The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1865-11-17
DUTY on Paper,


The Chicago Tribune, leading republican
paper, in an article on the paper duty says {:
"Les the duty be reduced 70 the domestic
three per cent tax, and repealed as 10 chsml-
Gals. and the result will be to keep the cost
of American paper at steady and decent
price With gold las or thereaoouts, for
sign print cannot be imported into New York
and sold for less than Is or l6 cents per
pound, and it is a fact that the American
mills can make good print, east or west. for
less money. and net a handsome proht. The
New YORK papers have been supplied from
last June until September at IA to 10 cents
per pound. This was cheaper than 1t could
% in ported, free of duty. Bat within a few
weeks paper has gone up like a Balloon
Why is it? The mill owners say that water
is so scarce in New England that they cannot
supply the demand; hence they have put up
their prices. They have added the whole ia
riff on top of a fair profit. because water In
New England Is scarce. The trouble IL,
therefore, with the supply of water, and not
on account of inability to make paper rs
cheap as it could be imported. The New
England mills being unable to fill their ord
els, by reason Of the restitution OF motive
power, what is more proper and right than
that ths American press shall have the privi-
lege of purchasing, free of duty, the deficit
abroad What is the use OF the duty except
to enable the manufacturers to cheat the
newspapers? the government has 40 inter
est In preserving the twenty per cent. gold
impost, as it derives no revenue theretrOm,
because no print paper is ever imported
The govern ment ia an immsnse consumer of
paper, and is now paying monopoly prices
therefor. By keeping on the duty it is rob,
bing lis own treasury and depressing the
press of the country. Every summer, Tor
several wears, there has been the same oil
excuse of scarcity of water Ia New Engiand
and. under that pretext, the price Of paper
is run up on the publishers. The western
paper makers are not In this combination
but they naturally follow the eastern prices.
They don't need any tariff and never have
There never has been time, for twenty
five years. that print could be imported into
the west from Europe, free of duty, and sold
Us cheap as our mills can afford to sell it.
when water is plenty, the New England
mills can supply all their customers at lower
rates than paper can be imported, with the
duty off. as thirty years experience abund
sntly proves. Where, then, Is the sense or
justice of imposing twenty per cent. gold
duty on foreign print, when the New Eng
land mills are unable to fill their orders p
Can the New York Tribune explain A year
ago, the New Eaglnnd manufacturers, alleg
ing inability to supply the demand, suddenly
advanced their prices from Is to q cents,
and exacted that exorbitsnt rate until the
western press appealed to congress for relief
and a Joint resolution passed the house by
two-thirds majority. repeating the duty,
when, all at once the conspirstors discovered
that they had plenty of scdter, and knocked
down the price of print cents pound in a
single week {! As q result of their extorton
we are told that the New York Tribune was
scooped out OF $50, 900 on its weekly list, but
the philosopher of the concern was happy
nevertheless, as his high tariff folly was in
successful career. The New York Tribune
it is said, did not make two per cent. tina,
whole year on its capital
'.If the duty was repealed, paper would be
imported from abroad only when the eastern
mills On account of drought, cannot fill theil
orders, Importations would cease when tn,
rains began to fall and the quantity pur
chased in Europe would never be large a
any time-never enough to affect the Europ
can market q cent per pound, but just enougl
TO keep cur market regular and steady tn
year round-just enough to prevent eombin
ations being formed to take advantage of ioy
water ia New England for The purpose o
swindling the consumers. The present tarii
on paper is utterly needless, and an unmiti
gated nuisance. There is no excuse for an.
duty higher than the domestic currency ia,
"a tax. by the way, which should be repeal
sd. Sound policy and enlightened states
manship forbids taxes on knowledge. Tn
government OF Great Britain has wisely res
cinded all taxes on newspapers and period
cals and made the dissemination of publi
information as cheap and free as possit 1e-
Inc 70 per cent. gold duty is piece of bar
bar"1s iegislation-worthy of China or ia
pun, out disgrace on an American statut,
p0oH. = 'ne product of the rspacity o.