The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1908-07-17

THE TARIFF.

always VI necessity be one OF apiuIng ana
paramount interest. TaAation IN what
ever form IL comes affects everybody
tax is q burden imposed by law ana
submitted to because presumably IL Is
necessary TO the maintenance oil orderly
government. 4 have never been aDle 70
conceive of any just theory upon whlch
taxation could be levied, except 10 pro-
duce a revenue TO support the govern
ment IL ID automatic TO say tnat
there should be equahty In the burdens
OF taxation. The tariff, under our Jaw,
is n TAX land upon imports from lofeisu
countries into the unlIed states for CON
sumption here. The tax is paid by the
importer In the trst Instance, ana ID lneh
aoued US an item making UP the TOTAL
cost of the article auected An the emu
tine purchaser who buys the article Tor
CONSUMPTION pays the tax. IN other
WORDS, the tarIII Is merely inuirect LAX
alton. | have said that me contfoihnb
principle OF Just taxation should De 10
raise "a needed revenue for pubic pur-
poses and 40 levied as To cast the Dur
den with the greatest possible equahS
upon ali. II incidentally the TAX pro-
tects domestic ptoduclioh asainsa ou, 80.
competition, as OF course IL Always ooes
10 the extent OF the tax, II Is all tns
better But we have long since departed
from these fundamental rules OF iegiu-
mate and Just taxation. me ponos a MI
long In vogue has been TO impose tariff
duties not 80 much to raise revenue as
10 close the door against foreign comps.
tition in American markets, anu 70 siNe
to American producers inohop i,Sts ~ nnliay
plying home consumption. inns policy
has been carried to an extreme III TINS
country To such an extreme, lhueeu'
has II been carried, ana 50 long coh-
tinued, that 1t has become an il,so as.n,-
HE abuse fostering great business com
hinations which mcrcilessiy plumber tne
people. The tariff, more than hhytnitns
else has made possible the ofshniAa,ott'
OF those great Industrial trusts ~ VI ~,
ta1 kAh N.
tartff not only escape foreign compeu-
ton. but are able to crush domestic eo Ptii,,
petition also. These giant nonJpo ~,
are to a large extent the outsto"'n ''
nropeny. OF our tariff system. IL -
y natter OF common knowledge that the
wealth of the country Is largely zen
tered In a few hands. 90 hot So ''',.,.'d
that all the fabulous fortunes ppsstssso
Nv mericans are due to our prohiDnoia
Tariff hut | do contend that pfacticahy
ali The great Industrial monopones eAia'
ard flourish because OF II lnc 49,
able tendency of TINS system " VI
courage the concentration OF industrial
effort and hence the concentration also
If the nations wealth. More than mat
IN enables the producer 70 levy o'n
scionable extortion upon the co hsu'i ~,
N ia "A known fact, not denied, .ias ~
General run OF American manufactures
arc aold cheaper In foreign couniI7
than at home. This Is true OF loou y,
nets clothing, Industrial lmplehyin.ss,
at
eise The Chicago Journal. with ass,u-
mons care and great labor, recently So
cured prices ON many stipie ~ ue.e1 -,
yaillng on the same day, Dotn AZ NUM- nun.
and abroad. The figures alsc''S Ch,c MO
meat products from Omaha, ChlSaso
and 81. Louis, steel products from filts-
burg, watches from New EhSlanu, t nnl
vesters from the middle west, SHOES iio ,,.
st Louis and Boston, anu nun 49,,
other products from many states were
gouud 10 have n market price III lorelEn
communities far below the Ptlee a.
which they were sold nt home, hysehu!
