The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1894-10-31
MASON COUNTY WEST VIRGINIA. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 81 1894

dental protection to our own pro
ducts. But this is is not stating
the question in way to give any
approximate idea of the amoun
paid by the people under a tarif
which produces s179,0OO,OOO o
revenue from imports, from the fac
that while one dollars worth o
goods is imported into, and bought
and used in this country, at least
five dollars worth or perhaps more
than that amount, of the same kind
of goods is manufactured in this
country. and bought and consumed
by our people, upon which the
manufacturers are at liberty to add
the additional price of the tariff
duty, because competition from the
outside world is denied, which per-
mits the additional tariff duty tc
be added as profit to our mannfaet-
urers.
This is the simple and natural
explanation of the outgrowth of
trusts, combinations and monopo-
lies in our own country, in which
imense fortunes have been accumu-
lated within very short space OF
time. These trusts and combina-
tions are formed to prevent over
production and TO control the mar
kets, dividing the bonus of tariff
duties amongst combinations. OF
trusts3 and manufacturing interests
of our own people, and to more eff
fectually accomplish this end when
ever it is necessary to prevent over
production, and to shut off home
competition in order to command
the highest prices, some portion OF
the mills AMI manufacturing estab-
lishments are shut down and remain
idle, while only sufficient number
are operated to supply the demand.
The Mckinley bill, the embodi
ment of the Republican idea of pro-
lection, says that this policy is
right; that high protective duties,
that make the people pay at least
five dollars for the articles they
consume for every dollar that goes
into the United States Treasury is
the correct idea of governmental
taxation. The Democratic idea, as
embraced in the Wilson bill, and
the present tariff law, says that this
is not the true policy of the govern
ment, aud that tariff taxation should
be levied not for protection to favor
the few at the expense of the many,
but on revenue basis alone, and
made as low as it is possible to make
it on all articles, to produce the
necessary amount of revenue, thus
at once applying the only effective
remedy for the prevention of trusts,
combinations and monopolies, which
control and prevent competition
in the interest of the favored
few, in order to extort from the
many the prices which high pro-
tective duties permits.
But, fellow citizens, 1 do not in
tend to enter into any discussion in
detail of the question of the tariff.
L shall leave that to the distin-
guished speaker whom you came
here to day to hear. L have only
referred to the general principles
governing this great question of
economic policy, and will call at
tention to only one schedule to IL
lustrate what l have said, but which
is true in greater or lesser degree
of all the other schedules in the
present tariff law. refer to the
.woolen schedule. You have been
paying, under the Mckinley law,
about one hundred per cent, or
about double the first cost of the
article, on all you wear or use in
your families. The present bill has
reduced the whole schedule of wool
en- importations one-haIf, and in
many of the more important articles
of domestic consumption to a much
greater extent, as for intsance:
woolen yarns have reductions rang
ing from 62 per cent, on the higher
grades to about "A per cent on the
cheaper grades. Knit fabrics, cheap
or grades, about "a per cent. and
blankets about 20 per cent. fannels
for underwear, about 20 per cent.
and so on with other articles of
more general consumption. Thus,
you see that where you heretofore
paid two dollars for the article that
cost one dollar at the point of ex-
port, with one dollar added for
tariff duty, you ought to get it now
for dollar and quarter to dol