The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-02-02
TARIFF TRUTHS.

The protectionist apology for the high
tariff is that its effect is to reduce
prices. That is to say, at first it en-
abies the American manufacturer to
engage in a business in which he could
not embark except for the duty on the
foreign article, but a, number of SINH
lar home manufactures are started and
their competition brings down the price
until it is often lower even than the
duty.
supposing that to be true, the ques-
ton naturally arises why not take the
tariff off, then. as useless? If there is
no further need for it, why keep it on?
The answer is thus given by a pre-
tended authority, which not only as
sumes to be the concentrated essence
of wisdom on tariff affairs, but con-
tinually assaults the gentlemen who
prepared the Wilson bill as set of
ignoramuses totally unfit to handle
public affairs:
The reason that it is proper to keen
the tariff on those articles is this:
Take away the tariff and the Aneri-
can manufacturer is put in competi-
ton with the English or Belgian man
ufacturer. They pay only one half or
one third as much for labor as is paid
on this side
This explanation that does not ex-
plain was called forth by what The
Herald showed in relation to the axe
trust From that it is clear that the
American manufacturer is not only
able to compete with the English and
Belgian manufacturer on an equal
footing without any protective tariff.
but to actually control the market in
those countries. in fact to control the
axe trade of the world.
Keeping up the duty on axes, then.
is not to protect the American manu-
facturer from foreign competition, see
ing that he already beats the world in
prices abroad. What is it for. then?
Why for nothing else than to enable
that manufacturer, or the trust or com
bine of several such manufacturers. TO
charge the American buyer of axes
more than is charged to the foreign
purchaser.
And this shows up another of The
beauties of protection A duty is put
on a certain article to encourage its
manufacture in this country. Of
course that would be no protection if
it did not enable the home manufac-
turer to charge as much for the ar
ticle as it costs delivered in this
country from abroad with the duty
added. The large profit thus assured
starts UP competition and that gradu-
ally reduces the price. What then?
Why a trust or combine is formed
and instead of the duty being reduced
on the foreign article, so that fair
competition may go on for the benefit
of the consumer, the price is raised
as was shown in the case Of the axe
trust and the duty also, and while
NAAC AASSlAA CBuiIOlS the axe
trade Of the world. it compels the
American buyer to pay more for his
axe than he could buy it for from
the same American factory. in England
or in Belgium.
Whenever the simple facts are
brought into view, the apologists for
the high tariff commence to after
pIatitudes about the dangers of free
trade" The proposition is. not to es-
tablish free trade, but to reform the
abuses that have grown I'D under the
protective system. Give the home
manufacturer the same facilities as
those enjoyed by the foreign manu-
facturer as to materials he needs, |
called raw" because they
are raw to the manufacturer whatever
they may be. to the producer. md re-
auce not destroy the duty on the
foreign made goods. This will enable