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The Commoner.
ISSUED WEEKLY.
Entered at tho Postofllco r.t Lincoln, Nebraska.
An sccond-clasH matter.
WlI.I.IAM J. UllVAN
Keillor nml Proprietor
yill'IlAUl) 1 MWOAMT,
Atfot-lnto Kdltor
ClIAIII.Kfl W. HnVAH
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THE COMMONER, Lincoln, Neb.
Practical Tariff Talks
There are very good reasons why in each ot
tho throo congressional districts in which elec
tions have been hold since the passage of the
Payne-Aldrich tariff bill, the people have over
whelmingly repudiated that law. There are a
great many schedules in the tariff law, and
there is a general Impression that it is a diffi
cult proposition to understand. Tho truth is
that an hour's study by any man of these sched
ules will convince him of the brazen disregard
for the public interest as opposed to the private
interest, of the fact that it taxes tho rich lightest
and tho poor heaviest. In this column some
comparisons were printed a fow weeks ago. Here
aro a few more: Uncut diamonds are admitted
free of duty, cut diamonds carry 10 per cent.
A pasto or imitation diamond, many of which
are worn by lovers of ornaments like pins, hair
adornments, combs and buttons, cost twice as
much to bring in, 20 per cent. Champagne car
ries a duty of G5 por cent, but wearing apparel
averages abovo 86 por cent. Hats and bonnets
costing not over $5 a dozen are taxed at C2 per
. cent, whllo those costing more than $20 a dozen
are brought in at th6 low duty of 35 per cent
The Commoner.
can distinguish between what ho thinks are nec
essaries and what aTe luxuries. In the glove
schedule unlinod women's gloves of sheep are
marked as necessaries. They carry a tax of
49 per cent. The lined glove, marked as a
luxury, carries but 34 per cent. This has refer
ence to tho lengths under fourteen inches. On
tho longer gloves the unllned carries 42 per
cent and tho costlier lined gloves drops as low
as 29.11 per cent. On men's gloves, the cheaper
ones carry tho highest tariff. Those of sheep
costing less than ?3 a dozen from the manu
facturer, unlined, carry a tariff of G6.28 per
cent, while the costlier lined ones are taxed at
from 14.19 per cent up to 45 per cent. On
men's leather gloves the unlined ones carry
a' tariff of 44.58, and the lined ones 29.54.
The same state of facts can be found in al
most every schedule. Take such an item as
buckles. These range from the iron and steel
ones of simple design, stamped out by machinery,
and utilized on trousers and waistcoats, to the
highly-decorated and burnished ones that adorn
the belt of the well-dressed ladies. The cheap
er the buckle the higher the tariff. The real
cheap ones carry a tariff of 77.48 per cent, the
next cheapest 57.73, and the dearest 26. G3. The
lad who celebrated the Fourth of July by in
vesting in the more utilitarian and cheap fire
crackers must pay a duty of 97.02 per cent, while
the householder who desires to preside over a
brilliant display to emphasize his social position
and freehandedness need pay but 20 per cent
duty on his fireworks, under the Dingley bill.
The new law sternly steps in to rectify this
discrimination, and places a 75 per cent duty on
them. C. Q. D.
Raw silk is imported free of duty, but to
protect tho manufacturer, whose total labor cost
is about 30 per cent of tho total, there is levied
& tax of 50 por cent. A woman who buys ten
yards of woolen or worsted cloth for a dress
tho kind generally used pays a tariff tax of
$5.40 on cloth that cost $4 abroad, the tax
being 135 por cent. If her richer sister desires
to buy silk the tax she pays is 50 per cent only
The one consolation the former can have is that
sho can import rags free. The steel buttons
that perform a useful service on tho average
man's trousers carry a duty of 126.88 per cent
while milady's ivory buttons como in under a
tax of 57.40 per cent. The average tWpfr
ingrain carpet carries duties ranging from 66
per cent to 87 per cent, but if it is an oriental
carpet that is imported the cost is 60 per cent
The cheapest blankets carry a tariff tax of 107
per cent, tho highest priced 71 per cent!
High priced woolen carpet, used by the wealth
ier classes carries a tariff 'of but 50 peY cent
but carpet used for mats, rugs, bedsides and
hassocks, carry 126.88 per cent. In the senate
book of estimates, somo kindly soul marked a
tabulated summary of the bill so that th reade?
THE TRUTH ABOUT HIGH PRICES
While the New York World is engaged in ad
vising its contemporary, the Tribune, not to in
dulge In foolish and unnecessary worry about
the democratic party it might profit by taking
its own advice to heart. The advice might also
be profitably considered by a number of demo
cratic newspapers and statesmen that are osten- -tatiously
worrying themselves and trying to
worry others because Mr. Bryan called attention
to the fact that Mr. Taft, by attributing high
prices to the increased production of gold, has
vindicated the position taken by the democratic
party in 189G.
The World pretends to believe that Mr. Bryan
is seeking to revive the silver issue. It pre
tends to believe that Mr. Bryan is throwing away
the democratic advantage which results from the
popular belief that the tariff and trusts are
largely responsible for high prices. And it pre
tends to be very much distressed, and very, very
much put out with Mr. Bryan for his stupidity.
