Sawyer On The Tariff

Congressman Allen failed to put in an appearance at the rink on Monday evening of last week, and Hon. A. J. Sawyer essayed to do what he of the fog-horn was billed to do, - enlighten the faithful. Mr. Sawyer was strong on the tar.ff, that is, i f the time given to a so-called discussion of that vexed and vexing subject is an indication of strength. His illustrations of the beauties and benefits of a tariff, the modern name for a tax levy vvlich takes the money out of a man's pocket when he don't know it, not only for the support of the government but for the enrichmen of private individuals and pamperec coiporations, - were many and very unique. Sa Tiple I. One of Sawfer's earliest ambitions was to own a horse, and he made the acquisition in the year 1854. Naturally he took his horse to a blacksmith shop to be shod, and while the blacksmith and his helper we re blowing and striking, turning the shoes and forging the nails, - ready-made shoes and nails not being staple goods in those days, - he learned that the bar iron f rom which the shoes were made, cost (or was sold to him at) 22 cents a pound, and the nail rods 28 cents a pound, and the blacksmith charged him a shilling shoe tor setting. These were revenue tariff pnces. The republicans carne into power, imposed a high duty on iron, - incidentally for revenue, principally for. protection, - and now he buys the shoes ready-made at five cents a pound, the nails at six cents a pound, takes them down to his friend Kearns and the rascal charges him 25 cents a shoe for setting. That, according to Sawyer, is what the tariff does,- cheapens the price of the iron and doubles the wages of the blacksmith. A good hit until some other fellow is called to the bat; but when that other fellow, proof in hand, asserts that the highest price the best grac'e of bar iron sold for in the New STork market in 1854 was $77.50 a ton (2240 lbs.), or Lesa than 31 cents a pound, the umpire will be obliged to cali it a foul. That blacksmith either gathered in more than five times the Dutchman's one per cent. profit, or Sawyer has a very multiplying memory. Sample II. Reducing the taril will increase the imports and th surplus, therefore the duties shoulc be increased. In proof of this theory Mr. Sawyer stated that 800,000 ton of hay were shipped into this country from foreign markets during the las year, under a tariff of $2.00 a ton bringing a revenue of $1,600,000 And then he assumed or assertec that it could be positively provee that reducing the duty to 1.00 a ton would cause three times a much hay to be imported, and o course increase the revenue from hay to $2,400,000. What are the facts During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1S87 (the returns for 188S not yet tabulated), the actual importation o hay was 78,722 tons,and the duty pak on same, $157,444. A goodly sizec shrinkage from Mr.Sawyer's figures. The same year 13,873 tons were exported, leaving an excess of imports entering into consumption of only 64,849 tons. The hay erop in the United States in 1886 was 45,000,000 tons, - the 78,722 tons imported being only "the needie in the hay mow," the baiting of the border bovines, made necessary by a local short erop, - and unless Sawyer can increase the demand for and consumption of hay in the border states, no larger quantity would be imported f the entire duty was taken off. Sample III. During a recent business trip to the East he visited a large glove factory in Boston or vicinity, and was escoited through its several departments. The lowest wages paid to any of the 2,000 employés was 75 cents a day - to the messenger boys. Before leaving he purchased a pair of gloves fiom a beautiful young lady clerk, who reluctantly laid down the book she was reading to wait upon him, and whose ife and bistory he inquired into while the gloves were being fitted to his nand. After coming home a proffessor showed h;m gloves of the same quahty, bought by him in London for $1.50, and gave that as a reason for favoring tree trade. His retort was: "The girl who sold the gloves to me could speak two lanjuages besides her own, was reading L,atin at the time, got $1.25 a day 'or ten hours services, was dressed ike a lady, and would make a wife it for a king; the woman who made ;our gloves worked sixteen hours a day for 28 cents, and went home at night to sleep with a brute." The Snglish fellow citizens of Mr. Sawyer should put that in their pipes and moke it.