Evening star., 1923-12-31
REPUBLICANS REPLY
TO TARIFF ATTACK
Claim Charge of Billion Extra on
Holiday Bill Is Rank
Fiction.
STATISTICS ARE QUOTED
Prices Actually Lower, Statement
STATISTICS ARE QUOTED
Prices Actually Lower, Statement
Declares.

Describing recent statement of
the democratic national committee as
the greatest piece of fiction in 1928,
the republican national committee to-
day issued sharp retort to the
charges contained in the democratic
statement that the republican tariff
had cost the Christmas shoppers
$1,000 100000
The greatest piece of fiction in
1928 said the republican comeback,
was that put out in the closing days
OF the year, charging that the tariff
cost Christmas buyers $1,000. .000, 900.
The yarn spun by the democratic
fiction bureau is to the effect that
Christmas sales amounted to s6,OO0.-
100000, and the tariff added another
billion to the price of goods pur-
chased by American consumers"
EIaa uos-s~ to Spend.
sse'" '+sH staten st becoming sar-
ssstlc. went on t. S. e.
"Of course there i. this to be said,
even on the theoiE hat the absurd
charges We're trun: The American
consumer had his six billions to
spend and spent it, which is con-
the American consumer under any
democratic administration with free
trade in effect.
christmas time is Il very sad oc-
Casion under democratic adminiStra-
tions, characterized by closed facto-
rieS. idle wage earners, families in
want. distress and suffering instead
of Christmas cheer. Under demo-
cratic free trade the most conspicu-
Gus gift givers are charitable organ
hnESpC
taxes on Christmas gifts do not bur-
den the American consumer under
free trade, because he, as "a rule, has
no money to spend on anything eX-
cept what is necessary to keep body
and soul together and clothes on the
back.
Getting back to the text. the dem
ocratic national committees charges
that the billion dollar tariff tax,
which it alleges the American con-
sumner had added to his Christmas
bill, was for the most part collected
by the manufacturers and middl le
men," The answer to this wild ale
cation is found in the report of the
United States Bureau of Labor Sta
tistics. which shows that the aver
age wholesale prices in 1873 were be
low the average for corresponding
periods in 1922. before the Fordney-
McCumber tariff was a law. The bu-
reau's reports cover over 400 different
commodities, embracing practically
every industry in the United states.
Not shown in Prices.
"It should be plain to school chill
dren that if manufacturers and mid
die men added over a billion dollars
to the Christmas bill of the American
Consumer because of the tariff that
fact would mmediately be shown in
wholesale prices, for the wholesalers
are middle men, and manufacturers
as a rule sell to wholesalers rather
than direct TO the consumers or to
retailers. That wholesale prices have
been lower on the whole since the
tariff went into effect than before is
absolute proof that the tariff has not
resulted in higher prices to the Amer
lean consumer no matter what cer-
tain interests may charge to escape
the odium of profiteering.
Taking at random says the demo-
cratic national committee, "a few of
the hundreds of articles popular as
gifts, the explanation OF the advance
in their cost is to be found in the ex-
orbitant tariffs of the Fordney-McCum-
ber law The committee then lists
number of such commodities. Without
exception the articles listed have been
imported in greater quantities during
the last year than ever before in the
history of the United States. The buy
ing public has been apprised by large
department stores and retailers of the
fact that they are featuring foreign
made goods to an unprecedented eX-
tent. They have great corps of buyers
securing European countries for manu-
faat,,ra6 This ic hainp done for