Rensselaer Republican, Volume 23, Number 48, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 July 1891 — CURRENT COMMENT. [ARTICLE]

CURRENT COMMENT.

: TARIFF PICTURES. Tipton Advocate. „ The democratic party continues to harp on the old saw that the tariff is a tax. For the sake of argument, we drop the Republican policy and ask the Times, Behymer, or any Democrat to make clear the 'following propositions: If the tariff is a tax. and you wish to dispose of it. how will you raise the necessary revenues of the government? If you impose a duty at alt. what articles would you place on the dutiable list and on what would you put on the free list. If you place a duty of any amount on any article, is that not a tax from your standpoint? On what articles on which a duty is now imposed would you put on the free list. What article now on the free list would you impose a duty ? Name an article on which the duty is now too high and give reasons for it? Name a single article that oppresses the people on account of duty and give reasons and suggest aremedy? Now, the above queries are faint and honest and bear directly upon the position you occupy. You make certain charges against the present system, now we ask you to answer the above questions and make your position dear. The Republican party makes its position plain. It illustrates it by actual experiments. The results have always proved successful and the country has prospered and profited by it. The Democrats have never proved that the tariff was a tax. Facts show that every time a duty was increased that the prices were reduced, brought about by home competition. To such an extent has this been carried that nearly every article that is a necessary'commodity is actually too low. In no period in the history of the world were articles of manufacture so cheap as they are now, and in no country so cheap as in America. These are facts as they exist’ and if any man will go to the store, priee articles, and compare them with former years, they will find it true. On jthe other hand, products of the soil are as high as ever before. Farm products, of course, always being controlled by the law of supply and demand. This demand is kept up by encouraging strong home markets and a foreign market for our surplus. Tariff pictures are practical illustrations of the operations of the tariff law, under the McKinley bill, and here are some very interesting pictures for you to read: Eggs were on the free list in April, 1890, and we imported 450,623 dozen.