Rensselaer Republican, Volume 21, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 October 1888 — HOW IT IS DONE. [ARTICLE]

HOW IT IS DONE.

The Mills bill, which the Democrats will make a law if they carry the coinihg election, cuts-the very heart out of the protection principle in the tariff, excepting mainly a few favored productions, either of southern states or Democratic communities, and makes an average reduction of the tariff of more than 30 per cent. Yet by a little aitful juggling with figures and a total disregard of the truth, the democratic orators and papers, are proclaiming that thejaverage reduction of the tariff is less than four per cent*, and that whoever says the Mills bill is a free trade measure, or that the Democratic party is a free trade party, is a liar and a slanderer. We now propose to explain and illustrate, in as few and simple words as may be, the manner by which the free traders aie seeding to destroy the protective system of this country, and trying to deceive the people as to the fact: The present tariff’is levied on about 800 different ar tides pt he rate per cent, of the tariff ranging from 2 or 3 per cent on sojne articles, to upwards qf 100 per cent, on others. The Mills bill puts about 160 of these *BOO items, on the free list and makes great reductions in many others. We will now suppose, for the sake of shortening the illustration, that the present tariff is levied on only 10. different articles and that the Mills bill puts three of the ten on the free list and reduces the tariff on most of the others, which is very nearly exactly in proportion to the manner in which the Mills bill actually deals with the tariff. We take at random the following ten articles and assume that the per cent* of the presentiariffon each is what is stated opposite each arti; cle, the figures being only approximately correct: PRESENT RATE OF TARIFF. Iron 30 per cent ’I ' _

Wool $0 “ Sugar 80 “ “ ■ Cotton goods 50 “ “ Woolen “ 50 “ “ Steel 40 “ “ Grain 20 “ “ Crockery ‘4b “ “ Lumber 20, a “ Ripe 100 “ /“ Total 470 “ Of-•eour.se to find the' average per cent, of tariff we have only to divide the above sum total of the per cents, 470; by 10, the total number of articles enumerated. The result gives 47 as the average per cent of the tariff. shall suppose that the Mill bilFgetsTn its work on the above ten articles in about the same proportion in which it ghple tariff: MILLS bill. Iron 20 per cent. Wool free list. x '-' Sugar * 68 per cent. Cotton goods 40 “ “ Woolen “ 25 “ Steel 22 “ Grain free list. Crockery 25 per cent. Lumber free list. Rice 100 per cent Total per cent. 303 Now to find what the average reduction of the tariff on the articles is we have only, to’divide the total 303 by the number of articles, 10, which gives 30 per cent, as the average tariff of the Mills bill and the difference between 47 and 30, which is 17, gives the percent. of the reduction. A frtti of 47 to 30 equals a reduction of over one third, or more than 36 per cent, which is what the Mills bill actually does to the tariff. And now* to illustrate the method the Democrats adopt to make it appear that they have reduced the tariff only from 47 to about 43 per cent. Instead of dividing the above total of 300, in the Mills bill list by 10, the number of articles under consideration, they divide by the number left after excluding the three articles placed on the free list. The result of 300 divided by 7 is approximately 42. Thus, by means of this entirely false’ and deceitful method, they try to make it appear that an actual reduction of from 47 to 30 per cent, is only a reduction of from Iff 48 [WP —“““ This is no fancy sketch, but illustrates exactly and truthfully the very means by which the advocates of free trade are now seeking to humbug the American people. By the same method they might, with just- aa-’-Hiuck,truth and honesty as they now use, have wiped out the entire tariff, except, say, on two articles, sugar, 68 per cent, and rice, 100 per cent., and thenhave setup the claim that they had actually increased the tariff from an average of 47 per cent, to an average of 84 per cent.