The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-03-17

1 uOitu 20 raise the pFlCe Oh llhe pTptutaS
| IN many cases up TO the duty hne and ac-
| lualIy sell a considerable portion of the
S9l1OOOO0G9 Of domestic products at a
price enhanced by the amount of the tar
H. Nhen. IN fact. much of the same goods
are sold abroad al reduced prices This
Is done in the face of the fact that the
cost OF manufacture has been decreased
/ IN the last fifty years to fiftieth part
price maintained at what il was fifty
years ago. through the aid of the tariff
and trusts 1t should be easily under
stood how necessary it is to increase the
| tariff periodically in order to keep out
competition as the cost of production de
creases, for otherwise there would be
some competition under the old tariff.
Examples of Favoritism.
a few illustrations of government ia
Yorltism in levying the tariff tax will
be pertinent From the year 1861 the tariff
on manufacturer wooden goods averaged
~ per cent Under the Dingley and Nc
| hlnley tariffs il averaged 80 per cent ad
| Valorem- In some instances it is more
| IMAM double that amount. Excepting dur
| ing the years 1894 to 1897 when the Will
| son tariff was in operation, the average
| tariff on secured wool was about A per
| cent during thirty-seven years, and the
| tariff for the manufacturers runs - per
| cent TO 80 per cent, to offset the tariff
| OF "A per cent on wool, but as d matter
Of fact the tariff on wool is a fraud and
] not much more than half OF IL Is honest,
| the fraud being imposed through the
! skirting and other schedules The duty
| on wooden goods under Hamilton's tariff
I was about 10 per cent. We were, in fact,
an infant nation then, and our indus
/ tries needed protection. BY the act of
/ 1924 it was raised to 90 per cent We have
! protected the cotton industry since 1916
| Then the duty was p per cent Nearly
| 100 years later il is as an average about
| 30 per cent. Yet the industry was well es-
| tablished before 1SJo. win these weak in
| FAINT industries ever be able to stand
| alone? As to clothing a peculiar condi-
| ton exists. Much of the cheap goods pay
| twice the duty on expensive goods Thus,
for example, a class of English dress
goods which sells in London for Il cents
per yard pays duty of 80 per cent ad
/ valorem and A cents pound, equal 10
| duty of SOls cents per yard, or 166 per
cent. These goods retail in London for
| % cents and in the United States, 10 cents.
In the same class of goods, but of higher
value, duty of III per cent is paid. and
| thus the poor are considered and oppor-
| tunity made for fraud and inequality, and
| these are not lonesome exceptions.
Record on Iron and Steel.
Pig and hammered iron were produced
in our colonial days Hamilton said; To
continue bOunties on manufactures long
| established, must always be of question
able policy. He also said: Several indus
tries had sprung up and GOuriShed with
a rapidity which surprises. Among them
he mentioned pig and bar iron. No pro-
lection was given these industries in colo
mai DAYS because IL was HOl u6tIGtu
necessary One hundred and sixteen years
later. with the greatest iron deposits in
the world, with all our intelligence and
facilities and equipment unequdled. and
producing about one-half of the pig iron
in the world. impose a tariff of 30
per cent ad valorem. When congress knew
that for years we had manufactured steel
rails cheaper than any other nation 1t inn
posed a duty of S7.S4 per ton on steel rails.
enabling the United States Steel trust to
make a profit on the domestic consump-
ton of about 100 per cent. Hence Carne-
gle does not know what to do with his
money The United States Steel trust IS
the greatest industrial giant ever IN eX-
istence. Capitalized in 1898 for SHE'LL
III with actual assets at the time of its
formation of 500 100000 Its net profit
for 1902 and 1903 was s242. 1916. and yet
it needs high protective tariff and gets
THE tin plate industry is owned by the
Steel trust. 1t is conservativcly estimated
that il has cost American consumers
S125. 900 600 to establish the tin plate indus
try although that tax was levied under
the promise that tin plate would be
cheapened. In the year 1890 before the
enactment of the Mckinley bill. tin plate
cost here S3.071s per 100 pounds. In 1906
/ it cost S3.75 at the mills, or 1886 at New
York nearly 81 a hundred more than in
1890. Docs the Steel trust need protec-
tiOn2 Is it an infant industry?
Nearly all the implements made by our
hardware factories is highly protected.
Notwithstanding the fact that for about
twenty years these factories have been
shipping their products all over the world
in successful competition with all kinds
of labor.
In Colonial Days.
an 17O1 Great Britain attempted to re
strict the manufactures of the American
colonies and at the request of the London
hatters hats made of fur could not be sold
outside of the colony where manufac-
tured The manufacture of charcoal iron
was our leading industry. Iron and wood
existed in abundance and the iron mas
ters of England clamored for parliament
to check our manufacture of iron and
leather and parliament responded to the
demand. Pennsylvania in colonial days
had duty of 212 per cent Their de
scendants 1l2 years later made 1t % TO
$50 Der cent TO protect their infant indus
tries which were over 100 years old and
the strongest in existence.
Il do not think any statement of Alex
ander Hamilton can be found justifying
our present tariff. During our early his
tory we followed a system of practical
free trade. Madsen said: L wish we
were under less necessity than | find we
are to Shackle our commerce with duties,
restrictions and preferences While Ham
ilton 1uStifieS them temporarily he sald
their continuance in manufactures long
established was most questionable. The
actual workings of the first taT1ft -
said TO have been only ~ per cent. and
that only few articles. In 1903 they did
not exceed Is per cent. The volume of
our total exports IN lSVi eAceSueu SloJ,-
900 900 These were DAYS of infant indus
tries and with low tariff prosperity pre-
vailed and the men who wrote and adopt
ed the immortal Declaration of lHdepend-
ence thought "A tariff of from to Is per
cent was enough for those days. Now
tariff of from % to 800 per cent is not
excessive even when goods arc sold much
cheaper abroad than at home. 1t was in
1916 when the first tariff which looked
toward protection was passed ] under
stand the contrary was stated here by
Judge Prick. l may be mistaken. You
should look il up. 1t provided for an
average duty of 20 per cent On cotton
goods it was - per cent. Making pig
and bar iron was regarded so thor
oughly established at the time of the pas
sage of the Hamilton tariff that it did
not need protection then. and such was
not asked until 1915.
Strange to say the New Englanders in
1916 opposed a tariff and the southern
ers favored it. Judge Prick said depTes-
sion existed between 1916 and 1875. be-
cause the tariff was reduced. Our sources
of information must differ. During and
following the war of 1872 there was great
expansion of banking and wild specula-
ton 1t continued until 1879. when Sc
we're financial crisis occurred. Fictitious
value was given 10 all kinds of property.