The daily morning journal and courier., 1894-10-30
DEMOCRATIC BENEFITS.
4 Kansas Workingman Sits Down and Fig ures Out tho Advantages of tho German BIll to him.

A worklnsman mas caretuiiy stuuieu the advantages to himself and family of the new democratic tariff bill and thus writes about 1t in the Kansas City Journal, addressing an open letter to Grover Cleveland.
 You have made up the bill on the basis of the old chestnut-'The tarin Is a tax and the tangle-legged claim that everything we buy will be lowered In cost by the amount taken from the tarifr on 1t, if 1t should be brought from out of the country. Though this theory Is proving mud for food and dishwater for drink to a large portion of the working class. let us for the moment suppose 1t to be true and see what saving in my cost of living Gas I used to live when had steady work) can be expected to come to me through 1t. Excepting tea, coffee, sugar and mo- lasses, which were already free and could not be cheapened in that way, flour, meat. butter, cheese. milk and vegetables make up the food I use. By the bill you have reduced the tariff on flour 5 per cent (about 15 cents a barreD; on meat, butter and cheese, 2 cents a pound; on milk 1h cents quart; on potatoes, 15, and onions 20 cents bushel, and on other vegetables 15 per cent. of the cost (not 15 per cent of the price we pay at the store but on the cost at the custom house be- fore the duty, the freights in the coun- try and the wholesalers and retailers profits are added-not above 10 per cent. oof the store selling price). Our present supply of all these Is raised wholly in this country.
 Milk cannot be carried more than few miles or hours without spelling, so practically none can come from other countries, tariff or no tariff, and your claimed saving in that Is clearly a fraud. My vegetables now come from nearby farmers, and cost me about 35 cents a week, or $1S.20 year. AS all these articles, however, are as low, or lower, here than in free trade England, where labor is one half and there are no duties at all; and as they were high CT here under the lower tariff five years ago than under the Mckinley high tariff done away with, it Is certain that the tariff, whether high or low, has no effect on their cost, and your bill will give me no real saving from them. The tariff on salt you have reduced about 3 cents year on the quantity used by my family; but use so little in value of that and of other groceries not named that the reduction you make on them is too small to waste time over. My fuel Is hard coal, but as 1t was al- ready free of duty, and can only be ob- tained from Pennsylvania, no saving can be made from it. My oil for light also comes from this country, which | supplies large part of the world; but even if it can be brought from Russia | the only other country which can fur nish 1t in quantities-inside of the cent a-gallon reduction you have made, all the saving will go into the hands of | the dealers, so I might as we'll strike that out of the list. My tobacco is all | raised in this country, and will not be cheapened. My whiskey, If I used it, would cost me 20 cents more gallon which means perhaps more water or poison in my drinks; certainly no sav- ing and probably more cost.
 My rent is governed wholly by loca- tion, the kind and finish of the build ing and the space occupied, and will not be effected. Many more houses than can find tenants are already built,
 and no man will be fool enough to put
 up new ones, with a prospect that they
 will remain largely vacant, just to give
 me cheaper rent, even if few dollars
 saved by the lower tariff of $1 thou.
 sand through free lumber and re
 duction on other materials will enable
 him to do so. My clothing has hitherts
 been of American material and make
 my outer garments, "all wool, fast
 colors and durable" I now get eacf
 year two suits Cor suit and an over
 coat,) a hat Cs2,) two pairs of shoes (s6
 and supply of shirts, collars, under
 clothes, stockings, etc. (some of whicl
 are made at home ($7) I find you hay,
 reduced the tariff 40 cents on my hat
 IA cents a pair on my shoes Gan articl,
 also largely exported,) and about 8
 cents on my shirts, underclothes, etc
 As to outer clothing, one of the larges
 importers of English, French and Ger
 man goods in New York, months ag'
 instructed the tailors over the countr.
 to notify that the reduction in tarif
 on woolen cloths and by free wool mad
 by your law will lower the price o such suit as you buy not over $2 or s
 and of one made of such cloth as us no more than $1. This Is business-no theory-and, being from merchant whose business and interest 1t is to sel all the foreign goods possible, must b considered reliable; therefore con cluded that $1 on a suit or, an overcoat-
 $2 for my years supply-is the most can save on them. Putting these to gether find that the tariff duty on al my clothing will be reduced by s3.03 year; that is Gf your claims were true I might get 1t for so much less. | the same manner, find the reductio on clothing for my wife and boy ma possibly amount to $2.50 more; makin
 altogether $5.53 year for me and m
 family, and including everything a to
 tai of $5.56 a year on our necessarie
 of life. !. The whole saving made by the la,