The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1896-08-08

genuine Yankee sets great store and is
particularly proud Of. it is his native
cunning and smartness, and nothing
pleases him more than q recognition
Of his possession of this priced quality.
The cunning of the pretense that "the
foreigner pays the tax" lies in the sug-
gestaun that we. smart Americans,
have evolved u system Of government
the burden Of whicl. j. borne hy for
eigners. The expenses Of the govern
ment are met by the rel Of the
tariff, and under our protective system
THE foreigner pays the tax" Thus.
it is suggested that We have reached
that state 1T governmental perfection,
where We are not only sufficient unto
ourselves but have succeeded in chain
ing the poor foreigner to our car Of
progress and make him bear the heat
and burden Of the day which aiejnstly
ours.
What q pretty conceit, u he sure,
and small! wonder that many Ameri-
cans have accepted il in apparent good
faith and act upon it, without question !!
But when thoroughly anal, zed and
picked into pieces, it ia shown to be
the most pitiable Of AL decep.ions,
that deception by which we deceive
ourselves most wofully.
When it is said that ..tha foreigner
pays the tax it is meant that lie
bears the import duties levied on his
goods as these enter our purts and the
revenues derived from these imposts
support the government, or. that by
reason Of our high imposts, his goods
are shut of from our Tertiary and our
manufacturers make the profits which
lie loses by reason OF such excllsinn-
The foreigner does not bear the
burden of imposts upon his goods.
The importer pays the customs dues.
it il true, bnt these are added to the
original cost Of the imported mercllan-
disc and the freight, and the price at
at which such merchandise is sold to
the consumers includes ali these cl.arg-
es. Importers arc not in business tor
charity they are in business from the
same motive which actnates all men
who labor; 20 better their condition /;
- increase their possessions; 10 make
money. The import duty paid by the
importer forms a component part Of
the price of his goods. and to suggest
that he does not recohp himself when
he sells these goods is to talk nonsense
tit for children Of tender years, but an
insult to men of average intelligence.
The importer pays the import duty in
the first instance but the consumers,
the people, pay it in the end; the
people, therefore, and not the import
er. o the foreigner, pay the tax.
But that is not all Of the deception ;
there is u more striking feature Of it TO
lay bare. The tariff uot only lays a tax
upon the imported articles Of merchan-
disc. it places one also upon the same
class Of merchandise manufactured
here, by raising the o q to the cOnsu-
mer. This increase in the price, made
possible by import duties, the consu-
mers. the people, pay, and pay, not
into their ommo treasury, but d.
rectly into the pockets Of the protect
ed manufacturers.
Now, when the imposts are 10 high
that foreign goods cannot be imported
into our territory, the foreigner no
doubt loses what profit he could have
made BY selling US lis goods, and they
who sell the goods instead make the
profits. Some of our people certainly
profit at the expense Of the foreigner,
but the latter dues not pay the tax.
Our manufacturers in that case raise
the prices of their manufactured arti-
cles to tile highest notch, and the con-
sumers, the people. pay the difference
between this exaggerated price and
the price at which the goods could be
bought but for this impeachment Of high
tariff.
View the subject as WI will, consid-
er it from whatever standpoint, the
same conclusion is inevitable: the
people pay the tax. When they pay
it in the shape Of import duties, it is
covered into their common treasury
and they derive some benefit from it /;
when they pay it in the shape Of In
creased prices it finds its way straight
into the pnckeis of the manufacturers.
The tariff ia truly a tax and the
foreigner DOES NOT pay it.