Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1895-04-02
WHY is THERE Lick. OF CUSTOM
-. REVENUE. q. 49,. !:

:. !, REV ENVE. -. :: /
Bdtwe are told that the new
tarifflaw faiis O provide sufficient
revenue to pay the running 5ex-
penses of the government, and
hence the government must bOr-
row money and issue bonds etc:
Now there is one thing that
Bro. Eastman has overlooked,
in his zeal for his party wholly
fors often, to-wit: That there
must be importation Of goods in
order to get custom revenue, no
matter what the rate Of tariff is.
And in order to get importation
OF goods there must he Il market
for them. Importers do not buy
goods in Europe, pay tariff to
Uncle Sam, simply to pile up
goods to rot III the warehouses;,
any more than the manufacturer
make goods for thatpurpose. But
aswe have pointed out above, con-
traction Of our money volume.
has driven down prices OF com
modities, beggared the common
people, the producers, so that
they cannot buy goods, home or
foreiy Hence Of course there is
no importation and no custom
revenue. II Bro. Eastman had
remembered this fact he would
not have made the sill y assertion
that changing the tariff a few
1OOths of a cent on a yard of
calico could effect revenue or i'm
portation one way or the other.
Let Bro. Eastman go a few miles
outside of St. Cloud, and let him
ask the first 1O-year-old farmer
boy with ragged pants, ''why
his father does not buy him a
new pair Of pants?' The boy
will undoubtedly answer: '*Be-
cause father has no money.
Wheat is only 80 CENTS But
Bro. Eastman will OF course
frown at the simplicity and igno-
rance OF the rural youngster and
explain:
You are an ignorant Populist,
you! Scarcity Of money and so
cent wheat has nothing to do
with your fathers inability to
buy pants. 1t is the Democrats
in power, aud their tariff that
prevents your father from buy
ing pants for you!"
Bro. Eastman reminds us OF
the senior member of II lumber
firm down the Mississippi many
years ago. The company owned
and operated Il large saw mill,
the only industry of the place,
and run also u general store.
The old man, as evt'rybob,y called
the senior member of the firm,
was one OF these men that always
talks about how much better
things were when they were
young. He would tell a dozen
times Il week how he started in
life back in the 80 and worked
for % cents a day. He was
always contemplating how to re-
duce wages to the good old-time
standard. One year when the
lumber trade was dull and the
company did not make anything
the old man succeeded in cutting
down the wages of the men one
half. Most of the men had
families and homes at the place,
and accepted he reduction for
the time hoping for a change in
the future. \ year passed
around. As the business of the
company was balanced up it was
found that the store business
had hardly paid expenses, where
as in former years it had usually
returned a large profit. The old
man became furious at the store
clerks and swore up ~and down
that they had charged too little
for the goods. The clerks and
other members Of the firm tried
to show the old man that as the
men had received only half the
ordinary wages, and as they
were obliged to pay taxes. il.
terest and other necessary money
outlay, nothing had remained
over to bring to the store fol-
trade, and that this was the
reason why the store had run be-
hind. But the old man would
| not listen. He declared that the
rate of wages of the men had
nothing to do with the store bust
ness; that if they. would only
raise the price of goods at the
store high enough they would
realize as much profit as ever.
Bro. Eastman must be q de
scendant OF the old man. Hit
party by money legislation IL
shown above has reduced the
wages of the people OF this
country one-half. Uncle Sans
revenue business is at a stand
still. But Bro: Eastman insists
that the reduction Of the wages
OF producers has nothing to dc
with the revenue business. That
all Uncle Sam has to do is tc
raise his tariff to get sufficient
revenue. In other words that BY
| some hocus pocns process Of tarif
legislation this government cal
eqtract from the people some