322 . STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



have to be brief with the subject of indirect taxation. This I believe to be 

 the main question before the American people to-day. Our wise men whom 

 we have sent as law-makers to our national capital differ upon this subject all 

 the way from free trade to high protection. How then do you expect me to 

 do this subject justice by attaching it to a subject that has perhaps already 

 wearied you. I shall attempt -no more than mention a few of the most prom- 

 inent features of the question, leaving many important points to be brought 

 out in the discussion if the audience so desires, 



Webster's definition of indirect taxation is a tax on articles consumed, but 

 not collected immediately from the consumer. This tax is collected under 

 what is known as the tariff laws — a law imposing a tax upon articles imported 

 from a foreign country. This tax is paid by those who buy goods in foreign 

 lands and bring them to our shores, and the amount of the tax is added to the 

 price of the goods as a legitimate part of their cost. 



The importer sells to those who wholesale, and they to those who retail, and 

 when imported goods are bought by the consumer, they pay the tax, by pay- 

 ing an amount equal to the tax over and above what the goods would have 

 cost if they had been imported free of duty. Not only imported goods are 

 increased in price by this tax, but home products are also increased. Some 

 to the full extent of the tax, some by a portion of the tax, and some are not 

 at all increased, Mr. Mill says : A tax on any one article, will as a general 

 rule raise the value of the commodity by at least the amount of the tax- 

 Other writers on political economy say this : When a home product of an 

 article is not equal to the home demand and articles are imported to supply 

 the deficiency, the whole amount of the tax will be added to the price of the 

 home product. ' 



This can be illustrated by the article of sugar. We produce a small portion 

 of the sugar we use, and import the balance. The tax on sugar is on an aver- 

 age^ two cents per pound, and the whole amount of the tax is added to the 

 cost of the home product. 



Another maxim is this; where home products exceed the home demand, 

 and can be imported at a profit, the imposition of a duty on goods of a like 

 character will not affect the price of the home product. This can be illus- 

 trated by the article of breadstuffs. Although there is an import duty on 

 breadstuffs it does not increase the price of the home product a farthing, 

 because we export* millions of bushels where we import thousands. 



This method of taxation is not looked upon with favor by a large portion of 

 our tax-paying citizens. Writers on political economy have laid down as one 

 of their maxims, that every subject of a country should contribute to the sup- 

 port of the government, in proportion to their respective abilities. Such is 

 not the case under the tariff laws. Each person contributes to the support of 

 the government, not in proportion to what he is worth, but in proportion to 

 what he consumes. A man of limited means may pay more for the support of 

 the government than a rich man. 



I have heard a great deal said within the last few weeks about taxation. 

 All complain that their taxes are high. 



This is in reference to direct taxation. What would people say if they 

 knew they were paying an indirect tax, as large or larger, than their direct 

 tax. One reason we hear so little said about indirect taxation is, because a 

 great many people well informed on most subjects, do not know ^uhen they 

 pay nor how much they pay by indirect taxation. This is not because the 



