Weekly independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1887-1914, 1909-10-22
PAYING REPUBLICAN TARIFF
TAX ON CLOTHING

One of the matters which the people
, had i'll their minds when they asked
the government to arrange the tariff
law so that it would bear a little less
oppressively upon them was clothing.
Clothing costs far more in the United
States than it does in any other part
of the world, although this country
produces most of the worlds cotton
and II great part of the worlds wool.
In spite of the fact that this nation
sells abroad vast quantities of both of
these principal materials for clothes
making, and that with its improved
machinery and intelligent labor it ought
to beat the world. the price of clothes
is higher here than it is anywhere else
i'll the world; and the reason is that the
tariff schedules are 50 high aS to tax all
the people through every article IF cloth
ing they buy. almost entirely for the
benefit of a few mill owners who have
done nothing to earn this special priv
ilege.
Congress did not lOw,r the wool
II IL ShSStll tu- III It's tlt-
Tense, that it did not raise them, either,
though until the full extent of the
sleigh.of-hand work accomplished by
Aldrich is laid bare, nobody can be
sure of that. Congress did not lower
the cotton schedules, hut it did raise
them, and it raised most heavily those
covering articles which most people
buy because most people can afford
nothing better. These things were
done by the tariff law which President
Taft praises, and for voting against
which he has chastised the insurgents
Of the west.
These abstract facts are made nor,
interesting by a few figures. Cloth
ing has already increased in price unt
) still further increases are promised
for next spring. The suit of clothc
that you used to buy for $40 is nov
$50, and the additional 81 represent
your tribute to the wool trust and tn
mill owners. though there was y larg,
tribute i'll the old price of $40. Tn
Wholesale manufacturers have to ply
= more for cloth, Innings. and trimming
g., and SO they declare they are compel
y ed to raise ~prices-and. what is worse
= to cheaper the quality of the goods.
' The consumer has this temptin
i, choice. He pay $?5 for the kind G
= suit that ho bought last fall for $2(
or he can pay the old price of SEQ, an
: get for it the kind of suit that he coul
Z have got for SlG last spring.
> "A pattern of goods that used to b
sold to the manufacturers at $l.75 pc
yard now costs him 2.l0. Ii take
three and a half yards to make u su'
! so the added cost on this item aloIi
is $3.22. Adding in the addition;
cost of trimmings aud Innings it
" estimated that the increase in tn
" making of Il suit out of that cloth
Si.22.
n dealer quoted by the Cincinnati
Enquirer says: The retail storckccI
- or who has a run on suits that he pay
Sl3 for and sells at about S22, if Il
wants to hold his seq price will have {
take an inferior quality of suit. II
will get II grade that used to sell i
y his store at $lS."
Another dealer says that lit is sin
! ply II holdup behind lie, tariff fence.
This man bought ala If cloth for 3
r IA yard that srlls-thc san, goods fror
. tho same mill-for ri cents u yard /
- England. The suits made of it AZ
q sold to the retailer Tor StG.5 80 and I
the wcarcr for $50. II the cloth coul
I be bought at the English price. 81 rent
a the retailer would get the suit for Fl
and the w1arcr a. SIj.
, And so it goes. throughout the list
thanks to the tariff law which Tn
+, President IF the United States is prai,
ing IN thn name Of Republican part
solidarity What docs the wcarcr q
a, clothes, thus robbed. care about ''mart