The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-07-15


TIRE tranquility the enormously fraudulent over
valuation made by the existing law itself under IN,
name Of mnimums' This frand ID by the whole.
sale Talk Of ten or fifteen per cent! Why. the
minimums make that which is actually worth SIX
cents to be, under the law worth thirty cents and &c.
ally charge the same duty upon a square ward
which costs six cents, they charge upon squar,
yard which costs twenty.nine and half cents
Yet the protectonists, frghied as they are at the
possibility Of fraudulent ten per cent. under
valuation, have not word to say against an over.
valuation so monstrous this. They grinlace and
strain terribly at the gnai, while they gulp down
the camel without effort or complaint
But there is another point which we commend
particularly to the consideration of these me-
morializins importers. They arc dry-goods men.
They have TO do with goods in packages, and
they know that these packages, as general
rule, are never opened at the custom-house.
Specific duties tax these packages by the yard.
Ad yalorom duties TAX per centage on their value.
Now, If the fraudulent foreigner" means TO take
false oath, and so save duties, what binders him
from swearing thai a package Of one hundred yards
contaans ssay ninety YARDS Why not swear this
jasf - easily TO swear that the merchandise is
worth only ninety cents per yard when, in fact, it is
worth one hundred cents We put it to these dry
goods men, practical men, that il is easier for the
custom house TO detect, through its APPRAISER an
undev-paiuaon than it is 70 detect an andsr-msas
msnt The little chance there is for examination
does avail in great degree to find out the quality
Of goods in package, but il does not avail at all TO
detect an UNDER measurement To detect this, the
goods must be opened. To open them, is to make
them unsaleable, and as general rule il is never
done. We say, then, without hesitation, in rela-
ton to package goods that the cheating system is
the specific system and that the safe system is the
adj yaorem. Nothing. therefore, can be more idle
than this attempt of the importers of dry goods
pecally, to get up panic against ad valorem dutitn
as opening door to fraud.
Mr.. Webster says that we have no experience to
warrant the general introduction Of ad valorem du-
ties. The statement is an unfortunate one or the
present list Of srteles-some ninety in all-paying
specific duties, il will be found that very large pro-
portion have been made specific in 1916, or since
that time And Of this list, il is remarkable that the
specific duties have been imposed almost invariably
not TO apOd fraud but to give protection. This il the
case with chain cables, anchors, castings, spikes
nails, and indeed almost all varieties Of iron and
steel manufacture. The values OF these goods can
be easily appraised, but the specific duty upon them
is very convenient when the object is to tax them
unrsasOnably for purposes Of protection. But how
can Mr.. Webster say that we have no experience in
favor Of the general introduction Of ad valorem du-
ties in face Of the fact that under the existing
Independently law Of specifics and mini
amount of revenue raised by ad valo-
rem duties last year was SIS, 722 ,sll while only
49, 200, liz were raised by specific dutes' Here lie
an experience certainly to an amount of more than
half our revenue. And let US add it is an expert
ence under unfavorable circumstances for, as we
have shown above specific duties are, by the law OF
ls42, generally laid upon those articles in which
fraud is almost impossible under ad valorem duties;
and ad valorem duties, on the other hand, are, as
we have seen, laid by the law of Is42 upon articles
in which, If anywhere, fraud may be practised.
This, be it remembered is by the legislation of the
themselves 1t shows, as clearly as
anything can show, how wholly gratuitous is the
attempt to get up fraud panic against the present
bill. So much for the first chapter on panics! We
shall resume the subject.