Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1907-01-03
CAUSE OF PROSPERITY
Free Trade Between States the
Greatest Influence.
THE TARIFF A PERENNIAL ISSUE

Protection to Trusts Has Vastly In
creased the Cost Of Living, With
Which Wage Have Not Kept Pace.
The United States Has Prospcred I'm
Spite of High Protection.
American people that the fathers Of
the republic insured free trade in the
United States. If each state i'll the
Union could enforce a tariff tax against
the other states or any n of them,
how hanpcred commerce would have
been. Every state line would have
collectors of tariff taxes would have
searched every one who wanted to go
from II state to another, as is the
cas- in the European states today.
Free trade between the states has been
the most potent cause of our marvel
GUS internal commerce and of III pros
perity, in spite of the drawback of the
high tariff that imposes such an Oh
stacle in our trade with foreign ma
lions.
Until the constitutional limitations
restricting taxation are removed the
federal government is virtually com
PEELED to raise the necessary revenue by
tariff taxes and internal revenue tax
alton or resort to the method of direct
taxation. apportioned according to the
population. Such a direct tax would
be unequal taxation, and no party has
advocated imposing it either in lieu of
other taxation or to constitute a part
Of the federal taxes.
Therefore the tariff taxes and inter
nal revenue taxes are virtually the sole
means Of raising the necessary reve-
nue. to support the government. The
question of the relative percentage of
tariff taxation is therefore a perennial
issue that cannot be easily obliterated,
and to settle how high or low the tar
if wall shall be is Of the utmost impor-
lance to the American people.
The original pretense for the high
protective tariff was to encourage in
FAINT Industries, but the tariff laws be
l IN AS NiNt "oA Z NShy AA1ooS1
in comparison with the present law,
and yet the infant industries conduct,
ed by Individuals have now grown to
be gigantic corporations and still de-
mand protection. The further pretense
is now made by the Republicans that
the high protective tariff is necessary
to protect the wage Garner and increase
his wages, but this pretense is shatter
ed by the fact that the cost of living
has Increased much faster than wages
have under this Republican system
and the wage earners are revolving
against the Republicans. having dis
covered their prosperity is not enhanc-
ed by the plundering of the tariff pro
tected trusts that high protection has
fostered.
But the great argument of our mod,
ern stand pat statesmen is that to re.
wise the tariff would upset the present
prosperity, but in fact we have pros
pered in spite Of the drawback of pro.
lection and chiefly because of free
trade between the states. which has
produced an traffic from one
state to another without the blightine
influence of high taxation.
If the tariff was so revised that in
stead of protecting the trusts the rates
were fixed to produce enough revenue
to run the government. honestly anG
economically administered. how fan
greater III prosperity would be. Oul
trade with other lands and theirs will
ours would be vastly extended. and in
stead Of the trusts selling cheaper tc
foreigners than to our own people We
would have the choice of the markets
Of the world to buy and sellfn.
With free raw material our manu-
facturers would compete In every mar
ket, and instead Of the cost Of living
being nearly so per cent higher thar
1t was ten years ago and wages being
less than 20 per cent higher cleai
loss Of 80 per cent to the wage enrner<
the two would so adjust themselves
that the workingman and those Will
fixed incomes would participate in the
prosperity that is now monopolized by
the trusts and the few at the eypcnSf
Of the many.