Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1905-05-24
MAINE EDITORIAL COMMENT.
Protective Tariff in Maine.
lBangOr News. ]

'J
| Before one can understand the bless
inSs or the curses which come from a
protective tariff he must admit that no
| tariff can advance or diminish the in
trnsic value Of any commodity. Thir-
W pounds of oats raised in Canada will
:trord as much nourishment to horse as
| :" pounds OF oats grown in Maine though
owing to the existing tariff the Maine
itfmcr derives Il much larger profit from
his oats than Goes the farmer who lives
across the line: An nations must levy
taxes OF some kind to defray current OK
pcnscs. In England revenues are OBJ
tanned from taxes placed on home pro-
ducts-.nanly-whilem most raw Material is
admitted Tree OF duty. Here our revenues
| ternal revenue tax in about equal pro-
portions. What is termed protective
tariff is levied in 4 wey to enhance the
price of wages paid to the home people
| 1t is designed as n tax on foreign goods.
which is placed so high as to nearly bar
them from the market. thus giving the
nome manufactures n monopoly. No man
has yet been able to say when an article
| ceases to be raw material and becomes Il
| manufactured product Under the Ding
icy turin. grams. meats. livestock. hay
and many other commodities produced in
Maine ar" manufactured products On ac-
| count of this definition, Maine farmers
ere prospeflng very greatly. while Cana
uii,n lornnerS are not doing so well. When
Grover Cleveland was President n Demo-
tra'Ic congress declared that lumber form
the S;iwmllS was raw material and should
NOT be taxed. 4 law which parayZcd the
iun n industry of the State while it was
NO tarlff enactment or law of any kind
can control absolutely the rate of wages
or the selling price of material. The
trusts nave tried the experiment several
ZINES nut have not succeeded wholly.
BACK of laws are certain conditions.
wh'ch either promote or rctard human
progress. Men will seek ont thu places
wher., me margin of profit between wages
lnu INC cost OF living is greatest Such
r CON. IONS are found most frequently in
1000 IS ati'ndant. No law that man could
make could have hindered the farmers
.luiI SrttnnC npon the deep praries bot
TOMS or the West. No despOtic end arbi-
,rarE e king was powerful enough toprevent
.Leh !ron snuatting along the banks of
me Penohscnt and Eennehec rivers and
!eedinG themselves and their families on
nc an,lnn,nce of fish. Nearly n century
ago EncklH discovered that such vital
uuSStlons as love making ard marriage
and housekeeping did rot 1eneud ,pnn the
lender passion Mt all, but that S,Ich mat
tt.s were regulated wholly by the labor
Price OF bread. In years when men had
CIV ~ wo!k Two days to hry barrel Of
marriages. there were in the Years when
I"ir Gays We're required to gain the Same
nLni'unI. The tides Of immigration and
me spread OF population ALWAYS move
rmh centres Of hard times toward CEN
RS ni good times. This natural law is as
lnhexihle as fate
geographically Maine is blunt wedge
M MI uSI between two provinces Of England.
r. II. rnmate. the soil and the atmosnherc-
brunswick are ALMOST Identical The
.IonS winch viii rrnw in ono Mace are
Irtnah,e OF being raised in all three places.
WV Is II. then. that Maine is more pros
\peious IMAM ever before. while her ad-