The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-10-31
Villas TAKES STUMP
EX-SENATOR MAKES SPEECH IN
MILWAUKEE,
Tariff and Trusts the Main Subjects
of His Address-is Heard
by Large
Crowd.

Milwaukee, Wis, Oct. 30.-Former Uni
ted States Senator William e. Villas made
his first speech in the present campaign
at the Pabst Theatre tonight under the
auspices of the Democratic State Central
Committee. The Senator was greeted by
a large audience. He spoke principally
on the tariff and trusts.
What is the tariff law?' said the Sem
ator. You will find that 1t merely d.
reefs that a tax Of a certain amount,
either specific amount or a per centage
upon value shall be levied at the custom
house upon such articles named in the
act as shall be brought from foreign
countries. Suppose one importing mer-
chant buys abroad some article which he
intends to sell here. When that article
comes through the custom house he pays
the tax upon 1t. OF course that tax be-
comes part of the cost of the article to
him and when he sells 1t he reckons his
profit upon the full costs. So far, then
the government has gotten the tax the
consumer has paid. and 1t has only cost
the consumer the addition of per centage
which the importing merchant has
charged to cover his expense and profit.
las a means Of raising revenue, when
ever the tariff docs produce revenue in
this way, 1t is very pleasing one to the
public official because the customer never
knows how much tax he pays and many,if
not most of them, never pauses to think
they are paying a tax at all. 1t well
adapts that old rule of the great French
monarch's financial minister. that the
art of taxation consists in getting the
most feathers from the goose with the
least squealing.
But so far there is no protection and
there would be no benefit in such tariff
on imported articles except the benefit to
the government of the revenue derived.
Thereupon the craft of protection is APP
piled to prevent the law and diverts ben
efits to private parties. If there be an
article which is manufactured in this
country the protectionists have caused to
be put upon 1t tax so high that 1t is
impossible for any, importing merchant
to afford to pay 1t in addition to its for
eign cost and expect to sell it here with
profit. Then what happens. All foreign
competition in respect to that article is
excluded and If the people of the United
States wish 1t, they are compelled to buy
it Of the American manufacturer If then
the cost of manufacture in this country
does not exceed the cost of manufacture
American manufacturer, when he has sold
that article to his countrymen, has re-
ceived the entire tariff tax himself. His
countryman, the consumer, has paid it,
but he has not paid 1t to his govern
ment; he has paid it to the maker Of the
article in this country
Much of the Senator's speech was de-
voted to a discussion of trusts. Refer
ring to the United States Steel Corpora
ton he said:
This corporation Is the practical dicta-
tor of the price which Americans must
pay for everything they buy within its
line of manufacture. Its own manufac-
lures constitute three-fourths of Ameri-
can production in its line.
This is a monstrous giant of evil to
stand towering under American indus
trial skies. Yet 1t is probably no greater
in proportion than others in other lines
In other departments of trade there are
trusts which grasp with as firm a hand
every line of their peculiar traffic as the
ard Oil Company is possibly as great, so
far as profits are concerned, at least as
the Steel Corporation. Another illustra-
ton might well be found In the glass
trust. 1t has become. perhaps, even more
complete in control of the glass manufac-
ture than the steel corporation in the
control of steel and it has been demon
strated that II has more than doubled
prices since it's combination was formed.
This indicates the splendid extravaganza
of the protective tribute which the tariff
law awards to that combination.