Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 23, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 June 1893 — UNTAX THE PEOPLE. [ARTICLE]

UNTAX THE PEOPLE.

PROSPERITY WILL THEN CO ON WITH A RUSH. SCateMMnts Made In the New York Son Shown to Be False Protecting' the Cholera Industry—Tariff for Wage-Earn-ers a Sham. The Manufacturers and the Tariff Letters- like the following appeal strongly to personal sympathy, but they have no part in political argument under the Democratic creed of 1892: To the editor of the Sun: Slß—The proposed tariff changes are ruining the manufacturers of articles where labor enters largely into the cost. Many of us do not dare make our losses known, as our credit would be Impaired. lam the president of a company recently employing suo hands, now 250, in an industry where labor is so per cent, of the cost of the goods. A SUFFERING AMEBICAN MANUFACTUBEB. Any proposed change of importance in the tariff produces more or less distress in industrial circles.

The principle enunciated at Chicago, and approved and accepted by the people in the vote which elected Mr. Cleveland, is that the Federal Government has no power to shape its tariff legislation with regard to tne prosperity or distress of American manufacturers, or of the American workmen whom they employ. The sole constitutional purpose of the tariff is to raise revenue, and the only constitutional tariff is the tariff into which the question of the prosperity or distress of American industries does not enter. This is a broad, manly, definite and intelligible declaration of principle. This is the principle on which the new tariff is to be made, unless promises are broken. Somebody may suffer, but suffering is a condition of human existence. The principle on which the tariff Is to be revised takes no more account of such sufferings than the east wind takes of the welfare of men and women with bronchial difficulties. Although the question of consequences to American manufacturers and laborers is not pertinent, it Is, nevertheless, urged in behalf of the strict application of this relentless principle of taxation that great general good will result from the experiment. Incidentally, some manufacturers may have to close their shops and seek a new business, and some branches of production may disappear. But these Incidental losses, it is maintained, will be more than balanced by compensating gains in other directions, and the giant wheels of industry will continue to revolve as smoothly as ever, and more than ever for the greatest good of the greatest number. That is why the experiment is to be tried.—New York Sun.

The letter which gives the Sun another opportunity tb stab the Democratic party in the back maybe genuine or it may be a pure fake; in either case its statements are false. The census bulletins for 1890 thus far issued show no industry in which the cost of labor is 80 per cent of the cost of the product. The only industries in which labor cost exceeds 70 per • cent, of the product are mining and quarrying. In most Industries the figures vary from 12 to 50. The average for all is probably less than 20 per cent In 1860 it was 25; in 1800, 23; and in 1880, 22 percent., thus showing that in spite of Increasing tariffs the share of the wageearner has been steadily diminishing. The Sun should be more careful and require greater accuracy on the part of its correspondents or editors responsible for such statements. But supposing the letter were genuine, and the “suffering American manufacturer” had not lied! What then? Must a thousand other industries and 65,000,000 people continue to tax themselves to support this weak, trembling Industry that has the life scared half out of it by the mere suggestion that its supply of pap will be reduced some time in the future? Hardly. It is time to cease to foster artificial industries, which will always be sickly here, and to lift the burden from the many sturdy, independent Industries that ask no odds of any country. Take the brakes off these naturally healthy industries and they will soon show the world what kind of- stuff Americans are made of. Five new mills will go up for every one abandoned and soon the recently discharged workingmen and the chronic unemployed will be at work at higher wages than ever before. . Untax the people and prosperity will go forward by leaps and bounds.

Gov. Hogg on Bounties. The State of Texas raises sugar on its convict farms. Under the law passed by the Fifty-first Congress it is entitled to draw from the United States Treasury a bounty of 2 cents a pound upon its crop. The Legislature of the State recently passed an act to enable the superintendents of penitentiaries to apply for and receive the bounty. - Gov. Hogg has vetoed the bill, and given his reasons In a very vigorous document He declares that the United States Government has no right to tax the people of the country in order to give the money to the State of Texas or to anybody else. He finds nowhere any authority by which Congress can properly give bounties to men for engaging in an unprofitable business. He declares that Texas makes sugargrowing pay, and that if it did not the remedy would be to quit raising sugar. He very plainly intimates that the same principle is applicable, to individual sugar-growers. In brief, Gov. Hogg rejects for Texas the position of a dependent upon the national bounty, and contends that there is no constitutional warrant for Federal bounties in any case. Whether he is right or wrong in his interpretation of the Constitution, the sturdy Texan is certainly right upon grounds of morality and manhood. Bounties are wrong in principle and unjust in effect.—New York World.

