Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1894-03-23
TARIFF HEARINGS.
TESTIMONY THAT IS PAINFUL
TO FREE-TRADERS.
Il the Committee Is Governed by tho Evil
dcnce Presented the Mckinley Duties
Will Remain Un~disturbed-The South Is
In tho Saddle.
Monkcylne with the Buxx.saw.

Tho testimony in regard to the tariff
taken by the Committee on Ways and
Means in Washington is exceedingly
embarrassing to Chairman Wilson and
the ltaer Democratic members of that
committee. When two producers of
onions and potatoes in Bermuda went
before tho committee last week to
plead for a reduction of tho duty on
those products, the free traders conf
IDENTIFY expected to be able to show by
their testimony that the tariff is Il tax
upon tho consumer. Instead of that
result, however, the evidence proved
that it is q tax upon the foreign pro-
ducer. 1t would seem to require the
densest sort OF Ignorance on the part
Oh even IL Democratic Congressman to
deny the truth Of this contention. Tho
fact that foreign producers came To
plead for q reduction of duty is OF itsclf
sufficiently conclusive, and the FREQ
traic..s showed their annoyance and
disappointment at the testimony given.
Tho free traders caught another tar
tar when Mr.. Les!csi, representing the
Ame. lean cment producing industry,
appeared before them. MIR. Lesley was
armed with fact, and figures s. con-
elusive that no real attempt was made
To contradict his evidences. Mi. Lesley
showed that undo. the protective tariI
mon cements had bcan developed until
it was now ono of Americas great in
dustries. Tho cost to the consumer
had been greatly reduced since 1880 by
home competition, while wages had
been increased until they were more
than twice us great US those paid in
England for the same class of labor. If
the tariff should be reduced, it "a
shownthcA American manufacturer could
not compete with the foreign product
without reducing wages i'll prOpor-
ton to the reduction of duty-that
As, European wages would have to bs
paid in America o. else the American
factories would have to be closed. In
such an event the cost to the consumer
would advance to the point ut which it
stood before it was reduced by compe-
tition. The Democrats thought they
had Mr. Lesley corncred when they
asked him if the freight that the for
eign producer had to pay would not
give the American manufacturer all
ahe advantage he needed. MIR. Lesley
very promptly showed that cement
freights were very cheap, that, indeed,
cement in barrels was scnt over hero
as ballast o. through bills OF lading,
and that with the cheap cost of labor
the foreign product could be deposited
in Chicago 81 cheaply that the Amer
lean manufacturers, paying American
wages, could not possibly compete. AT
this point the FREQ traders wisely re-
Trained from trying to put Mr.. Lesley
into any more Orners
Another witness who was examined
in regard to the tariff on macaroni, tes-
titled that since 1890, 1000 macaroni
factories had been started in America,
giving employment to thousands of
men, women and children, and furnish
ing a home market annually for 5,0O0,-
OOU bushels of American wheat. The
wages in these American factories are
from four to eleven times us great as
those paid in similar factories in Italy,
yet the cost t, the consumer in
America had been reduced l cent a
pound since 1890. This witness testified
that if the duty were reduced OF re-
moved the American factories would
have to go out of business.
All this testimony must be very pain
full to the ~free-traders, who seem en-
ceedingly anxious but absolutely un-
able to find evidence to support their
theories. 1t is safe to say that if the
committee is governed in it's tariff
tinkering by the evidence it is gather
ing the Mckinley tariff will remain IN
disturbed. Such o course, however,
will require honesty in dealing with
the tariff, and honesty and free trade
have never harmonized.