The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1910-05-14
body just as effectively as he did the
old rules committee. y

old rules committee. y
Attorney General Wdckersham has
given out two more of his famous
opinions. One holds that the secretary
Of war cannot lawfully refuse to award
a contract for Panama canal supplies
to the lowest responsible bidder simply
because such bidder, has been adjudi-
Gated to be a party to an unlawful
trust and monopoly or otherwise car
rying on business in violation of the
Sherman antitrust law. The other
decision holds that Public Printer
Donnelly has no right to abolish GER
tain branches OF the government print
ing office simply because he thinks
they are unnecessary and that he
wishes to cut down expenses.
During the first three days of May
the government spent s2,6O2,O63.S1
more than it took in. This would in
dictate that the new tariff law is a
failure inasmuch as it is not produce
ing sufficient revenue to meet the ex-
penses of the government.
The report that Roosevelt has writ
ten letters to President Taft, Son-in-
Law Longworth and others, endorsing
the Taft administration has been Civ
EN- wide publicity by the Republican
press. Careful inquiry brings out the
fact that all the persons mentioned in
the story emphatically deny having re-
ceived such letter. And Roosevelt
denies having written anything which
could have been so construed.
Why do protcctionists never point
to Italy as an illustration of how ex-
cessive tariff rates protect" the COM
mon people?
Italy is one of the most highly pro-
tccted countries of Europe 1t is ia
nous as country Glowing with milk
and honey"
Yet they never talk about Italy, do
the upward revsionists.
While in Italy last summer the writ
or learned at first hand some of the
reasons why our protectionists never
say: Look at Italy"
Italy puts heavy duties on both ag-
ricultural and manufactured imports.
She pays her people exceedingly low
wages. She charges them very high
prices for the necessities of life. They
migrate in great numbers
To understand the situation clearly,
we must go back to 1887. About that
time a violent revolution in the sys-
tenn of Italian customs was brought
about. A powerful political group of
textile manufacturers joined forces for
their own ends with a powerful polit-
ical group of large land owners. Tar
ifs were heavily increased But not
on everything. That powerful band
Of textile manufacturers took good
care that lesser manufacturers, who
made articles needed in the textile
factories, were not enabled to put uu
their prices.
Hand in hand with the powerful
manufacturers the big land owners
came out for a slice of the tariff pie"
In order that they should be sufficient
ly compensated for being in politics.
the land owners had heavy tax
placed on wheat. In Italy it, is only
the big land owners who grow wheat
Three out of every four land owners
in Italy are possessors of small prop
critics. cultivating fruit for wine They
have to buy a considerable part of the
wheat they eat So it happened that
where one large wheat farmer got big
ger profits. three small fruit farmers
got hit. That is the way protection
invariably works out. What is one
mans protection is another mans poi
son.
Mark, however, this further result
of the Italian tax OH wheat: Millions
Of Italians never eat wheat bread, ex-
cept in cases of illness or on special
festivals. They make bread of maize.
In this and in other respects the STAN
dard Of living of the Italian people
is very low because prices arc too
high.
An enormous fiscal and protective
tax was also put upon sugar. The
price rose so high that Italian farm
ers watched their oranges, lemons,
peaches and other products of a warm
and generous sun, rot on their trees in
order that the thirty-three manufac-
turers Of the sugar syndicate might
levy upon consumers yearly tribute.
Far and away the chief of the Ital-
ian industries are silk Keeling and silk