The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1893-10-20
Tariff Illumination.

Tariff Illumination.
II Is safe to assume that everybody
wants to know just the right thing to
believe in political economy as well as in
theology. In these troublous times we
naturally turn to our trusted representa-
tives in congress to set us right ON the
burning question of the tariff. We are
glad, therefore, to discover that three of
the very cream of tariff experts, men,
bers Of the ways and means committee
of the house of representatives,. furnish
papers to The North American Review
on this very subject. We turn the
pages; our noses are quickly buried
therein.
What do we read3 The first paper is
from Hon. Benton McMillin of Tennes-
see, Democrat. He writes in part:
We have now tried the tariff law of 1890 for
three years. During that period the country
hasbecn under the highest rate Of duty ever
imposed here. Its authors boldly announced
that ii WIS not framed for revenue, but foI
protection. Ii vas put into operation when the
Under this tariff gigantic trusts have been
formed to restrict productions and put up
prices. While it is not contended that the
formation of u trust is never seen or is impos-
sbie except under the influence of tariff laws,
1t is certainly true that their organization has
been and is greatly facilitated by tariff laws
which destroy or limit competition in produc-
tion.
such are some of the provisions of 1.-The law
of 1850 which the Democratic party is called
upon to revise | defy any one TO show one
laborer whose wages 1t has increased in the
three years it has existed. A period of great
er financial depression was never known in our
history. Under 1t unemployed labor ready to
work has begged bread in the streets and al
been banked, factories have been shut down
and foundries have ceased to glow. Under il
there have been innumerabic lockouts and re-
ductions of wages. Under it the great increase
of tariff rates has been accompanied by no cor
responding increase in the wages of labor
Under it the rich farm lands of the country
have continued to fall in price.
What says another of our guides and
leaders of the ways and means committee
in the house, Hon. John Dalzell, Repub-
lican of Pennsylvania? He scars into the
empyrean in the following extract:
The party that for 30 years with marvellous
success guided the destinies of the nation has
been expelled from power, and responsibility
rests upon party trained not to upbuilding
but to down pulling not to construction, but to
opposition. Concedng to it the fullest measure
of patriotic purpose, The fact remains that in
this generation it has not had chance to put
into practice the art of governing Nor does 1t
appeal by its history to the confidence Of the
American people. While it brings to its re-
sponsiblc task a recent record of inexpeHence,
1t brings also an earlier record full of disaster
One of the characteristic features of Repub-
lican rule is the system of protection. BY its
means home industries have been develop d to
variety, Importance and wealth difficult OF
accurate measurement, and the field of re-
munerative labor enlarged to the wonderful
material prosperity and moral and social ad-
vancement OF the wage Garner. The assertion
is incontrove:tiblc that never in our history
were the necesSaries of life cheaper, or wages
and the condition OF labor on higher plane
than when NJ Harrison Went out of Office
Without claiming this condition of things to
be due solely TO tic system of protection, il
must be admitted that that system is entitled
to n large, if not the largest, amount of credit
tlierefor.
Our third friend, Hon. W. J. Bryan
of Nebraska, elected as Democrat, now
announcing himself a Populist, contrib
utes this as part of his share of the gen
eral illumination:
The operation of the tariff is simple. Under
u 80 per cent duty an article worth 81 is i'm
ported, the 90 yer cent duty added, and the
consumer buys it for Sl50, Plus expenses and
profits This tax is either paid by the foreigner
who sells to u or by the consumer in this
country who finally uses tie article. If paid
By the foreigner, then in the case above re-
ferred TO the foreigner reduces his price from
sl50 to 81, so that when the duty is paid the
price with the tariff will be the same that it
would have been without tie tariff. To show
the absurdity of this position it is not neces-
sary to inquire Why the protectionist advocates
sucn variety of duties twhy not treat all for
eign nations alike and subject them to equal
dutes?), but it is sufficient to say that tariff
which is not paid by the consumer is OF no
benefit to the protected industry.
If the producer of the protected article re-
teives the same price for his goods with or
without a tariff, what difference does it make
to him whether the duty be high or low? If he
cannot compete without the aid of tariff,
how can it help him except by enabling him to
charge higher price for his product? How
| can he charge higher price unless lie can
| compel the consumer to pay it? And how can
| he compel the consumer to pay it unless the
| tariff increases to the consumer tie price of
| the competing article? The only reasonable or
| logical purpose of the tariff, therefore, is to
| compel the consumer to buy at home at a high
| price by preventing purchase abroad ut a
| lower price. 1t is here that tho principle OF
protection violates the right of the individual,
| ard its establishment disregards the spirit if
| not the letter, Of the constitution.