Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1907-10-31
PLUMBER THE POOR
HOW THE TRUSTS TAX THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE.
In Some Instances Over 1870 Per Cent.
is Added to the Value Of Goods
That Are an Absolute
Necessity.

II Idrlu 70 a Lux. OOH Oc NC
ceived by the Republican. politicians
when they declare 'the foreigner pays
the tax" The last issue-1906-of
the United States Statistical Abstract,
page 95, gives the amount of the tar
if tax paid by the American people
for the year ending June 80, 1905, as
1898, $40, 1896, which is $3,9o per cap
tia, or about SIG for each average
family. No one is exempt from this
tariff tax and those with the larger
incomes pay no more than those with
the smaller salaries, or wages. In
fact, on some articles the tariff tax
is higher on the poorer quality OF
goods than on the best quality, so the
poor man pays more than the rich
man does.
For instance, under the wool sched-
ule, the most expensive carpets
woven whole for rooms the tariff tax
collected last year was 60.4S per cent.
OF the value, while on treble ingram,
one of the cheapest grades of carepts,
the tariff tax collected was 70.44 per
cent.
Also when the poor man buys a pair
of blankets the discrimination against
him is much greater, for the tariff
tax collected last year on large WOO
blankets, valued at not more than
40 cents per pound was 1908 per
cent, while on the same size blankets
st-,aJ,,1J 49,, tIo,, IN anptc NOR mound "
the tariff tax collected was 1884 per
cent. The poor man, therefore, who
was compelled to buy the cheaper
grade of blankets paid nearly double
the tariff tax that the rich man paid
IN the higher grade.
Many people can hardly believe
there is a tariff tax IN anything
amounting to 100 per cent. of its
~value-that is, a tax equal to it's cost
but here we have the extraordinary tax
Of over 100 per cent. So If the blank.
cts cost in Europe five dollars, they
are increased in cost by the tariff tax
collected over nine dollars, making
such blankets cost here over $14, be-
sides the freight, insurance and profits
of the importer; and this enormous
tax the American consumer has to
pay to protect the wooden trust. Is
not such a tariff tax robbery, under
the guise of law? Yet our Republican
friends defend it and declared in
their national platform Of 1904 that:
Protection which guards and devel
ops our industries is a cardinal pol
icy of the Republican party" Even
if the Republican party at it's next ma
tional convention promises to revise
the tariff after election" they mus
still continue to protect the infant
industries, now grown to gigantic
trusts, or go back on their declaration
of 1904. 1t is hardly likely the Re
publican leaders will declare the!
have been mistaken in their policy o
protectionism, as the stand-pat states
men outnumber those who feel tina
the tariff is robbing the people an
protecting the trusts, 1t is probabl
that the same old farce of %pretendini
to revise the tariff for "commercia
reciprocity whenever reciprocal al
rangements can be effected consist
ent with the principles of protection
will he continued. How little the Re
publican party can be depended upo
to reduce the tariff by reciprocit
treaties with foreign nations is show
by it's refusal to ratify the treatie
/ -.L.zL nuaa;Io-% NHoKip1oyZ nnOntiafn
over six years ago. There are othe
tariff schedules that further show tn
tariff tax collected is greater on tn
cheaper grade of goods than on tn
finer qualities and the reason for thi
discrimination against the great mas
of consumers-the farmers and worl
ingmen and those with small income
is because they are by far the MOI
numerous and consume the great m
jority of articles produced. Therefor
the trusts are protected by high'
tariff duties on such cheaper grade
goods than on the more expensiN
qualities which are consumed to
much more limited extent.
IL JlGIO Wd0 0PuSV Ill tAAO ASASA
give the facts about the extra prof
that the tariff protects the trusts
charging for their products, and Il
enormous tax the people pay In |
creased prices for domestic product
the showing would make the tariff 70
berry so much greater that even t
most ardent Republican trust pl
tector would hardly dare to open
defend it. 1t is enough here to s.
lc- that the most able statisticians es
wv mate the trust profits at nearly s
he per family, which added to the 5
I per family of direct tariff tax on |
at ported goods, makes the enormo
he total Of $500 per family paid eve
le- year by the people in consequence
ill the increased prices of trusts goo
and the tariff tax collected by t
to government.
all viii you by your vote continue
allow the Republican party to th
nit plumber you?