men to call halt and to ex
: anime into this question of taril
S reform, not tariff abolition, or tarit
j. destruction, but tariff reform. Nov
e what we want is the American
8 system which ran for eighty year
J. under the control and direction O
e the Democratic party.
y What we want is the restoration
of this American tariff, the busi
o ness mans tariff which is fair t
s both producer and consumer.
x When in the present this ques
tion is considered in all its beal
u ings, we hope that the question @
!. special privileges will be entirel,
obliterated from the tariff and tina
! bill will be enacted which will
J. not discriminate against labor, il
e any industry, or the money whicl
D is employed in any of our great in
}, dustries. We believe that there i
: a principle that can run through
o every schedule and which can b
g applied SO as to be perfectly fair t,
x all the interests of cOnsumers an,
! producers, and at the same tim
produce the revenue which tn
country requires and be as protec
! tive as anyone has a right to ask
We are opposed to fayoritism
The man who works in mines be
meath the earth is exposed to grea
danger. and the man who puts hi
n t,ffaI infn rninao tokac fxraa,