Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1893-02-11
WHEN TARIFFS ARE TAXES.


Duties That Yield No Revenue and Arr
z Not Needed For Protection Purposes Are
Often Burdensome Taxes.
During the last campaign protection.
10 lists devoted much time and energy try
ing 10 make the American people be.
ieve that "the tariff is not tax" or
" at least, if it is, that some half-starved
y foreigner pays it. Of course the tariff
IS tax when the article upon which il
= is levied is imported. Business men do
" not pay duties upon imported goods I'M
= eSs they can collect these duties from
y their customers. Their part of the
: proposition seems TO be evident to the
. majority of the people, and, indeed, was
not disputed except by some of the
most fanatical and reckless advocates
Of Mckinleyism, including the major
himself,
a mistake is often made, however, by |
nferring that tariff is not tax when |
the articles upon which ii is nominally |
levied are not imported. This is the
great mistake of protectionists. Tariff
duties are responsible for more taxes
COLLECTED on American than on foreign
made goods Whenever home prices on
certain articles are such that these arti.
'ies would be imported if there were no
ant'es' the tariff is tax This is the
true test 1t matters not chat an arti.
Gle sells here for less than what the
auty upon 1t would be- the duty. or So
huch OF 1t as is effective in keeping ont
lulportationS' is tax The American
economist during the last year. edited =
and instructed us with pictures Of a
articles that sell for about the amount !
ol the duty upon them. In most of fl
these cases the tariff is not a tax but
IN some cases it probably is, and in all
eases the logic is bad We now mann. 81
lecture some of the smaller sizes of a,
pearl buttons here, the duty upon which To-
Is ~ cents per line and 25 per cent -
'qual 10 500 or 400 per cent These us
buttons sell abroad for less than cent 5o
Der line. If we should be foolish "e
'hough to retain this exorbitant duty
We might, in a few years, be making 7
hongh OF these buttons to supply orr Sel
ZONE demand at pa cents per line, OF s .m,
curse there would then be no importa. Ce
IONS but would the duty not be a tav all
the extent of l u cents per linep Pal
whenever a duty is needed to protect a fra frs,
'iie manufacture, it is a tax. This is due
al enough and probably makes a total 7
TX il'e tlmeS as great as the total ems. "a. Vi
ms revenue collected by the govern. owl
ent, tall of which comes ont of tbo +
'cNets OF the people, but, what is :, tc'
orse' "a duty that gives needless nro. lA'
'..oh Is OFTEN tax. BY needless nro. a
't'oh Is meant protection to mann. en
'lurers who could continue to mann. baio
cure and compete in our own ana
'elgn markets if all duties woro na A
wed Millions and hundreds of mil. Con,
10 VI dollars of these worse than rose
'ieSs tarlff taxes are paid annuoIIv artiy
US indeed, these are the particrlor An
,ely on which trusts seem to tb,,;,,, lhest
It. W VlrlVe gard
r,,,, Bite
of articles manufactured tlxpc
- less cost here than anywhere oerle
are, by means ~ +,.. ''''' DOWC
les. sold binLa,. u "s.s ana tariff the /
:" Oh these are axes, saws and l., ,., III
d, most l,inds If .raI anu IN ike a
;crlt,,,,1 ;. u 'oois ana hardware, dozen
cultural implements, steel rails md -Tru
" oIher forms of iron ana stpnI. ~.
=: l'ers' sewing machines, supar pIay"
ridges lead, and some kinds of oot habp,
goods The production of mas. your /
nese articles is in the hands ~. w. ,Hch
,ora A wor
lere are no importations Of tboso itabIy
- ana the duties, graciouslv left an vn,
produce no revenue md VII it
oniy 10 increase the profits Of tho
-'s Oh trust certificates, Talo NoB
I. The duty If l. no.. Lake Tug co.
nnea sugar brings no revenue to
o'eii,,nent, but enables the sugar
:, " 'ol, sugar just so much higher
u could do if there was no dnt,, w.,
consume annually over 900 0oo ChG
'uhas OF sugar the duty is worth HOGS
81 s@0, 900, 600 to the trrst ~ 81, zee
'uS' needs no protection, for he. LAMB
'"e projection ofthe cost of trans. GEAiIVI
W.. ACROSS the ocean, the cost of No
y Is less here than an,u,l, va Corr
world. ''o ciSe pats
thn RE.
,ie most cursed duties of all ,rs HAY
'haC protect trusts that sell ,ho;S 'C CoaAHT
40 cheaper to foreign than 70 pRQvl>
, 1, The makers of the p1r1 I:ar r,
'.: oi,i appear to have reasoned Prim
''.es 1hat are not needed do No AXLE!
"o may Some time do good in ~
sumo poor struggling trust 10 rr orr,
70 its teet which same trust nav GRAiNl
y =; contribute handsomely to tbs cob No, :
osa yn1 party that made its exist OATS-N
o en ,in,. The McKinleys NAV ff4 aR6
e ., rig, rlsht from their standpoint ANND-'
IN the standpoint of the neonls rfo,.n
re entirely wrong The dutioa GR4iHr
,rbas p h are likely to do great No. No .
1 nne pest of tariff duties are OTIS OTIS
'uRn' but useless ones--thoso roRk-A
'eit on simply because tber AAND-s
n on and there was no demanJ5 r,o,
mem oif-are unmitipated eri,S ' GRRAAiI GRAM,
'nulacturers sell agricnltrra1 Corn
" ~ y. sewing machines, type. LAR Rn,sR
axes, shovels and roRk-M
4 to- aatlcleS cheaper to foreign. n6 noe
these duties Americans co,,, GRAM
abroad instead of at home md Corn,
PEI the manufacturers to soI, oa's--s
' in price in all markets In Fl o,,y g.,
, ,r We're reported last vcar GRAiN w
WIS ana sewing machines won a Corn-N
n Europe by Americans " ,,h poR H2l4N M
10y even after paving d,,,: lard Ste
n freights. ' 's ""ties -
aent that all tariffs NAV ,o -
ne only safe course for ' co ue e.
abolish all duties not levion ~
! revenue purposes As "tha WI
4 lniun is dead one . tho
protective duty is the on 's ~
'een abolished. '' oho A
Ass Duties and Trusts. {RSfNlE
he fIln1amanA., EAPNS