The Penn's Grove record., 1909-06-04
TOR The TRUSTS
The Payne-AIdrich Tariff Blu a
Sham and a Fraud


w. u@6s6s 0s sOt 49,
The "Friends Of the Tariff" Make Q bii
For the Favored Fsw-Most Of The
Tariff Hogs Taken Care of-Ths Re-
duetIon Of Duties on Steel Trust
Products Wi Not Distusb the Pro-
lection Of the Trust.
The three parties most interested In
the tariff are producers. consumers
and the government. Producers may
be divided into protected and unpro-
tected interests.
The protected producers include To-
day q comparatively small percentage
Of our manufacturers, the owners Of
mines and timber lands and Q very
small percentage Of farmers-mainly
those raising sugar cane. sugar beets,
barley and sheep.
The unprotected producers include
about 95 per cent by value Of prod
uctsy Of NJ farmers. about So per cent
Of our manufacturers and virtually oil
OF u wage and salary workers, pro.
fessional men, merchants and trans
Eporters.
The consumers include every man,
woman and child inside Of our nation.
al borders.
As usual, when tarin bills r being
made, the consuming class. those who
pay the tariff taxes and who therefore
are most vitality interested. were NOT
consulted by the trainers Of the Payne
bill The two or three men who ap.
| peared before the ways and means
committee In the interest Of the neg
1ected and forgotten consumer were
treated with ignominy and contempt
The committee had no time to waste
on those who did not appear to repre-.
sent special and selfish interests.
Raises Cost Of Living.
The Payne-Aldrich bill win Raise
rather than lower the cost Of living
| Under It the breakfast, dinner and sup
per tables will be taxed even more
heavily than they now are. Under Il
and partly because Of it the cost Of
living measured In gold dollars VIII
continue to rise In the next decade a
rapidly as 1t has risen In the n Just
ended.
There are many "jokers'' In the Payne
Aldrich bill. Nearly all have been pu
there for a purpose-to insidiously rails
tariff duties. It Is reasonably certain
that If the Payne-A1drich blu In IT
present form becomes law not enl,
will the percentage Of goods (by value
imported free be diminished, but tn,
average rate of duty on dutiable I'm
ports viii be higher than 1t is q
present Consumers who asked 20
tariff reduction bread win be giver
tariff enhanced ~stones4-that IL, hand
ed q lemon" as we would now rendel
it.
Consumers should not, however, en-
pect much from the tariff revision nov
under way. 1t was not undertaken q
their behest. Their voice has neve.
been heard at Washington since th,
civil It was undertaken becaus'
1t was demanded by the unprotected
or no longer protected manufacturers
Thus the boot and shoe makers. no
being in a trust and therefore receiv
ing little or no benefit from the dutiea
IN shoes, were ~beseeching congress 70
free hides, free leather and free coal
Manufacturers Of implements, machin
cry and tools, who were benefited les
than injured by duties on iron, steel
lumber and coal, were asking for n
duced or no duties on these raw mate
rails and supplies. Newspaper publish
ers were asking for free wood pull
and paper.
The Steel and Iron Cuts.
Most RELIEF is expected from reduce,
duties IN iron and steel. The countr,
has heard much Of the 80 per cent
cut In the duties on steel. It has seel
the prices Of some kinds Of steel prod
ucts cut SO or 50 a ton. Putting thes'
two facts together, it imagines that VI
are In future to have cheap steel as
result Of lower duties. There is IN
doubtedly a connection between thes'
two facts, but 1t ia not where mos
people think 1t is. Steel prices hay,
been reduced for effect ON Washington
that is, to prevent radical tariff re
ductton that might hurt and to ave q
much as possible Of the present duties
In reducing prices SO ostentatiousl,
the United States Steel corporation
would have the country believe tina
prices are reduced because Of the pro
posed reductions In steel duties. Il 4
also q part Of the game that the '1nde
pendent" steel manufacturers are Il
make a loud outcry, to reduce wage
and to claim that they win be ruinet
II the proposed reductions are made
If necessary, the steel corporation vii
reduce wages and perhaps pass It
quarterly dividend at its meeting OF
the last Tuesday In April. All kinds o.
fits will be thrown to prevent drasti
cuts In steel duties.
That the proposed cuts are not dras
tic, except possibly the so per cent Gu
In the duties on steel rails from S7.6.
to 1892 a tom, is certain. In fact, tn
most Of the reductions take away onl,
q part Of the superfiuous duties ant
| will leave evan moro tariff nrofor<4or