What The Tariff Costs The Farmer

As an example is ahvays better than an argument, I will present to the reader an actual transaction under the McKinley bilí, which has been furnished me tlirough the kindness of a ñ-iend in New York. He says, under date of Feb. 17: "I received a shipment this week from Manchester containing a nuruber of cases of dress goods, mostly all wool, and sonie woolen and worsted cloths, also some cotton warp dress goods. Entered valué, $3,631. Packing is accountable for $19 of this, the valué of the cloth being $2,612. Ipaid $2,621.05 duty. Of course the consumera, at large, will eventually pay this." Let us study this concrete example for a moment: We see that cloth and dress goods of the valué of $2,612 cost the iinporter $5,233.05, which sum he inust get back froin the connumera of the goods with his profits upon the transaction. The goods imported are among the necessaries in our country and climate, and not the mere lururies of those who are rich or extravagant. The farmer or the laborer buys these goods for his wif e and children, and believes when he puts down on the store counter a dollar of his earnings that he is getting a dollar's worth of goods, when in f act he is paying more than half of the money for the tax and the profits of the tax of several middlemen that have been secretly wrapped up in the goods. These goods are also largely made in this country. They would not be imported unless they could be sold here for cost and tax and a fair profit on both. Except for the tax we could buy them for the cost and a fair profit on it. The tariff tax which the government mixes with them before it allows them to pass into the clothing of the people thus more than doubles their cost, and at the same time increases by a like amonut the price at which similar homemade goods can be sold to the people. This last is the parpose for which it is levied. The labor cost of producmg these goods in this country ia not more than 20 per cent. greater than the labor cost in Manchester, and but for a tariff on wool that actually depresses the value of our native wool, but increases the cost of the foreign wools needed for mingling with our native grades to make these goods, the cost of materia, would be the same in both countries. Let the farmer and laborer now sil down and figure out to his satisfaction, ifhe can, why a law of congress shoulc be made to compel him to give two bushels of his wheat or two days of his labor for the same quantity of necessary goods that he could, but for such a law procure with less than one bushei of his wheat or less than one day of his labor