The World, and those who are harping in the
same key, are only making themselves ridicu
lous. They seem to assert that the one hope
of the democratic party lies in deceiving the
. people, and that if Mr. Bryan or anybody else
tells the people the truth democratic prospects
are ruined.
The truth is that the people are just about as
well advised as to existing conditions and their
causes as is the World, or Mr. Bryan, or most of
the rest of their admonishers and advisers Mr
Bryan has told them nothing they did not al
ready know. And the World, with pitiful follv
seems eager to whisk away and hide from them
JzeantaCtS of which they have long be?n co
Tho best thing the democratic party can dn
under the circumstances, is to face the facts
squarely and proclaim them promptly
There has been a tremendous increase in the
production of gold. Insofar as higher dtIppr
are world-wide the increased volume of 3
n circulation doubtless goes far toward explain
ing them This is a fact that very few neon?e
need to be told. And it is a fact that th!
World can not prevent the people from "know
ing by sticking its own head in the BinS L
urging everybody else to do likewise d
But the increased production of gold do
not explain the fact that prices are higher ?n
this country than in Europe. "igner m
The increased production of gold does w
explain the fact that prices have risen J!
rapidly in this country than in Europe mrG
The increased production of enlrt 0
explain the fact that man? artloSS
can manufacture and common necessity areS
BoldEarhPomeC.011Si(ierably Cheaper tha "heVe
The increased production of gold does not Pv
Plain the fact that the consuming minions have"
VOLUME 10, NUMBER 18
got none of the benefits of labor saving inven
tions and cheapened methods of production.
The increased production of gold does not ex
plain away the fact that extravagance in govern
ment makes necessary higher taxes, and that
when those taxes are levied exclusively on ar
ticles of consumption they necessarily mean
higher prices for those articles.
The World knows, just as every fairly intelli
gent man knows, that a part of the increased
prices against which the people are crying out
is natural and unavoidable, being due to for
tuitous inflation of the money supply, and that
another part is due to high tariffs, and to trusts
which stifle competition, and to extravagance
which increases taxes. The World knows that
it is not the mission of the democratic party or
the wish of the people to beat down a price level
which is evenly distributed, fairly shared, and
due to natural causes. It knows that it is the
mission of the democratic party, and the deter
mination of the people, to smash tariff prices
and trust prices and extravagant prices, which
are entirely separate from the gold supply, and
which are fast making this country the most
expensive civilized country in which to live
whereas not so long ago it was one of the
cheapest.
The people understand these things. They are
neither so ignorant nor so silly as the World
seems to think they are. The democratic party
would only be making itself ridiculous in their
eyes, and proving itself insincere, if it showed
an unwillingness to speak the truth frankly
about self-evident facts.
The people are tired of insincerity and mental
dishonesty in political paTties anJ political lead
ers. They are tired of being flim-flammed, and
entertain a very healthy suspicion of whomso
ever shows even a slight disposition to deceive
them, whether by distracting their attention
from certain facts or otherwise. A good rule
for the democratic party to follow is to be frank
and honest, both with itself and with those who
have been its enemies. If nobody commits a
greater crime against the prospects for demo
cratic success than to mention that the quantita
tive theory of money has been established by re
cent experience, the New York World will have
no occasion for alarm. Omaha World-Herald.
A-CRYIN' FOR HIS DADDY
Dess a-cryin' fer his daddy, till dey isn't any rest,
En I hush 'im en I soothe im, but he ack lak
he possessed,
He's a-runnin' ter de winder en he's lookin'
down de street,
En he lissen in de ebenin' fer de trompin' o'
his feet
En dey ain't no way ter stop 'im, fer he keep
on night en day
Dess a-cryin' fer his daddy en his daddy gone
away.
W'?n,i1? slttin' at de table den he see his
daddy's place
En de heart-break come en quiver in'de li'l
feller's face,
Enhisepla7ehe Wnt nUmn'' en he push a-way
DwaitS Gf hiS daddy CDmin' ef he on'y sit GU
En I try ter tell it ter 'im dess de hes' way dat
1 can,
BUnahltan.Cl1 "'' fe"er dat e dess cain' un"
Bnd6S0waU 6S h6 Slt e stu(J5Vles a-lookin' at
B"at a11.l0kIn' 'Way beyon' " Iak tt 1n't daK
XbI-ZbT me- 0U'l0UB' Wld dem "'
EnaaIaakyn8W he axln'' nxta'' a" ae tlme vbb
Ster My, ''m C'Se en olosel1- en J " 'lm ot
B"im hyM7 a,n' a-Comta' on des ta; eU
"to JJSta f6r Ms a"Uy-en I ax you' Suh,
&"" ' ln cWllu "as to hoi- bo much
A1wVK7y ter he,p 'em? Ata' W
DaD0anoaamor40mDB 'S 6nded en " aln swino
w'StatK, ry,,n de nieM tlme " a
Deaway?rJ"n' fer hls aMj- h.S daddy gono
Chicago Evening Post.
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