The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1908-03-27
FOR TRUSTS ONLY
MoNoPoLIEs ALONE BENEFIT BY
HIGH TARIFF.
Ex.Gov. Douglas OF Massachusetts
Shows How Repubicsn-Made Laws
Have Injured the Country
Democrats Offer Remedy.


The fundamental idea OF democracy
is equality Of opportunity. Jefferson.
who was the greatest advocate democ-
racy ever had. and who was the found
er Of the Democratic party, was the
man who secured the abolition of the
old laws of entail and prlmogeniture
In Virginia. He also secured the abo.
lition of religious establishment in
that state. and caused the adoption OF
the first ten amendments TO the Con.
stitution of the United States. He
hated special privileges. and fought
always for equal rights.
A man who approaches near to JEFF
ferson is William L. Douglas. late gov
| ernor of Massachusetts. Jefferson
was member of the great middle
| class Of society; so IL Gov. Douglas.
For years he has stood for cheaper
raw materials for the manufacturing
industries, for higher wages and for
a reduction in the cost OF living for
| workingmen; and to that end has ad-
Of protecting the multitude against the
eXactions of trusts, generated and pro.
tccted by laws passed by the Repub.
| lcan leaders
! Now, Gov. Douglas Is manufac.
| turer Of shoes. his factories being the
largest of the kind in the United
| States-a fact which has compelled
| him to investigate the yearly increas.
| Ing cost OF raw and partly manufaC.
| tured materials, and the cause OF the
| Increase In prices.
In one of his speeches delivered
when he was running for governor
he gave TO the people the evidence he
had discovered of the way the tariff
protects the trusts thus:
THE most successful, powerful and
| injurious trusts are those that, hav.
ing a tariff monopoly In our home mar.
ket have secured possession of the
sources Of production of raw mate
/ rials, and supplies such as iron, steel
coal, oil, sugar beet, lumber, lead
leather, salt, borax, etc. BY restrict
ing the output and controlling the
prices Of these raw products, these
trusts are able to hold both manufac'
turers and consumers at their mercy.
Careful estimates OF the tarlff
profits of one OF these trusts, the
| United States Steel Corporation, indi.
cate that they amounted to Sl62, 900.
900 for the years 1902 and l903-tho
total net profits being $242 900, 900,
600. These estimates were based on
the differences between the export
and home prices Of steel products and
goods, the differences being multiplied
by the quantity Of each kind OF
product sold, as given In the annual
report OF this company for the year
ending December 81, 1903. This 1852.
900 900 is clear tariff profit. That is,
had there been no duties on these
steel products, and had they been sold
here at the same prices for which they
were sold abroad. they would have
cost our consumers Sl62, 100000 less
than they did. As nearly all OF these
are unfinished products. II Is evident
that American manufacturers. tC
whom steel is raw material, have
TO pay nearly $50, 100000 a year moro
for these materials than is paid by
their foreign competitors, even though
both buy steel OF our steel trust This
! in itself, is a great handicap upon oui
manufacturers, especially when at
tempting to sell goods In foreign mar
kets. II is this discrimination IL
favor OF foreign manufacturers max
ing IL much cheaper to produce out
side than inside of our tariff wall, tina
10 mainly responsible for the exodu
, Of American capital into foreign coun
tries Scores OF branch mills an,
factories. operated by Americans, hav,
, during tho past few years been lc
Gated abroad In order to escape iron
the protection that means dearer raw
materials and higher cost of produc
: ton. Had there been no unnecessar
, duties on raw materials, the grea
amount of business transacted 4
these Amercan.owned foreign mill
would now be done In this country, I
the great advantage Of our own worl
:. ingmen.
4. "As between Republican protectio
. that protects only trusts at hom'
a and independent manufacturers whe
abroad and Democratic protectio
:. that would not drive industries
= foreign shores and would give 'equi
,. opportunities to all and special pri
q ileges to none, 1t should be easy fc
>. our voters to choose. The so-calle
q blessings of protection should ce
;, tainly not be confined to trusts al
:. foreigners"