The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-03-27
NEW ENoLAND's TARIFF.

The beauty of a tariff framed largely
for the special benefit of particular in
terests and particular localities is illus
trated by the schedules affecting New
England manufactures in the Payne
bill. Every man, woman and child
knows that the cost of clothing has ad-
vanced enormously in recent years, and
out of all proportion to the cost of the
raw material or the price paid the pro-
Queer of that material; but not many
of them understand the reason for the
discrepancy.
one or two items in the Payne bill
and the Dingley bill serve to show what
has happened to the consumer. For in
stance. the tariff on ready-made cloth
ing, hats. shawls, knitted goods and
nearly all wearing apparel is a double
barreIed arrangement. To begin with,
there is a duty on clothing amounting
to four times the duty on the raw ma
teriaI; that IS, a pound of washed wool
has a duty Of II cents, while the duty
on the manufactured goods is four
times as much per pound. But that is
only a beginning; in addition, there is
an ad valorem duty on the goods
amounting to SO per cent of its value.
The tariff is more than protective, it is
so prohibitory that imports are limited
practically to such goods as only the
rich or very weIl-to-do can afford to
buy.
The inevitable result Is a combination
of manufacturers which limits compe-
tition among American manufacturers
puts the price up to the sky line, earns
enormous dividends on watered securi-
ties and robs the whole population with
the cheerful connfvance of the Repub-
lican party.
But that isn't all. These same New
England manufacturers are not salts
fled with an absolute monopoly of the
American consumer at their own fig
ures: they have secured Paynes intro
duction of a reduced duty on low grades
OF wool by which they will be enabled
to increase their profits and still main
tain their monopoly Of the manufac-
tured product Other little boons for
the New England industries are con-
tanned in the proposal to raise the duty
on cotton stockings and put coal on
the free list. New England people own
good deal of coal property in Nova
Scotia, and it would be right pleasant
for them as well as for their neighbors.
the manufacturers, TO get the coal
brought in duty free.
The Yankees once had a great repu-
tation as philanthropists and patriots.
Even today almost any New Englander
will concede freely that most of the
patriotism, the benevolence and the in
teliigence of the country is concentrated
in the region between the Hudson river
other sections of the country have good
people; a good many New England
folks have moved west and leavened
the national lump, so to speak.
Admitting all this. it may be observed
that the traditional Yankee of the wood
en- nutmeg includes along with his pa
triotism a touching regard for the pre-
servation of the glorious principle of
protection; and he is always on hand to
see that protection includes his own
special interest, because what is good
for him must necessarily be good for
all the rest of the country.
In passing, it may be noticed that the
middle west, the far west and the south
are growing the least bit FESTIVE at this
application Of the protective principle.
The common citizen who has TO work
for a living is showing a most unreal
sonable objection to being robbed in so
noble a cause. Ungrateful as il may
seem, the real producers and the real
consumers are saying right out loud
that the time has come for a revision