Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1901-07-30
1.-THE Foreigner Pays 1t. !"

A. Il. JACKSON, Secretary.
1.-THE Foreigner Pays It,"
"Tke foreigner pays the tax; he de-
ducts it from the price he receives for
his goods''-is the song Of the high
tariff statesman, the guardian Of the
protected trust. To illustrate 1t, let
us take a few examples.
There were imported into the United |
States during the past year wooden
blankets to the value Of S27,957.29.
The duties thereon were s26, 8O0.O6, or
at the rate of nearly SO per cent adj
valorem. Who paid this tariff tax on
imported blankets? "Why, the foreign
maker" quoth our high tariff friend;
"he had to dig up the duty out of the
proceeds Of his SALE" Let us see. The
tariff tax of s27.sO0.O6 taken from
7,95729, the value Of the goods,
leaves just 81, 1923. So that would
be the net price which the foreign
maker would get for 1927, 957.2s worth
of goods, after paying the tariff tax
alone, and he has the ocean freight,
commission and insurance still to
meet. Does that appeal to common
sense?
Take another example. There was
imported "a, 1880 worth of unstem-
med tobacco, on which the tariff du-
ties were 81, 1910, 100, or 1873 per cent ad
valorum. Who paid that duty? Did
the West India tobacco raiser pay it?
Did he pay 1870, 100 of tariff taxes
out Of the proceeds from s4,le7, 500
worth of tobacco? How much tobacco
would the Cuban and Porto Rican
producer have shipped to us. If for
every dollar S worth they shipped
they paid tax of sl.ss? Would they
have kept on until at the end of the
year they had paid over 100000 in
tariff taxes-enough to bankrupt the
whole Of the West Indies?
Take another case. There was i'm
ported into the United States during
the past fiscal year s77,29o,745 worth
of sugar, the tariff duties thereon be
Ing S57, All, 772. Did the foreign sugar
producer contribute tariff taxes Of
67,000,000 in order to have $4,000,
900 trader Did they find 1t a profita.
BILE business proposition to give the
United States government over 70 pei
cent of the value Of their product and
be content with 81 per cent just in or
der to have their sugar eaten by Yam.
KEGS?
Take these cases:
Did the Japan and Chinese tea rails
ers who shipped us sl0,O0o,000 worth
of tea, deduct from their proceeds tn
$S,O00,000 collected by the United
s4ates government as duty, leaving
for themselves only 100000 and the
frefghts and other costs to meet?
Were the SO, 72e, 845 Of duties on dis
titled spirits deducted by the foreign
exporters from the value of the liquors
which all told was only s2,771, 3ol?-
that is to say, did they donate thu
liquors outright, with a cash gift O
100000 on top?
Were the tariff taxes Of s4O7 ,6S7 OF
frecrackers paid by the foreigner from
the S206, 265, at which the firecracker
were valued-in other words, 81 o
taxes for each dollar Of trade?
Were the s13,377 Of tariff taxes Of
bone buttons paid by the foreigne
from the sl2,45o, which they wer
worth?
Were s14,3738l2 Of tariff taxes o.
imported tobacco paid by the foreign
or from the sl3,5e5, 1870, at which
was valued?
Did the foreign exporters, who sol
us s15,62O, 4S6 worth of wooden good
pay from the proceeds Of their sal
the SD, 2s4, 7sl of tariff taxes whic
were collected-leaying the foreig
manufacturer one-tenth of the valr
Of his goods.
II the answer in each OF these cas-,
Is "Yes," in harmony with the theol
OF the high tariff advocate, then til
manufacturers and merchants aero
the ocean must be organized in a col
spiracy to rob themselves in order 1
support as an object Of charity tt
American government, which is tryir
to destroy their trade. Even If I'll
trust price lists and the consumer
pocket did not tell him that he hir
self paid the tariff taxes, and no 70
e1gn charity, common sense would tt
him that trade does not proceed whe
the taxes upon it exceed cost of pr
duction-unless the trader is able
pass the taxes along by adding the
to the selling prlce.--Plain Deale
Grand Forks, N. D.
0nnnaan.nn
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