The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-04-12
WHEN THE FOREIGNER PAYS.

WHEN THE FOREIGNER PAYS.
All Republican papers give as much
space to discussion of the tariff as
If it were still an open question and
had not been foreclosed by the decree
entered last November for a restoration,
but we note in some Of them a sub
dued spirit in discussing the conun-
drum: Who pays the tax? Some Of
these have broken away from the dog
ma of Mr.. Mckinley, that it is the for
eigner who pays 1t, and now admit
that he may do 1t under certain con-
ditions, but the consumer pays it
when those conditions do not exist.
But the stalwart fellows, as fixed In
their orthodoxy as the eternal hills on
their bases, still cling tenaciously TO
the faith Of the great disciple, and
among them none more so than the pa
per whose editorial column bears the
epitaph stating that it was founded
by Horace Greeley" 1t is now jubi-
liant over the discovery Of a Scotchman
who agrees with it and who supports
his contention with proofs which the
Tribune accepts as irrefragabIe.
This canny Scot sought confirmation
of his theory among English exporters.
To $50 of them he addressed the in
curry who pays the tax on the goods
you export? and from all but one Of
them he received the assurance that
they paid it themselves One solitary
trader asserted that the consumer paid
it. Naturally, the Tribune is jubilant
over its find. but it remains a reflec-
ton upon its own enterprise that it
should have left it all these years to a
Scotchman to have gained this very i'm
portant information, when it coull
have obtained it itself by inquiry eth
er Of English or American exporters.
We may now expect to have the Trib-
une making a demand upon the senate
to eliminate that provision of the
Dingley bill that allows the rebate of
nine-tenths of the duty where the ar
ticle is again exported, because it is
a very decided admission that the for
eigner does not pay the tax.
If this is true, if these English trad
ers do kindly pay the tax imposed
on the goods they send to foreign
ports, then certainly our whole atti-
tude towards them and their country
must be changed. Instead of despising
their ''pauper" labor, we should en-
courage it, and instead Of antagoniz-
ing imports Of their products we
should assist them. For none of us 50
love to pay taxes that we will turn
the cold shoulder to the generous for
eigner who Is willing to pay them for
us, and 1t is a strange contradiction
that returns dislike for benefits given.
Indeed, if we can so arrange matters
as to allow these very obIiging gentle
men to pay all our taxes, state and
national it would be an advantage
we should not neglect. We have heard
much, too, Of the money power of Eng
land, always referred to as an insati-
ate monster eager to devour us. but
that will have to be changed, as will
also that other view that sees England
as the creditor nation with Shylockian
avarice, a conception entirely at va
rance with the true character as re-
vealed by the Tribunes canny Scot.
We know of instances where the
'foreigner"-our own exporting manu-
! facturers-did appear to pay the tax.
and we doubt not the 500 and odd ex-
porters found by the Tribunes Scotch
man, if, indeed, he is not myth, paid
the tax the same as ours These were
manufacturers who sold their goods
to foreigners at their list prices, agree i.
ing to pay the impost on them List
prices are for the edification Of the
consumer and the benefit of the retail
er, who buys at a round discount from
list and sells at list. AS the discounts
are usually greater than the impost.
the manufacturer finds an additional
profit in getting his list price and pay
ing the duty himself. We have even
known them to pay the duty and
freight and then realize better price
than they got at home, discounts off.