The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1893-02-17

collected ON American than on foreign
made goods. Whenever home prices ON
certain articles are such that these arti.
Giles would he imported IL there were no
duties, the tariff IL tax. This Is tho
true test 1t matters not that an nrti-
Gle sells here for less than what tho
duty upon it would be; the duty. or SO
much OF IL as Is effective in keeping out
importations. is tax. The American
Economist during the last year. edited
and instructed ms with pictures OF
articles that sell for about the amount
OF the duty upon them. In most OF
these cases the tariff il not tax, but
in some cases it probably Is, and in all
cases the logic is bad. We now manu-
focture some of the smallnv sizes OF
pearl buttons here, the duty upon which
Is az cents per line and rs per cent
equal TO 500 or 400 per cent These
buttons sell abroad for less than cent
per line. IL we should be foolish
enough to retain this exorbitant duty
we might. in few years. be making
enough Of these buttons to supply our
home demand at "a cents per line. OF
course there would then be no importa-
tons. but would the duty not be tax
to the extent Of u cents per line?
Whenever a duty is needed TO protect a
home manufacture, it is tax. This Is
bad enough, and probably makes "a total
tax five times as great as the total GUS
toms revenue collected by the govern
ment, tall of which comes out of the
pockets Of the people, but, what is
worse, a duty that gives needless pro-
lection is often a tax. BY needless pro-
lection is meant protection to manu-
facturers who could continue to manu-
facturc and compete in our own and
foreign markets if all duties were re-
moved Millions and hundreds of mill
lions OF dollars Of these worse than
useless tariff taxes are paid annually
by us Indeed. these are the particular
variety on which trusts seem to thrive
best.
Hundreds of articles manufactured
with less cost here than anywhere
else are. by means of trusts and tariff
duties. sold higher here than abroad.
A few of these are axes, saws, and in
deed, most kinds Of tools and hardware,
agricultural implements, steel rails and
many other forms of iron ana steel;
typewriters, sewing machines, sugar.
cartridges, lead, and some kinds of cot.
ton goods. The production of most
of these articles is in the hands OF
trusts
There are no importations of these
goods and the duties, grariously left on
by Mckinley, produce no revenue and
serve only to increase the profits OF the
holders OF trust certificates. Take
sugar The duty of Il cent per pound
on refined sugar brings no revenue ia
the government, but enables the sugar
trust to sell sugar just SO much higher
than it could do if there was no duty.
As we consume annually over 4. 600, 600, :
900 pounds of sugar the duty is worth
at least so. 900. 900 to the trust But
this trust needs no protection. for be.
sides the protection of the cost Of trans
portation across the ocean. the cost OF
refining is less here than anywhere else
in the world.
But the most cursed duties Of all are
those that protect trusts that sell theiI
products cheaper to foreign than t.
home consumers. The makers Of the
Mckinley bill appear to have reasoned
that duties that are not needed do ~
harm and may some time do good II
helping some poor struggling trust tc
get on to its feet, which same trust mag
some day contribute handsomely to ths
funds OF the party that made its exist
I ence possible. The McKinleys may
have been right from their standpoint,
, but, from the standpoint of the people
. they were entirely wrong. The duties
! that do no good are likely To do grea
, harm. The best of tariff duties arr
bad enough, but useless ones-thos'
5 that are left on simply because the,
. have been on and there was no dcmans
q to take them off-are unmitigated evils
| Our manufacturers sell agriculture
: implements, sewing machines, type
I writer's, cartridges, axes. shovels ant
. many other articles cheaper to foreign
!. crs than to stay-at-home Americans
4 But for these duties Americans coul'
q purchase abroad instead of at home an
:. thus compel the manufacturers TO sci
) at the same price in all markets. In
: deed cases were reported last yea
when plows and sewing machines wer
: bought in Europe by Americans, VIII
;. saved money even after paying dutie
r and return freight~
l. 1t is evident thas all tariffs may b
II taxes The only safe course for cor
r grcss in to abolish all duties not levie
for strictly revenue purposes As "th
n only good Injun is dead one" tn
II only good protective duty is the on
n that has been abolished.
Tarina's Messsge-A Fable.