Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1893-10-07
Somewhat Concerning the Man Who
PAYS.

make a particle of difference whether the
tariff is a tax on the consumer or the i'm
porter.-Cumberland NeCs.
The JOURNAL knew it. That 1.-The
consumer pays the taxi is one OF the
catcuts in the tariff "harp of thous-
and strings" which the Ne,os meyer
thrums. 1t won't bear the exercise.
In proof whereof
The object of duty on imports, as re-
publicans look at it, is primarily to protect
American industries and American labor,
and, secondarily, to raise revenue. AS the
democrats look at it, the object of tariff is
to raise revenue only. There is the difference,
and American workmen can take their choice.
Which American workmen'-the
miners or the farmers, even the poor
fellows whose mountain land does not
permit the use of velvet-lined horse
collar, nor
the self.raking and self.binding steam
thresher.
Nor even "the progressive farmers"
when they fully understand that they
have got to buy their patented ma
chinery in the highest markets and
sell their products in the lowest.
tariff for revenue only will not protect
them from foreign competition.
Is this not mistake? Has not coal
been a tariff-for revenue commodity !?
Is not the protection it has enjoyed
been incidental-at least since 1873 !?
Had the present tariff been protective,
how could over 300 900 tons have come
in from England alone last year, Or
100000 tons more from English prov
inces? Yet the Neos favors the re-
tention of this very tariff.
So that, if miners must have "pro-
tection," Mr.. Mckaig must get what
Mr.. McComas never tried to get-the
protection" which prohibits importa-
tor.
Here is gem:
He Uhe progressive farmer knows that in
this progressive age he must make home
market for his products, and to do that he
must submit to taxation in the shape of a
tariff; this tariff builds up a home trade by
creating a prosperous community of skilled
workmen in his neighborhood; this prosper
Gus community of workingmen will buy
what he has to sell at remunerative prices,
and he thus gets back what he pays on
manufactured goods.
Let us take Maj. McKinley's hobby,
tin, as sample, and try his own report
as given in his late speech. He said
100000 pounds of American (?) tin
were made during the quarter ending
June 80, 1893, and that it took 1000
workmen to produce that amount.
Each man. therefore, developed 666
pounds of tin, or 222 poundsa month
not quite 9 pounds day. The average
wages of one man in this case would
be less than So week.
Wouldn't he be a bonanza as a
customer of that high-fying farmer ?
In many, many other lines of manu-
featuring industry the average value
of the workman as a consumer of
unprotected goods is but little greater.
The reason can easily be found in
comparing professions with facts.
For stumping purposes 100000 work
men" is the figure. But the official
reports indicate that 1850 men can
make all the tin the country consumes ?
These at an average wage rate of $500
year! And this costs the consumers
of tin unnecessarily $l1 900, 900 or $3.50
for the luxury of paying $500 wages!
And yet the Ne,cs goes on to say:
Talk of being taxed. Is not every interest
taxed for the good of the community? Is
not the man who has no children taxed to
support the public schools? Is not the man
who never owned a horse taxed to keep up
the public road? Is not the man who never
had a lawsuit taxed to support the courts
1t is simply community of interests, in
which all are required to pay their just pro-
portion for the benefit of the whole. That is
what a tariff means, and it is the extreme OF
nonsense to talk about where the cost of
maintaining the system falls so long as it
makes the whole community prosperous,
which it most assuredly does.
Yes-"for the good of the COM
munity."
But suppose the schools, roads and
courts were prioate-not "publc" af-
fairs-how long would the people
stand it9 Or public affairs to be sup
ported by the public through private
media, how long would those institu-
tons last :?
Hence, the real meaning of high
tariff is-a few people are made the
almoners of an oppressive bounty
which an impartial government has
no right to extort from one class of
workmen to gorge another class.
"a high tariff is the halfway house
to an oligarchy, whence the grade to
monarchy is easy as rolling off a log.
A LOng-Felt Want Still Filled.
The Supreme Court of California
decides, in effect, that "while the OK
fha %rao1c ont tbo oor,p ,>>,,, H. 49,,