Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-08-08

worth one-tenth of a cent per line en-
dured tax of 70.75 per cent. Metal
buttons worth cents per line bore
tax of 5000 per cent.
Fur hats and bonnets of all descrip-
tionS averaging in value $3.50 per
dozen were taxed 96.66 per cent; those
of quality worth $3.50 per dozen
were taxed 47.46 per cent Partly
manufactured wool and hair worth
SO 1-3 cents per pound was taxed 149
per cent; that worth $1.14 per pound
was taxed 1910 per cent. Wool blan-
kets worth 2S.6 cents per pound paid a
duty of 165.42 per cent, blankets worth
S1.0J per pound duty of 71.30 per
cent. Pushes and other similar fab
rics worth 359 cents per pound sus-
tanned a tax Of 1417S per cent, those
worth S1.09 per pound 4 tax of 95.33
per cent.
1t will be seen that when rich and
poor were laying in n stock of cloth
ing Uncle Sam was guilty of dis
elimination of much the same charac-
ter as the discrimination he has so
railroads between small and large
shippers. The Dingley duty is like the
secret rebate IN more WAYS than one.
1t strikes down ITS victims so InsIdf-
ously and secretly that they do not
know what has wounded them. They
blame themselves, Providence, luck
anything but the right cause. The
Of TO huC
voting for tariff taxes would do so no
longer if when ne went to buy the
| winters clothing for his family he
could know the actual truth that the
| millionaire and his wife, trading on
the other side of the store, pay through
| the storekeeper to Uncle Sam or to
| the trusts tax of only 1892 per cent
on wooden or worsted cloth worth 81 u
per pound, while he pays 134.97 per
cent on similar cloth worth 3SS cents
per pound; if he knew that his rich
! friends pay for their knit fabrics
worth S1.07 per pound a tax of only
| 95.67 per cent. while he pays 141 per
| cent on knit fabrics worth 1914 cents
per pound; If he knew that they pay on
| their winter flannel underwear worth
more than 70 cents per pound tax of
only $3.50 per cent. while he pays
| 1867 per cent on the flannels which
he buys worth 1914 cents per pound.
| If the objection is made that not
every man buys these imported ar
ticles, the reply is not difficult. These
articles of widely different qualities
were actually imported and sold. some
| of them in very large quantities.
They bore these highly discriminating
duties. and their respective American
| purchasers We're treated most I'M
equally and partially, the consumer of
the cheaper articles paying at enor-
mouSly greater rates than the consum-
ers of the finer qualities. In an open
+, market is it conceivable that there was
not something like the same dis
elimination in prices between the con-
sumers of cheap and the consumers Of
costly domestic products? In these
days much the smaller share of our
tariff taxes goes to the government.
| The bulk of them goes to the trusts,
which sell at prices they are enabled
to maintain because of the exclusion
of foreign competition. Men of mod
crate means, workingmen, poor men of
all classes, have been told that the
tariff exists for their special benefit
and protection. If this claim were
true, would the makers of the tariff
have so arranged the rates of duty
that articles used by the wealthy bear
by far the lightest burden of taxation?
JESSE +. ORION.