The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1909-05-27
ASTRONOMICAL EVENTS.
MISUSE OF PRorEcTIoNs

MISUSE OF PRoTECTIoNs
There are many strong evidences
that the protective tariff has been a
good thing for the people of our
country and we believe in standing
by protection as fundamental doc
trone. General Garfield, Henry Clay,
Horace Greeley, James C. Blaine and
others of the great leaders of the
people believed in maintaining the in
FAINT embryotic and struggling indus
tries of the country by means oi
levying duties upon similar commodi-
ties which might be imported. But
most of those very able statesmen
held that when an industry no longer
is an infant but becomes full
grown, strong and aggressive and
able to hold its own in the markets
OF the word (such as our Steel trust,
Beef combine, Thread monopoly, OIL
dictatorship and similar aggregation
Of great interests) then the tariff
should be removed and there should
be free trade or tariff for revenue
only on such products. But some
how that doctrine has been defeated
in practice and is not now followed
Instead, very frequently, a higher
duty than ever was levied before is
slipped into some tariff bill and those
tariffs are increased rather than low
cred. II some of those men were tu
arise from their graves and come
back here and find that every family
in our country, numbering 10000 OvJ
is being robbed of $500, each year
by the imposition of a differentlal
OF 81 Of one cent per pound on every
pound Of refined sugar imported when
1t is a demonstrable fact that It is
the means of such robbery, they
would stand aghast at the spectacle
or il they saw the law was used tc
enrich the oil monopoly or the steel
combine or the leather trust or any
other combination able to take care
OF itself they would be surprised be.
cause what was intended for a good
thing was distorted and used fol
filling the pockets of manipulators
with unearned dollars. AS a few
samples OF how this is done the
Chicago Tribune gives us the follow,
ing specifications:
"The duty on files is cut down one.
half in both the Payne and Aldrich
bills. A still greater reduction would
have been justified. The man who Il
at the head Of concern which makes
about rs per cent of the files man
ufactured in the United States was a
witness before the ways and means
committee. He testified that about
20 per cent of the file product Of the
United States is exported. Accord
ing to him the manufacturers have
been making profit on all they sent
abroad, although the selling expenses
were 40 per cent more than in the
domestic trade, while the foreign
purchasers paid from IS to 25 per
cent less than domestic consumers
were Obliged TO pay. The former,
for instance. were asked 40 cents n
dozen for one kind OF file while the
latter were asked 67 cents.
III the file manufacturers are able
70 dispose of their product at a profit
abroad they need no protection at
home. Their American customers
whom they have been victimiizng for
years do not think they deserve any.
Neverthelesc. the consumers will be
thankful Ior what congress contem-
plates doing in the case OF the file
manufacturers. and would be even
more thankful II the same treatment
were to be extended TO other Ameri-
can manufacturers who sell abroad at
lower prices than at home. There
Is a formidable list of them.
FThe export price Of dozen saws
OF a particular size is s13.74 and the
home price si74s. There is no money
lost on the exported goods. but it is
proposed TO reduce the duty on saws
BY only s per cent. Screws for which
the domestic consumer has to pay n