Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-08-13
We Have a Lot More For You.

people Oh hdlne anu IlOl ouc Va thSA'
a benefit to the people of Maine.-The
Journal cannot name one. 1t praises the
whole monstrous bunch of taxes, but
cannot name one that Is beneht TO the
people Of Maine.
On the other hand many of them are
heavy burden on the people of Maine.
Some of them are the taxes on sugar
iron and steel. lumber, coal. leather, wool,
machinery, glass and chinaware. These
outrageous taxes have robbed the people
of Maine of millions of dollars-more
than the cost of her colleges. Protective
tariff is a curse to Maine.-Lewiston Sun.
Now just one more. Mr.. Editor of
the Sun. We hate to ask you to do it,
but here are a few remarks that we
should like to get before the Sun
| readers who do not happen to be Ken
| nebec Journal readers. We are al
most ashamed to accept the space, but
the end seems to justify the means
and you fall for it so readily.
| The Sun says it has been shouting
for information-probab bly, because its
editor didn't know how such infOrma- :
ton would look in indisputable figures.
He hollers about the corn Maine has
to buy, and can he tell why the farm
ers do not raise more corn? He is
quiet about potatoes and other farm
products and wishes to convey the i'm
preston that the tariff has been SO ar
ranged that it is ''monstrous" bur-
den on the Maine farmer.
Maine raises beans, potatoes. butter
and eggs. In those things they are
interested because they have sur
plus to sell
The tariff on potatoes, beans. eggs
and all dairy products was unchanged
in the Payne law.
At the same time the tariff on
many things Maine farmers have to
buy was greatly reduced. For in
stance, on boots and shoes the reduc-
ton was so per cent: on harness and
saddles So per cent: agricultural i'm
elements % per cent: barbed wire for
fences 81 per cent; sewing machines
80 1-3 per cent. nails. spikes and
tacks 20 to so per cent. and so on.
In the Payne bill there We're 654 de-
creases as compared with 22O in
creases, and for the purpose of deriv-
ing sufficient revenue 1850 items were
left unchanged. And yet as whole
it represents the greatest reduction
that has been made at any single time
since our first revenue law was signed
by Washington. 1t was intended to
maintain the policy Of protection and
to safeguard the interests of wage
earner:.
1t was not the amount, as whole.
of the Wilson German tariff that
caused disaster but the way it was
arranged.
OF course we do not expect the edi-
tor of the Sun to see that there is such
a thing as so balancing revenue
producing burden as to bear evenly
upon the whole people of a great ma
ton. He cannot see beyond the
boundary of that $500 (minus three)
circulation, and within that short
radius he overlooks the things of
benefit to his people.
The Sun has strained it's throat
blaming the tariff for the high cost of
living Yet do you suppose he ever
stopped to consider how much more
the farm products will now buy in
exchange than they would in 1896, the
year to which Democrats point as the
era of low prices and easy living
In March, 1896, 90 bushels of pota-
toes would buy q lbs. of Rio coffee,
or - lbs. granulated sugar, or ~ lbs.
rice, or yds. ingram carpet. In
March. 1910, 20 bushels of potatoes
would buy - pounds of Rio coffee, or
1875 lbs granulated sugar, or rs lbs.
rice or - yds. ingram carpets.
In 1896 twenty pounds of dairy but
ter would buy ~ gals. molasses. or Is
lbs. Formosa tea, or 1872 lbs nails. In
1910 twenty pounds OF butter would
buy l6 gals. molasses, or % lbs. For
mosa tea, or 1856 lbs nails.
In 1896 one ton of timothy hay
would buy SO blu, anthracite stove coal,
or 1913 gals refined (water White)
petroleum, or 5S4 lbs. barb wire. In
1910 one ton of timothy hay would
buy 90 blu. anthracite coal, or las
gals. refined (water white) petroleum,
or 73l lbs. galvanized barb wire.
So we might go on Indefinitely
through the list of things Maine farm
ers have to sell and the articles they
wish to buy Have We named any
thing of benefit to the Maine farmer.
as demanded by our contemporary?
The Sun says We praise the whole
monstrous bunch of taxes and cam
not show one item in favor of the sys-
tenn. Yet he cannot help seeing our
tax figures on this page every day,
showing the benefits the towns and
cities are deriving from these mon
strous" taxes.