Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1909-05-07
Concerning Payne Tariff Bill
and Things Used Every Day

tEITl HE Payne tariff bill has passed
from the house to the sem
Il ate.' This is an item of news
that many women will glance at brief
ly and blankly, and pass over. They
will pass it over for the fashion page
or, in some cases, for the price lists on
everyday household needs, such as tea,
coffee, shoes, gloves, hosiery, dress
goods, carpets, spices, butter, eggs,
milk, meat and what not. All of these
things they are interested in because
they couldn't keep house or even live
without them.
But the Payne tariff bill or the Ding
ley tariff bill, tariff revised or any
other old tariff is so much Greek to
them That is only for men with their
big brains and unlimited wisdom to be
interested in.
Is it? DO you know that at the re-
quest of Mr.. Taft, our new president,
congress has given most of it's serious
attention to the discussion of just such
things as gloves and hosiery, coffee
and tea, shoes and spices? Congress
has spent all these weeks in trying to
decide just how much tax to put on or
take off of these very things that you
couldn't live without.
1t would seem that fixing duties on
these household necessities means a
good deal to the law makers when they
spend so much time at 1t. But it
ought to mean infinitely more to you
who have to pay the duties they fix.
Do you know what a tariff is? 1t is
an amount of money paid by you when
you buy pound Of tea or pair or
shoes over and above the cost OF pro-
ducing the tea or shoes, to protect the
manufacturer against cheap things sent
here from other countries. 1t sounds
funny to you, doesn't 1t? You are
wanting to get things as cheap as you
can, and here you are paying tariff
to keep them from being cheap
For instance, here is an item from
a recent authority A five-pound pair
of blankets were stated by the manu-
facturer to cost $2.51 The labor In
them cost 80 cents, and the tariff was
S1.9Oi OF course you are willing TO
pay for the labor in the blankets. You
belong to the laboring class yourself.
But can you figure out the necessity OF
your paying the manufacturer an extra
ST. 80 lust to protect him? Don't you
need protection more than he does?
And vet he gets protection" out of
you on every hand. The tariff is only
small part of his protection. HIS
profits are always and ever his protec-
ton, and whether capitalist congress
legislates to lower or raise the tarlff,
the MANUFACTURED VIII sscule MS PAo7
lection in some way, and you will con-
tinue to pay it in profits to him, over
and above the cost of producing the
things he sells.
1t is estimated that about 100000
families in the United States live on
an average wage OF $436 a year, and
that the income of some 100000 farm
ers is as low as $3.50 a year. Now, it is
this income that the wife of the family
must divide so that it will cover all
the expenses of food, clothing and shell
ter-and out of which she must also
pay tariff, or profit, for the PRO
lection" of the men who own the fac
tories, mines and mills. Take family
of four-apd often it is seven or eight
where rent is to be paid out of the in
come and after each little item OF
clothing, food, fuel furniture and all
their accompanying tariffs, or profits,