Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 November 1891 — WHO PAYS THE TARIFF? [ARTICLE]

WHO PAYS THE TARIFF?

IT IS NOT PAID BY THE FOREIGNERS. The Lessons Taught by the Duties on VVlndoxr Glass—Complete Refutation of McKinley’s Assertion that the Foreigner Fays the Tariff Tax. In a recent speech, in which he attempted to justify his tariff, Major McKinley said: “Don’t you believe those wicked Democrats when they tell you that the tariff is a tax. The foreigner pq.ys it; you don’t ” The times have passed when mere assertions like the above carry conviction, i especially since they are contrary to experience. (Such claims as this must be accompanied by facts and figure: to provh their validity, or they will fall flat Last week we showed who pays the tariff on pottery, which Mc-Kimey ’claims as hi 3 special hobby. McKinley ought also to be familiar with window g ass, since the windowglass combination has many factories in the district which McKinley represented in Congress. The working of this window-glass combination is a good illustration of the way in which trusts protected by the tariff take full advantage of the tariff to restrict production and keep up prices. No article is more highly protected by the McKinley tariff than window-glass, as the following figures show. The ad va'orem equivalents of specific duties are based upon the importations of 1890. . Duty Ad valorem Specific, equivalent, Sizes. per lb. pas cent. Not above l’xlo *q. inches.. .15sC 68 10x15 to 16x24 square inches. .l? B o 115 16x24 to 24x30 square inches. .2%c 129 24x30 to 24i36 square inches. .2%c 132 Above 24x36 square inches.. .3)oC .... In spite of these duties, averaging over 100 per cent, we still import about 30 per cent of the window glass wo use each year. Tho reason why we continue to do so is because the glass trust finds that it can make more money by producing a small amount of glass and selling it at high prices, equal to the foreign price of glass plus the duty, than it could were it to make all tho glass used for home consumption. But Major McKinley says that the foreign manufacturer pays tho duty, and not the homo consumer. How absurd this is, is shown by the figures of tho cost of the foreign glass imported in 1890 and the amount of duties levied. In 1890 wo imported 81,402,79(1 of winlow glass, on which 81,538,228 were paid in duties. Does McKin’ey mean when he says that tho foreigner pays tlje tariff tax that the Belgians presented us with $1,402,796 worth of window glass and gave us $135,432 besides for taking it as a gift? How tho window glass trust takes advantage of the tariff to charge consumers all tho bonus that the tariff allows is shown in tho following table, which gives the present wholesale prices in Belgium, from which all our imports come, and tho United States for second quality single-thick glass. Those prices are absolutely correct: U. 8. price Belgian U. 8. Duties Sizes in per price higher per Inches box per box per box box Bxß t010x15..$ 1.84 so.B9'y 80.94 b, $9,716, 11x14 to 16x24 2.18 I.ol'j, I.lob, 97b, 18x22 to 20x30. 2.82 1.38 1.44 " 1.24 15X38 to 24x30. 2.99)4 l.fS 1.41)4 1.24 20x28 to 24x3«. 3.33 3-5 1.58 1.75 3-5 1.50 26x36 to ,6x44. 3 50V, 1.79 1.71 b, 1.62 26x46 to 30x50. 393 22) 1.73 1.02 80x52 to 30x54 . 4.10 2-5 2.34 1.76 2-5 1.62 30x58 to 34x66, 4.36 2.53 1.83 1.62 Total ft boxes various sizes 829.0654 $15.31 $13.7554 812.15 Thi« shows clearly that tho glass trust charges all that the tariff will allow. AVhat, in view of this, becomes of McKinley’s mere assertion that the “foreigner pays the tax, you don’t? England formerly levied an internal tax upon house windows, but every part of the receipts wont into the national exchequer. To-day, under the McKinley tariff, we, in effect do the same, but how differently do we dispose of the receipts under our system—not the treasury but the window-glass trust pockets tho money. This is the system which McKinley says is for the best Interests of the country; the system which tho late Justice Miller, of the United States Supreme Court, in tho Topeka case, characterized as robbery as follows: “To lay with one hand the power of tho Government on the property of the citizen, and with the other to bestow it upon favored individuals to aid private enterprises and build up privato fortunes, is none the loss robbery because it is done under the forms of law and is called taxation.”