Speech #500151955

Whatever the cost may be. we have this fact staring us in the face. that this committee proposes to double the tax upon an article of prime necessity. intending by doubling that tax to divert the whole revenue from the public Treasury into private pockets. One other feature in connection with this tinplate taxation strikes me as being manifest. and that is the law we have on the statutebook for refunding ninetenths of the tax levied upon foreign articles brought in. manufactured. and shipped abroad. While we are making pretenses in this Chamber and everywhere else through the country of a desire to protect our own laboring peopleagainst pauper labor abroad. we are discriminating constantly in favor of the foreign poor and against our own. In 1884 there were refunded drawbacks upon the item of tinplates amounting to $876.736.11. in 1885 there was refunded $1.144.134.12. in 1886. $1.228.850.96. in 1887. $1.108.832.98. making a total of $4.358.557.17 which has been refunded by the Government of the United States to the manufacturers of tinplate in this country. because the product of tinplate shipped from here was to be sold on foreign account and sold abroad. In other words. if the identical tinware which was shipped to the foreign laborers. which -was sent abroad for sale. had been sold to the American public there would have been a tax paid Into the Treasury of the United States of $4.358.557.17 that was remitted upon the articles sent abroad to be sold to the pauper laborers of Europe. Here is a discrimination amountingto millions of dollars against our own people and in favor of the people abroad. Mr. President. if it is a matter of importance to remit to those who are engaged in the foreign trade ninetenths of the tax levied upon tinplate. I ask why it is not reasonable and fair that tentenths of it may be remitted to our own laborers. so that they may have onetenth advantage over the foreign pauper labor? We certainly ought to give them a little bit of advantage over the people abroad. We are professing all the time a desire to take care of them at the expense of the people who live outside of tAis country.