The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1910-09-02
nd Carriage Paints Phone sse, Street NO. III w Main
Put the Blame on the Tariff.
(New York Press. J


committee appointed to investigate
the high cost of living has enough
truth in it to be interesting. 1t has
enough of ignorance or enough of
Misrepresentation to be startling.
Democrats, the members making
the report, pat the chief blame upon
the tariff for, while the trusts are
held in part responsible, your
Democratic debater will always
maintain that the combination in
restraint of trade is sheltered behind
the "wall of protection.
This paper, for one, has no desire
to dispute that tariff which puts
American wage.earners TO work
when they have been idle will
strengthen the home market just as
will any other influence which
creates strong purchasing power
when there has been weak purchas
ing power. What everybody wanted
who had anything to sell fifteen
years ago was to Rnd consumer
who had not only an appetite but
the money to satify it. What
everybody who had the appetite
wanted was the money with which
to satisfy it.
1t was no comfort to the producer
to be able to get out his product al
low cost when he could not sell it
after he had produced 1t. 1t was
no comfort to the consumer TO know
that what he wanted was cheap when
he hadn't the money, and could not
get the money, to buy 1t. II may
be irritating economies when you
have a dollar that you would like to
spend on several things to have to
give virtually all of it for one thing.
1t is exerueiating economics to have
that thing offered at a Price that
would leave you half your dollar
after you bought it-if you had the
dolIar-but not to have red cent
with which to buy it at any price.
The tariff policy which took
hundreds of thousands of idle wage
earners-wage-e earners who were the
natural market for home products
and put them to work, creating a
buying demand where there had
been none, undoubtedly caused
better prices, and not to the dis
satisfaction of the buyers, who were
now able to buy when before they
had not been. Prices will always be
low when there is no demand
demand able TO buy-for the supply.
Such low prices will always rise,
under the natural laws, when for the
supply thsre comes a demand thai
is able to buy. This any reasonable
believer in protection will freely
admit.
But are the signers of the minority
Senate report, or is any other man
who is seeking 10 be elected to office,
willing to recom mend to the voters
that through the absolutely sure
means of destroying demand by
taking away the earnings of the
CONSUMERS prices be again lowered
to where they were fifteen years agoi
Any body will In vain hold his eaI
at attention for the claron cry OF
such import from anybody, RsPubli-
can or Democrat, who is asking fol
the ballots eff Americans who earn
their living.
That much for one feature of the
case. But an entirely differ eht thing
is the claim or assumption that &
tariff creating a natural purchasing
demand for supply can be helC
responsible for an increase of pric'
far, far beyond the duty of al
article. There is the very question
Of beef cited by the minority report
The duty on beef is one and a hal
cents a pound. How can duty o
one and half cents a pound keeI
/ beef out Of the country after q ris
in prlcs of ten cents Pound, say