Untax American Industries. All genuine American industries will be promoted and encouraged by a prompt and thorough reduction of the tariff to a strictly revenue standard; and in my judgment they would be even more encouraged by a much more radical reform. The chief burden of the tariff always has been and always will be laid upon American Industries. More than threefourths of all the articles which are

taxed by any tariff are Indispensable materials for American manufactures or agriculture. It may be, unfortunately, necessary to tax them, but such taxes can never do any good io the vast majority of American manufacturers and workmen. No industry can possibly be benefited by loading it with taxes. —Thomas G. Shearman.

Wages, Prices, and Cost of Production. American protectionists always point to free-trade England as showing the baneful influences of free trade upon the wages of workmen. Yet the contrary is true. English wages are much higher, and employment there is steadier than in any protectionist country upon the continent of Europe. And that English wages are not even higher than at present is not the fault of Its free trade policy, but, strange as it may seem, the result of the protective tariffs of those countries, new as well as old, from which England receives its food and many of the raw or partly finished materials it needs in its industries. If protectionists want to show the blessings of protective tariffs, let them point to the low wages of Germany, France, Italy, Austro-Hun-gary, or Russia, all of which pretend to protect their industries, and incidentally the wages of their workmen, by means of high tariffs. Does it not appear strange that at the present time so many nations are still adhering to this so often exposed system of so-called protection? But it seems stranger yet that the great bulk of the working people, the ones who pay dearest for, and suffer heaviest under, the tariff taxes and all its consequences, are not more jealous of their hard-earned money. They first of all should not only oppose every attempt at fortifying a tariffwall, but should not suffer any tariff at all to come between them and the products of other countries. That they, at best, are indifferent about it, shows that the people of all countries do not yet clearly perceive the principles underlying the production of commodities and the laws governing their distribution The great prosperity of the United States of America under a so-called protective system deceives nearly all nations, old as well as new, into the belief that their countries will prosper also as soon as they either levy or Increase high duties upon commodities imported from abroad. They do not perceive that the United States flourish because their people are among the most enterprising and Industrious upon earth. They do not see that wages there are high because there is yet so great an abundance of free or untilled land, the owners of which are willing to part with it at a very small compensation or let it at a rent so low that nearly all. of its product goes to the one who works it. This almost full return to the people working the land makes wages in all other occupations high.—Dingman Versteeg, in Tariff Reform.

Must Pay the Fiddler. A number of well-meaning newspapers throughout the country are holding out hopes that the serious adverse balance of trade will be overcome when we begin to ship our crops. In four months the excess of Imports over exports amounts to $86,000,000, and this serious condition of things, to some extent, explains the large shipment of gold we have been subjected to for some time; but do the facts warrant us in assuming that this adverse balance has any prospect of being wiped out through the shipment of our crops and the return of the precious metal? We think not. On the contrary, the crops of Kansas have been considerably less than In former years, and this serves as a criterion for other corn regions, and points unmistakably to the conclusion that we shall have little more than our own needs demand, without any surplus for shipment Added to this, owing to the splendid crops in many European countries—ltaly, for Instance, where the crop is estimated to be over 325,000,000 bushels—there is a doubt that our customers hitherto will rush so readily to our aid, even if we are in a position to supply them, when we so rigidly close all avenues of reciprocal trade with them. Until this senseless barrier of protection and restriction to trade is broken down we must of necessity be constantly In fear of panicky conditions and adverse balances. It would have shown Itself much sooner if the abnormal crop in this country of 1891 and the corresponding failure of the crops in Europe had not come to our assistance and tided over the difficulties we ourselves created. But with the normal condition of things we can hope for little but disaster until McKinleyism and all its attending evils are forever annihilated.—American Industries.

Protecting the Cholera Industry. What a blessing tariffs are anyhow! The health department of New York City has just imported from Chemnitz, Germany, a portable disinfecting machine which cost over S9OO. As this machine is Intended to fight the cholera with, and as it will benefit the whole nation, as well as New York City, to have the cholera germs waylaid and completely knocked out as soon as they enter this country, it would naturally be supposed that Uncle Sam would not attempt to discourage the importation of these-dis-ease destroyers by insisting upon clapping a McKinley tax upon them; especially as there is no home competition in this industry, either present or prospective. But Uncle Sam informs us that he is working according to rule and that he can make no exceptions. Hence we will enjoy a duty which protects the infant industry cf breeding cholera germs. McKinley tariff duties must be levied and collected though the heavens fall. Indeed, if the pearly gates and golden throne of the celestial city itself should be let down from the heavens they would not be permitted to touch land until they had paid duties at jewelry and pearl button rates. Consistency and protection are two costly jewels. The total expenditures for common school education in 1890 were $148,724,647. Demosthenes was the son of A swordmaker and blacksmith.