Democratic Sentinel, Volume 14, Number 40, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 October 1890 — The Tariff Booty. [ARTICLE]

The Tariff Booty.

Pennsylvania was happy when the McKinley bill was passed. At Harrisburg cannon were fired in celebration of tho event. The next thing in order was a visit to the State from the fat-fryers, to get money to elect McKinley. But tne “fryers” struck a snag when they called on James B. Oliver, one of the rich “tariff barons” of Pittsburgh, and a prominent ironman. Oliver refused to be “fried.” “Why should we give anything toward McKinley? His bill didn’t do us any good, but has injured us.” The “baron” was in a spiteful mood because Carnegie was helped by the bill. “Carnegie will reap more benefit from the passage of the McKinley bill than any other manufacturer,” said Mr. Oliver. Carnegie came home recently from his coaching tour in Scotland. On the ship with him wery many European delegates to the recent iron and Steel Institute in New York. Mr. Frederick Starr, one of these delegates, says: “Andrew Carnegie came over with us in the Servia, and there was a current report on board that he had said he expected to make threequarters of a million dollars during the next year by the increase. in duties on imports. ” Ivory buttons now pay a duty of 50 cents on the dollar, instead of 25 ce.nts under the old law; and already the domestic manufacturers have raised their prices to within a fraction of the price of foreign buttons with the new duty added. Yet we are told that the tariff is not a tax. Cheap pocket-knives pay a McKinley duty of about 90 cents on the dollar, while the finest qualities, such as cost S2O a dozen, pay only 50 cents on the dollar. McKinley encourages the poor man to buy expensive knives. In the universal rise in prices it would be only reasonable that laborers, for whose benefit the high duties were said to be imposed, snould get an increase in wages. Have they got its