Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-12-03
-owa Man Visiting in Washing
ton Tells What Duties Mid
die West Demands
DIFFERENCE IN COST
sserts Present Profits From Over
Protection Do Not Go to Laborers-
An Illustration in Des Moines-
Scores the Lumber Dealers = o. II.
Robinson's Views.
,Ial to Times-Republlcan.

Washington, Dec. 3.-"Taft ~ rlEh'
rbout the tariff, and II this republican
congress we have just elected does not
give us a revision Of the schedules
which will wipe out the iniquities OF
the tariff there won't be any republican
congress next time"
This unqualified opinion was ex-
pressed by Oscar II. Robinson of Des
Moines, Iowa, and he said it was the
.lion of the majority of the business
len OF the great middle west the only
mes holding to the contrary belief be-
ng a few mossback standpatters.
Mr. Robinson, who is one of the ex-
onents of the iowa idea" and says
carload of western business men are
oming to Washington to see Senator
'ummins sworn in, is in a position to
,e peculiarly well informed about the
tate of sentiment in the middle west.
lis business is Of a nature to bring
lin into contact with representative
business men and farmers in more than
me of the states west of the MISSISSIPPI
Vi river.
What Middle West Wants,
But what do the people of the mid
lie west mean by tariff revisiop?" Mr.
Robinson was asked. what in par
ticular do they want done?"
"They want the cost of production
of commodities in this country ascer-
tanned and the cost of making the same
things abroad ascertained. and then
they want the tariff held to the differ
ence between the two. That tells it in
a nutshell. They believe Americans are
able to meet the world when the condi-
tions are equal, and all they want of
the tariff is the equalization of condd-
lions. That, they believe, will bring
the highest measure of revenue to the
government and give every industry all
the protection dt is entitled to.
what they want removed is the
tariff which gives an American manu-
facturer or producer an absolute
in his line. and they insist
that it must be removed. What justice
is there about tariff which enables a
producer to charge the American peo-
Pile two prices, whereas when he sells
abroad in competitionN with the rest
Of the world he charges but one price?
ran across an eloquent illustration of
the way this works wherever you con-
fer a monopoly, not long ago. / was
u. ore of the smaller Iowa cities about
200 miles from Des Moines, and while
waiting for my train observed some
men laying a new brick pavement. I
examined it and say that it was identi-
cal with some then being laid before
my home in Des Moines.
An Illustration in Des Moines.
How much do you get a yard for
this pavement I asked the foreman.
""The contract is 81 cents he said.
"'Whp has the contract?'
"He named a Des Moines firm. And
then he wanted to know why asked.
"I ask said I. because that very
same firm is at this very time laying
this Identical pavement in front of my
me s1.35 a yard
"You see Des Moines manufactures
paving brick and the city council had
legislated that all paving in the city
must be done with brick made in Des
Moines and laid by Des Moines people.
That, of course, shut out all COMPETE
ton from outside and the consequence
was that was charged s1.35 per
square yard for a pavement laid by
firm which could afford to ship its
brick 200 miles away from home and
lay the same pavement for 81 cents
yard. There was a case of protection
to home industries, overdone. If our
city government had legislated that
Moines brick and to Des Moines con-
tractors only when they met the price
Of outside competitors 1t would have
been all right. But to absolutely sew
the city up and leave it at the mercy
Of Its own brick men was neither JUS
tice to the rest of the population nor
craftsmanship on the part of the gov
erning power.
Does Not Help Laborer.
Tn the same way hold that when
the tariff permits any line of business
to have monopoly of the American
market, with no opportunity for the
consumer to get relief, it is going too
far. I am willing and believe, we all
are willing to have congress so legis-
late that conditions will be equal, as
between our producers and those
TIE
General Demand