MIR. George Spencer 81 r hrehnwehh house in
Iondon, stated that he had seen tic
Identical American shoe which was oainS
sold in London at SSl matkcteu d. $50, $50,
In New York stores, WIN re ,aa nrnfit
on the price in London, then tne pIolIt
in America IL 80 enormous that IL serNJ9
tn explain why millionaires are us pi1I,ns
full In America as biackper,iSs ~ ht.t.ss
land. Illustrations showing Ike dlscriip-
nations in numerous articles coula %
multiplied. but mere adultlohs mouie
aerve no Intelligent purpose. sung Ne, ~
10 say in general terms, thht the ILL., va Ia
ence In prices between tne hoine "'. ~
foreign markets ranges from ABOUT -
10 40 per cent In favor OF the latter ~
advocates of the present tarlI, ~
admitting the cheaper price aotSau i w.,
RAJ The things sold abroad represent
o ona, a surnlus OF production above the
unaaa NJ our own market. In otnef
words. the contention Is that our lh"s,n 70
fartlirers overproduce, ana then a.
obliged 10 unload their surplus prouuCts'
oyon n nj n loss In foreign marAets.
To my mind that argument ~ WotSe t To-,
pueriie. 1t implies that the pohey oi o 'ha
manufacturers is to prouucs ioS nor,
hnwe market only. and not Tor export.
if that he true, then they overproduoe
To the extent OF many hundred miliio.is
every year, which they are i9Iceu "a
send abroad because presumably IL Wouiu
so 70 waste II kept at home. That II an
ebaurdItv | do not believe H. III ~
were true that our manufacturers ',aI
are trained, disciplined ana aierl , pus,
ness men. produced only 1or Tue noiatr
,narket. and not primarily for foreign
markets, they would not annuhlly ORE
duce surplus SO enormous. Ihere s ,as
a manufacturer In the Umte9 ola NE
who cannot approximately anticipate VI.
domestic demand upon him. II he cares
only for the home market II Is an hp-
surdity to say that he would year ~,
wear 20 far beyond Its probable aen, NJ,
and continue to produce, know,ns .
he would be Obliged to export the over
nius for sale ut loss, IL IL posltiNcS
absurd. No. he manufactures ioi wv wv
foreign market as he does Tor tne NUN Nv
market, and he ships abroad because nv
ia attracted by the profit he obtains. nc
sells cheaper in the foreign market oniy
because competition compeis nun 70
nevertheless the profit IL suthciehsiy az.
tractive for him 10 seek II. IL Is only
an the riff-ridden American that mo-
nopoly fattens. The bulk of our import
ant Industries have fallen INTO we hahus
of combinations. THESE comoihht,ohs,
under the operation of the tariff. nave y
monopoly of the domestic markets ana
are enabled to charge American con
sumers higher prices than they Gun OBJ
tain abroad In the face or competitoh'
hence they have two scales of prices--a
high one for the home market; and a
lower one for the foreign market MY
fellow -citizens, | do not believe TINS 10 pe
a healthy economic and industriai con-
dltion. to say nothing OF It's honesty. II
Is amazing to me that the great con,
summing population OF the states would
submit for day TO Its continuance
Not only are consumers interested In
this question, but manufacturers also,
who still survive the trusts and VINO
nre not vet affiliated with them. There
nre many patriotic. entcrprising men
engaged In manufacturing VINO seek
better opportunities TO expand theit
business and exploit the co"i,,,e a ,ar,a ps
produced abroad which they need In the
conduct of their business, and the en-
ormous tariff laid upon their importa-
,ons han sna psar lssm WIN clIps their
wings and holds them In restraint. Ihese
men also look with apprehension upon
the growing hostility, more ana NOR
manifest In foreign countries towaru
American productions because OF the ex-
clusIon OF foreign merchants and manu-.
facturers from our markets. They want
to enlarge, not restrict,, our trace reia-
tions with the world. These men clamor
for genuine revision of the tariff. AND
the time has come when the American
people should demand that the schedu,es
of The existing law be revised; ana de-
mand, too, that It be done without pro-
crastination. not In the interest OK russ
| and monopolies, but solely IN the pupnc
| interest Monopolisttc trust-made goods
should be made TO face the competition
of the world.
When, under republican auspices, can
the country reasonably expect tariii
revision? And what kind? since tne
close of the civil war the tariff
schedules have been several times re-
vised, but nearly always on rislng
scale. going higher and higher. For
more than a generation we have been
under the operation of high tariff
system. with almost constantly aug
1 - A,.N.r IA M.