Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1897-02-11
Ouinine And the Tariff.


sacrifice the lives of thousands of their
fellow-men yearly to their greed by
taxing quinine and other preventives
of wasting fever and death, deserve
all the odium they receive when their
wicked scheme is understood. Re-
Gently an appeal was made to the ways
and means committee to take quiniue
off the free list and enhance its price
by duty of 20 per cent. Not because
it is to the interest of the millions OF
people who use the drug that it should
cost more. or because they care who
makes it, provided it be cheap, but
because the quinine- manufacturers OF
the United States wish to add to their
profits. They do not need duty.
The members of the quinine syndicate,
consisting of a few manufacturers in
this country and abroad, are making
great lot Of money at present prices.
They fix the price Of the drug, accord
ing to the Journal OF Commerce, and
also the price of the bark from which
it is made. Everything is already in
their hands, so that they do not need
the aid of tariff rate to enable them
to get good prices. But while Con
gress is distributing tariff bounties
they think it but fair that they also
should get whack at the consumer,
The removal of the duty from qui-
nine many years ago resulted in a
large reduction Of the prices of quinine
and did not destroy the business of
American manufacturer3-as they pre-
dicted it would. Even after the duty
was removed the price Of the drug
was far above the cost Of production.
In the last twenty Years the price has
been still further reduced by the large
" increased production Of bark and
bv the fact that the bark coming to
market is richer in the alkaloid than
formerly. The cinchona plantations
in Java and elsewhere are Cutting
the market, with the result that quiz
nine makers now get their raw mate
rial at fraction of its former cost.
The price Of their product--low as it
it's still so far above the cost Of
manufacture that frequent secret cuts
have recently been made by unfaith-
full members of the syndicate. Last
August a cut of 8 cents was made by
the syndicate itself for the reason, ac-
cording to the Oil, Paint and Drug
Reporter, that "the prices quoted by
makers for eight months past were a
temptation for others to start new
works, as it is well known that quinine
pays a substantial profit even at pres
ent prices" In November a further
reduction of 4 cents was made to de-
preciate the price of bark and discour-
age a proposed increase of production
in Java.
The shamelessness of the syndicate
in asking for a 90 per cent tax on a
drug so necessary to the masses Of the
people is shocking to every humane
person, but the heartlessness Of the
proposal differs only in degree from
that of other manufacturers. who ask
to be permitted to make clothing,
household comforts, &C., more difficult
to obtain. Quinine wards off disease.
So does good clothing, made Of real
wool, untaxed and cheap. If warm
WOODEN cloth is made dear by tax
for the benefit of the wool-grower or
manufacturer, it means that the poor
are to wear inferior stutis and take
the consequences in colds, pneumonia
and the thousand other ills produced
by exposure. And so of other articles
used by the poor. To enhance their
price by tariff taxis to diminish sad
Iy the comfort of that large class OF
the population whose whole existence
is difficult struggle. The tariff boun-
ty produces smiling plenty, and even
luxury, in a few localities, but it means
for all the rest Of the country a tax
which spells sacrifice and diminished
purchasing power True statesman
ship requires our Legislators to regard
the impoverished victims of "protec-
ton" as well as its sleek beneGciaries.
The foregoing very excellent edito-
rial from the Baltimore Sun will no
doubt be read with interest by the
numerous victims of the grippe whose
sufferings were promptly alleviated
by this now universally used drug.
Evidently our big city brother is sick,
sick from the bad effect of high
tariff, gold-standard Republican mi
crobes he swallowed last year, and
consequently he Graves the free unlim-
tied use of unprotected quinine and a
quiet sleep in the big, wide Democrat
ic bed Warren Register.