The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-05-03

| charged half of profe sional rates for
| his prescriptions l am sure there would
moi be SO many literary pills on the open
market. The doctor has diagnosed
almost all the commercial Ills wi h
which the suffering public are
aiflci ed and in some cases ha- prescribe
pal ative for the III, bat ia nn case so
far as | know has he left the patient free
from T. e effects Of tho fits.
| bad nearly recovered myself from
former attacks, when the good and be-
nevolent doctor gives Us another dose:
this time it Is the silk industry. VIII t
the OBJECT If the article IS l am unable
10 dec pher unle~s il lie to show that
protection, as appl ed by the Mckinley
school, IS a good thing and has I'u'It up
a mum Ger OF prosperous silk manufac
;lIrers at the expense If a long suffering
public. This last article has thrown ms
self ana perhaps others of your real eFs
nto fits. from which I fail to recover.
AMI if he doctor has an autidote lii
mercy he should make it known. Surely
he dos not intend To establish raw
silk Industry in the wesi: Ii This could
be done his article would b. a worthy
one and deserve a fair consideration.
But to do this we must add 10 the al
ready overtaXed industry an addi-
tional protective duty on raw silk. This
would at once raise howl from the
factory owners and they wo ID not per-
nit it to be done unless comparative
duties were placed on the manufactured
product. This would Increase proper
tionately the price of the manufactured
material, which the good doctor Is kind
enough to tell us has not increased I'M
der a high protective tariff, one in which
he himself is satisfied. Does the good
doctor know that silk dress which, IS
sold for one dollar yard in New York
or Wichita can be purchased in Paris,
France, for less than fifty cents a yard:
By the array OF Figures presented by the
doctor we learn that the capital invested
in the silk mills Of the country (a1Out
42j) has increased in ten years not 1G6. 20
per cent. as he says, but 219 per cent,
as his figures actually show, while the
products of the mills during this time
has increased only 100 per cent. No
such gain OF capital can be shown out
side of a protected industry. If this Is
true are We not paying too much
10 TIE uutIISi. DuEiuS the tGll
years mentioned these mills have
produced about 1925. 900, 900 worth of
manufactured silks. This has cost the
people who have used sill, about $219,-
000 900 more than it would have cost
without protection. In other words,
they have paid this vast sum as bonus
to about 425 manufacturers that they
might grow rich at the expense of silk
consumers. This vast sum was paid
wholly as protection, and did not go
into the United States treasury, because
so many goods were prevented from
coming into our country for consump-
ton.
VIII the good doctor reply that only
the rich should wear silk, and that for
this reason no one should complain?
This is the usual reply, bu5 We want
fresher one; one brought up to date.
VIII the good doctor prescribe for our
fits, or will he let Us die in spasms? In
my figures [ have not been so precise as
he, las | have not been used 10 grains and
drachms: so | have not used the decimal, |
for which | hope he will pardon me. |
Respectfully, O. HAWTHORN.