Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1912-10-03
Washington Correspondence.
BY c. H. TAvENNER.

protective system is not the "sub-
stantial" explanation of the alb
normal increase in the cost of liv-
ing in the United States, how does
it come that British prices, under
free trade, increased but ~ per
cent in 10 years, while American
prices, under protection, increased
34.3 per cent?
There is table which tells its
own story and ought to be con-
sidered "Exhibit A" in any con-
gressional or other investigation
into the increased cost of living.
These figures are calculated from
official statistics of the British
Board of Trade in the Eleventh
Abstract of Labor Statistics and
from figures in the Seventy-frst
Bulletin of the United States
bureau OF LaDOr.
The year 1896, which was the
year preceding the enforcement of
the highly protective Dingley tar
iff, is taken as the standard year,
the cost of food in each country
being taken as 100. The meaning
of the table is that food which cost
81 in Great Britain in 1895 could
not be duplicated for less than
SLOT in 1906, and that food for
which the American consumer
paid 81 in 1896 cost S1.343 in 1906.
A STRIKING COMPARISON.
Coming nearer home, the diff
ference in the cost of living in De-
troit and just across the river in
Windsor, Canada, supplies us
with a striking definition of the
real meaning of excessive tariff
rates. Prices of food-stuffs, wear
ing apparel, and rents average
from 20 to 25 per cent more in De-
triot than in Windsor. And be-
tween the two cities there are but
1851 feet of water-and the AL
drich-Payne tariff bill!
The Detriot man is protected"
and the Windsor man is not.
By not being ''protected," the
Windsor man pays S15 for a suit
of clothes that the DetTiot man
will find it difficult to duplicate in
quality for S25. What the Wind
sor man is escaping in this in
stance is the Aldrich- Payne tax of
Al cents a pound on good all-wool
clothes, and the additional tax of
go per cent of the value of goods.
WOOL TARIFF RoBs WOMEN.
When a woman purchases 1910
worth of woolen dress goods. S4.S7
of that $40 represents the actual
value of the goods and the remain
ing S5.13 of the $40 the amount of
the tariff. In other words, should
the same purchase be made in
England, where there is no tariff
on woolens, the woman would re-
ceive the same amount and quality
of dress goods for 81 81 that she
pays $40 for in this country.
GERMANS ADMIT TARIFF INCREASES
PRICES.
When the German Government
introduced it's tariff law of 1902, it
published with it, sis the custom
in Germany, printed explanation
of the reasons for it's Introduction.
This official document, which
squarely, declares that import
duties raise the cost of living,
reads, in part as follows:
"Inland prices are raised, SO far
as consideration of the circum-
stances of the last 10 years will al
low US to judge, in proportion to
the duties"
In precisely this way the tariff
increases the cost of the neces-
saries of life in the United States.
TARIFF TAX ALWAYS ADDED TO
COST OF ARTICLES.
In France, Italy and some other
European countries part of the
municipal revenue is raised by
duties on goods entering the towns.
At the gates of such towns there is
an official who collects this tax,
and it is found that the difference
in prices of articles purchased out
side Of the towns and within the
towns is in nearly every instance
exactly the amount of the duty.
The same happens in trade be-
tween nations.
SOME TESTIMONY FROM ABROAD.
/ In Holland there are no import
duties on food or raw materials,
the sole protective element being
q tax Of 5 PEP cent on imported
manufactured goods. In Germany
there is high duty on food and
an excessive tariff on all the
necessaries of life. A household
Of six persons can buy for S5.04 in
Gelderland Zone Of the eastern
rr 4 \ A