Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1906-07-11
power Of gold is not the chief cause Of
New York News.

power of gold is not the chief cause Of
the rapid advance Of prices in the
United States, for In England, which
is on tariff for revenue basis, the
prices Of commodities have not ad-
ynnced In anything like the same pro-
portion as here. The London Econo-
mist's index number of commercial
prices on Dec. 81, 1897, was 1890, and
on March 81, 1906, was 2,308, or only
about % per cent Increase in the same
number of years that our prices have
Increased Al per cent. 1t Is therefore
fur to assume that % per cent of the
increase in the rise in prices, the world
over, has been caused by the increased
output of gold. That is natural
cause that no law has interfered with.
But how about the 20 per cent In
crease In prices In this country over
and above the increase in England?
That can be caused in no other way
than artiflcially through the thrift law
and Its trust and monopoly fostering.
1t Is significant that this rapid rise
III prices in this country is co-incident
With the enactment of the present tariff
law. 1t is also Indicative of the effect
Of the high protection granted to man
ufacturers under that law that the cul-
Mutation of the era Of trusts and com
bines is concurrent with tile levying of
the enormous protective tariff taxes
and justifies the conclusion that the
Dingley tariff has fostered the organi-
cation of trusts and combines and is
certainly responsible for at least 25 per
cent Of increased prices. The object
Of trusts and combines being to mon
opollze production and control prices
and the high tariff rates preventing
competition from abroad 1t naturally
| follows that under this Republican pol
Icy the tariff beneficaries have advanced
| the price of their products as high as
the tariff will allow them to do, with
out inviting the competition of foreign
products. AS transportation charges
and other costs have to be added to the
price of foreign imports besides the
tariff tax, 1t Is quite feasible for the
trusts and combines to charge for their
products what foreign goods can be laid
down here for, less the cost of transpor-
tation. Thus IL knitted shawl Is i'm
ported from Germany the duty Is A
cents per pound and 60 per cent ad
valoreM or over 100 per cent. During
the fiscal year ending June 80, 1905,
there was $65, 761 .25 In value Of these
4 shawls imported and the duty paid
was $65, 903.23. So the exact tariff tax
collected was 100.21 per cent. These
nre the official figures published by the
Bureau of Statistics of Imported mer-
clandise entered for consumption in the
United States and duties collected
thereon 1905" (see page 75). The
| American manufacturer can manufac-
| ture such shawls at about the same cost
| as the German manufacturer can, say
SIS, SO he can double the cost and still
undersell the foreign shawl, upon which
in addition to the tariff tax of So, the
| freight and other costs Of importing
have to be paid. The whole wool sched-
ule brlstles with articles upon which
the tariff tax exceeds 100 per cent, some
dress goods exceeding 165 per cent. No
wonder the wooden manufacturers are
| rich and the cost of living to the con.
sumers has increased AZ per cent since
this plundering Republican tariff law
was enacted In 1897.
Between the loss In the purchasing
| power of wages, or incomes, through
the decline in the purchasing power. Of
gold-and the Republican policy Of pro
tecting the trusts and combines SO that
they con levy their tax which the tariff
allows them to do, by increasing the
1 prices OF their produces. tho man witt
limited income is not as prosperous
! ~ hs WAS in 1897 BY VI psr cent for b