Show I FAVORING AMERICAN INTERESTS i The elaborate report mado by an atront of the New York Associated Press upon tho workings of McKiXLBy tariff act in Great Britain is an instructive document docu-ment It shows that that act has had tho result expected and dosired towit of keeping out of our markets a very largo percentage of forelcrn articles such as aro manufactured hero Other sources of information in-formation givo the same result Thus comparing the imports of August of this year with those of tho same month in 1899 there was a falling off of 810030000 Some branches of British industries though showing a decraaso of trade with the United States have hold theIr own in gee eral by finding a market elsewhere So whilst our commerce with Great Britain has been curtailed considerably the loss to that country has boon made up in the increase of volume of its trade iu other directions Some of the textile tradas especially es-pecially linou and laces have been very much injured thousands of person i in Ireland Ire-land having been thrown ont of employment employ-ment without anybody anywhere being benefited a particle for though hemp and manufactures have suffered a decline of more than 4000000 in importations in tue fiscal year there has been considerable considera-ble increase in domestic productions nor of the materials they are made of All the facts connected with our foreign commerce show that tho McKiXLnv law l imposes a tax on homo consumption and that its almost exclusive effect in protection protec-tion and prohibition prohibition of all trade rivalry with the protected interests I Tim fact we have mentioned above tea ailing off of 10000000 a year in our imports im-ports is quoted from a newspaper the St lOuis GlobcDeniucrat which refers to it gloatingly as operating in favor of American Amer-ican Interest The interests meant are of course those of the favored manu file turers To the people at large it means a decrease of revenue but not a reduction of taxes to the people The revenues lost to tho government are a gift to the manufacturers acturers and a burden to tho consumers at the same time By the Mcivtxmv tariff the duty on the coarse grades of raw sugar is abolished and the government income cut down about 50000000 but the duties on a groat many necessaries of life are augmented so as to make them cost 10 or GO per cent more than their valuE and this not only overcomes tho abated tax on sugar but loaves an excess of many millions of dollars against the I people It was shown in debate whilst it was pending that that the act transfers I I more articles from tim free list to the I dutiable list as it was previously than dutiable articles to the free and that the average duty on iron manufactures hardware hard-ware tools tin plate woolen goods glassware glass-ware earthenware cotton and linen goods ito would be increased nearly 15 per cent In other words tho act gave the people free brown sugar and then charged them about 73000000 a year for it handing the I money over to the nortneastern manufac j I I turers The Democracy hold that the government t I gov-ernment ought not to take tho money from the people except for strict and economical economi-cal government purposes but the Republicans Repub-licans contend that it may compel the poople to pay taxes for the support of the government govern-ment extravagantly conducted and also for the enrichment of the protected manufacturers manufac-turers The Republican policy is to swell the liabilities of the treasury by all manner of enormous expenditurea largo pensions subsidies coast defenses a groat navy palatial pa-latial public buildings etc lest the surplus should suggest the reduction of the tariff to a pure revenue basis and consequentlJ leave tho favored industries to survive or perish on their merits The Democracy hold that taxation whether In the form of direct assessment or protected tariff never made a country rich and never will If the duties under tho MCKINLEY act aro going to swell the wealth of tho land why not make them higher still Tho question how much the policy of protection yields to its beneficiaries in dollars dol-lars and cents is an interesting ono and one that the favored classes invariably wince under Nevertheless it is a legitimate legiti-mate and reasonable question strictly pertinent per-tinent to the tariff controversy and the people have a right to a fair answer The whole product of our protected industries in 1S90 is estimated at 3300000000 Deducting De-ducting the cost of materials and wages and the remainder is 800000000 as gross profits from which subtract 10 per cent as the fair earnings of tho capital invested and there is loft the enormous hl ulanco of 720000030 as tho amount paid last year for the encouragement of our infant industries in-dustries or about 43 per cent on the capital 81700000000 invested Another estimate The population of the country in 1890 was in round numbers 02600000 and the number of families at the usual stimate of five persons to a family was 2500000 If we allow 150 as the average consumption per family of protected articles arti-cles eel of which is for protection we have 770000000 for all And mind you this is upon the average 43 per cent ariff rate which prevailed before it was increased by the McKINLEY bill And thus are our American interests favored |