592 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



not so justified, the tax from which the bounty is to be "bestowed 

 upon private individuals to aid .private enterprises becomes none 

 the less robbery because it is done under the forms of law, and is 

 called taxation." 



This proposition brings the effect of this theory of protection 

 directly into view; one may well ask why the same method 

 should not be adopted to promote other branches of industry. 

 It is admittedly more important that this country should make 

 its own iron than that it should make its own sugar, and the 

 heavy duties on iron and steel have been justified upon the 

 ground that it is for the public interest to make this country 

 independent of all others in the production of iron. It is now 

 independent, whether we will or no ; we are consuming thirty-five 

 to forty per cent of the iron of the world and no other country 

 could possibly supply us. On the plea that this branch of industry 

 should be sustained, the consumers of iron and steel in this coun- 

 try have paid a sum in excess of the price paid by the consumers 

 who have been supplied by Great Britain and Germany, ranging 

 from $50,000,000 to $80,000,000 a year for the last ten years. The 

 excess of price has not been paid over to the workmen by the 

 owners of the mines and works, it has been bestowed upon private 

 individuals to aid private enterprises. One has only to examine 

 the average wages of the workmen in the iron mines and works 

 of this country to be convinced that they are much less than the 

 wages of those who are engaged in the conversion of crude iron 

 and steel into machinery, tools, beams, bars, and other forms for 

 use. If it were proposed to remit all duties upon iron and steel, 

 and to pay a bounty to the producers of these crude metals, equal 

 to the excess of price which we have paid for the last ten years, 

 would not that bring the case directly under the law as laid down 

 by Justice Miller ? If under such circumstances it would come 

 directly under the law, why does not the case come indirectly under 

 the law, provided a case could be made up to test the question in 

 court ? It might be difficult, as a matter of practice, to bring the 

 case into court, but I am inclined to think that if this policy of 

 protection with incidental revenue were to be forced into effect by 

 the votes of a temporary majority of the Congress of the United 

 States, a way might be found to bring this subject before the Su- 

 preme Court and to abate this evil by a decision of the court. 

 That is the way by which many of the abuses of the taxing power 

 have been prevented, but the remedy can be more easily applied 

 through legislation. The present tax upon the import of tin 

 plates is purely a revenue measure, because no one makes such 

 plates in this country. The object of raising this tax to twice the 

 rate now levied is that " a bounty may be bestowed upon private 

 individuals in order to aid them in the private enterprise" of 



