Milford chronicle., 1920-10-29
UNCLE TED'S
BEDTIME STORIES
UNCLE TED TALKS TARIFF

Ted, what did Senator Hitchcoc
mean when he said the other da
that the Republicans had buried the
chief campaign issue, the tariff, an
refused to talk about it? l though
the chief issue of the Republicans wa
keeping the country out of the Wi
son world club"
And so it is, Jack" replied Uncl
Ted, pausing to chuck a peanut TO a
impudent blackbird. But in forme
campaigns the tariff has been tn
chief issue of the Republicans. an
Senator HitchcOck's mind is some
what stationary. In fact, his idea
bark back to the beginning of the 1871
Century when the mad Emperor Alex
ander l of Russia put over what wa
called the Holy Alliance which wa!
very much like Mr. Wilson's worlC
club, and following which Europe haC
almost incessant war down to 1870
But we were not in that alliance, anC
so we were permitted to attend to oul
own affairs. You will remember that
st. Paul said, what doth it profit a
man if he gain the whole world, yet
suffer the loss of his own soul? But
st. Paul did not mean by this that
a man should enslave his family in
the saving of his soul, nor that he
should allow them to go hungry while
he worked for his own salvation. Mr..
Wilson seems to have reversed the
question asked by st. Paul by putting
it, what doth it profit a nation to
save its own soul, if suffer the loss
of the whole world? The tariff was
one of the chief issues OF the Repub-
lican party up to the time that Mr..
Wilson started in to try and boss the
world, scrap our Constitution, and
make us the creatures of his world
club with its throne at Geneva. Today
the tariff is an issue of lesser magni-
tude, eclipsed somewhat by the issue
of maintaing our independence and
saving our Constitution and the coun-
try from one-man government. But
the tariff is a very important issue,
nevertheless, and it is intimately con-
nected with the world club"
will you tell us something about
the tariff, Uncle Ted?" asked Ruth.
THAT is just what l am coming to-,
responded Uncle Ted. And, by
happy chance, l have in my hands,
and am passing you some of a pro- /
duct which aptly illustrates the work /
ing of the tariff" and he passed his
peanuts to Ruth and Jack. Nov, l
have eaten about a dozen of these
peanuts" continued Uncle Ted. "As
you will see, 1 bought two sacks, for
which 1 paid ten cents. Let's count
them. Twenty-seven. Plus the II l
have eaten makes thirty-nine, or
about four for a cent. Sounds picay-
nish, doesn't it? But it tells a tale. 1
Some years ago 1 could buy a gener-
)us sack of peanuts for a nickel. To-
lay l pay ten cents for thirty-nine
soobers.
Now, before the world club occu-
lied the center of the stage" said
Jncle Ted, the Democrats were say t
ng that the Republicans policy of
protective duties on home products (
vas the cause of their high price.
md they promised in 1912 to lower {
he duties on all goods coming in :
rom foreign countries to what they t
allied a revenue basis. That meant, i
ccording to them, that they would a
ut the tax on foreign goods entering
he United States so low that a great c
cal more would come in, thus lower
lg the price, but so great would be S
lese imports that they would pay I
lore revenue to Uncle Sans Treas
ry than was derived from the pro- \
,ctive rates of the Republicans. The l
epublicans said, if you do that you y
ill drive our home producers out OF b
lsiness, the foreigners will then con- d
'ol our markets, and they will then
ut up the prices But the Democrats Fl
ughed at this, and told the Republi-
ms they didn't know what they were +
liking about. ]
"Mr. Wilson and his followers cut
)wn the duty on peanuts 25 per cent. W
5 l said, before that cut was made |
as getting a big bag of peanuts for N
nickel. Before that cut was made S
e were importing into this country le
arly about 100000 pounds of un-
elled, and 6,0O0,000 pounds of she'll pl
peanuts. The first year after this W
It in duty was made, we imported
900 900 pounds of unshelled, and a
100000 pounds of shelled peanuts. NJ
lring the fiscal (Or government)
ar ended June 30th, 1920, we import p
10000 600 pounds of unshelled, and
{. 100000 pounds of shelled peanuts. Oh
lring the first eight months of the ia
esent calendar year we imported s.
D 900 pounds of unshelled and no. da
/. 900 pounds of shelled peanuts. Be tn
.e this duty was cut, that is, in 1913, W;
: average pound price of unshelled
anuts as they came into this cOun- HC
was under 4 cents, Of the sIiiieeiiiiedd, sIiieiiiedd
der 5 cents. Today the prices are sic
RI IN nar1fC
ipectiyely. You see, Ruth, the for
spers have knocked the American
alut producers of Virginia, Georgia,
abama, Texas, and the Carolinas
OF business and now have the mar
largely to themselves, so they in
4 change whatever they think the mo
blic can stand for their peanuts. AC
e bulk of the peanuts coming IN ira
re from abroad come from China her
/ Japan, where labor is the cheap ad;
on earth. And this calls attention str
the fact that the larger portion of sar
, peanuts now imported are she'll the
which means more labor, but a mo
her importation. A Chinese or a wri
, gets from 25 to so cents a day 4
a bowl of rice, while our peanut wit
wers have to pay their help not oar
5 than $3.50 a day and board of hon
ee meals. If the thousands of hi,
Idren like you kddies could buy nro
erican peanuts, our citizen grow ina
would get the benefit of our pur- ont ont
ses. AS it is, the foreigners get tbe
profits. And what applies to pea cnI,
5 applies in greater or less de- The
: to every American industry. That CON
7hy Mr.. Harding stands for a pro nm
i've duty. He wants the United tine
es to become self-suficient in ev- thin
way it can" -
But can't the Democrats learn
q peanuts what mistake they are
ing?" asked Jack. We'll, many OF