464 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



some schedule on which reduction of duty would profit " the ultimate 



consumer." 



In showing up the folly of the consumer in supposing that he had 

 an interest in the tariff revision, Mr. Boutell had an able assistant in 

 Representative Gaines, of West Virginia. Mr. Gaines delighted in at- 

 tempting to show that the duty, if it were all added to the selling price, 

 would add very little to the cost of any particular article. For example, 

 the duty on hides and leather meant only a few cents on a pair of shoes 

 or a carriage top; and the duty on iron and steel meant only a trifle 

 for each wagon. Plainly, it was his opinion that the consumer who 

 would object to this small increase of cost was a very penurious fellow, 

 one chronically disposed to find fault. As a rule, the committee mem- 

 bers were careful to include in their reckoning only the added manu- 

 facturer's cost traceable to the duty. For example, they pointed to the 

 fact that the duty on the leather in a pair of shoes is only about ten 

 cents on the average, ignoring the profits that the wholesale and retail 

 dealers must make on this ten cents, by which the added cost to the 

 wearer of the shoes is made much greater. 



There is at least one member of the committee who would not dignify 

 the consumer's standpoint by the merest mention, Eepresentative 

 Fordney, of Michigan. The word consumer does not appear to be in 

 his dictionary. He knows only the producer and regards as a blessing 

 any duty whatever which prevents the importation of goods and com- 

 pels their production in this country, no matter what may be the cost of 

 producing them here. Here and there, among the majority members, 

 there appeared a few indications of an appreciation of the rights and 

 interests of the consumer. This was most noticeable in Eepresentative 

 Crumpacker, of Indiana, and Eepresentative McCall, of Massachusetts, 

 with an occasional gleam of light from Eepresentative Hill, of Con- 

 necticut. 



This general disparagement of the consumer's point of view did 

 not seem to be the result of the old claim that the consumer does not 

 pay tariff duties; but rather upon the consideration (1) that these 

 taxes are small, (2) that the consumer derives great benefits from the 

 tariff system, and (3) that if the taxes were removed, monopoly 

 would prevent the consumer from getting the benefit. It seems to be 

 generally admitted now that the consumer, and not the foreigner, pays 

 the duty. One frank manufacturer said to the committee : " The con- 

 sumer pays it and I am glad that he does." 



If we were to inquire into the reasons why the representatives of 

 the people at Washington are disposed largely to ignore the interest of 

 the people as consumers, more than one answer might be made. To 

 a certain extent, of course, this attitude is due to a peculiar economic 

 belief, the acceptance of the protective theory, by which undue emphasis 

 is placed upon the function of production at the expense of the corre- 



