Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1904-11-25
Proposed Increase on varions Articles.

Inc sentry suggests neaNy lhcrease
in the tariff on certain articles of luxu-
ry and for the following reasons:
Suppose we as a people produce from
our land certain things, for instance
iron ore, wheat. corn, oats, rye, barley,
timber from our forests, and leather
from hides. Now we work these vari-
Gus things into articles of use--iron,
Isteel, wood, leather, etc., etc, and make
more articles than are required by our
own people.
We send the excess to foreign lands
and bring their money back to America
to pay our miners, farmers, lumbermen
land workmen in the factories.
Thus every dollar we get for such
products is really dollar produced, or,
in other words, taken out of the land,
and if we can keep this dollar, and in
vest it in America, it becomes dollar
of asset, so if we can produce an excess
iof one hundred million dollars year in
some kind of product which is sent to
Europe or other countries, and one
hundred millions returns to us to be
invested in ow own country, we add
that much to the actual value or assets,
and, therefore, to the riches of the
country in which every citizen is an in
terested party.
| Under the present arrangement, the
manufacturer who accumulates a profit,
or the farmer who gets rich or the
| stockholder of the railroad who takes
his proportion of the money for carry
ing wheat, ore, etc, and other Ameri-
cans who earn an excess, go in large
numbers to Europe carrying literally
millions of American money which they
spend abroad.
Suppose as an illustration, that we
extract from European countries one
hundred million dollars year for our
wheat, corn, manufactures, etc, and
from that money the Americans-the
so-called rich peaple, take evenly mil
lion dollars and cary it back to Europe.
We then lose twenty millions of the one
hundred millions which we have gained
and to that extent abstract from this
country twenty MILLIONS year. That
twenty million dollars should be ex-
pended in America.
| We, Of course, cannot keep our people
from travelling, but when they are
rich enough to afford foreign travel
they are rich enough to afford a tax
on it, which should go to the United
States government, and to that extent
reduce the taxes of poorer Americans.
One dress making establishment in
Paris employees over six hundred people
principally in making dresses for
American women. Multiply this one
case by many ,others, and it is not far
away from a fair estimate to say that
five to ten million dollars is spent by
Americans in Paris, London and other
foreign cities in the purchase of dress
es, jewelry, stockings, pictures, auto
mobiles and various and sundry things
produced by foreign work people.
1t should be the American policy to
place the tariff so high on these things
as to impel and practically force rich
Americans to make their purchases in
America, thus paying the money to
American labor instead of to foreigners.
Suppose we put the tariff so high on
these dresses that the French work
people will move to America. Would
not that be an advantage2
For these reasons the sentry, acting
ON behalf of the great majority of citi-
zens who cannot afford to purchase such
luxuries, will prepare tariff bill
greatly increasing the duties ON such
articles as the following: Dresses and
wearing apparel, decorated chinaware,
precious stones, dress ornaments, en-
broideries, fans, artificial flowers, furs,
jewelry, perfumes, ribbons and wines,
and the other numerous articles that
go to make for Injuries rather than
simple living,
1t will be observed that all of these,
with one or two exceptions, are articles
of luxury which can be dispensed with
on the common needs of life and are
only purchased by the rich as luxuries.
The aim of the tariff bill will be to
gather several millions of dollars a year
from people who insist on spending their
money in Europe for articles of luxury
for which they SHOULD pay to the United
States government large tax to teach
the people two things;
Frst-That these articles should he
made in America, and the expert ma
kers should move to this country and
become citizens, following their avoca.
tions here.