Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1866-02-09
Ne More American Books,

khAo0 aNAH "SSAJ
Unless the commission which has the
revision Of the revenue law in charge
recommend q modification of the tax on
printed beeks, and Congress should act
upon the recommendation, we shall soon
cease to print any books at all. A more
careful study Of the facts leads us to the
conclusion that our recent estimate Of the
relative cost of books printed here and the
same books printed in England was too
liberal to the foreign printer; we now
Judge that q book can be printed and pub
lished in England for ons-third the cost of
the came book here. OF course, under
such circumstances, the tariff proves no
! obstacle whatever to importations, and
should the present state Of things continue
it is clear that in the course of a few
months, the publication of American books
will be reduced to those works which can
not be produced abroad.
1t is understood that the Revenue Com
mission is favorable to a reduction of the
internal duties en- books-hfteen in mum
Der, as they have been calculated. 1t
should be hoped that they will lose no
time in laying their views before Congress.
In order to aid them intheir deliberations,
we present a single item, which is g fair
sample of scores.
The Sunday Magazine is q periodical
published in London, the price being si1-
pence a copy exclusive of postage. Of
this magazine 10, 900 copies are imported
for sale in this country, the importers
affirming that the market value in Eng
land is three farthings a copy. Upon this,
by the present law, they pay a duty of
tuzanfu- Aua aaraauf -fbot IL fhraa- folrf hi
of a farthing-making the whole cost here
to them, duty included, just three and
hTesfoSrths farthiags, a little less than
two cents a copy, or 5000 for the whole
10000. The importers, moreover, demand
here twenty-five cents for the magazine,
the market value of which In England,
and upon which only they pay duty, they
declare to be only three f~arthings. We
shall follow up this ease by other instances, |
of which we have at hand more than q
score.
Now let Us see what the cost of the bare
manufacture of these 10000 copies would
be in this country at present prices. After
a careful calculation we find that the pa
per, composition, st~ereotyping, press-work
and folding of the MagGSine would cost
here, for 10000 copies, fourteen cents a
copy, instead of three Jarthings, its al
legged market value in England. This in
only the bare cost Of manufacture,
making no allowance for literary and ar
tistie labsr and the cost of the engravings.
Upon these 10000 copies the importers
pay a duty of only three-fourths of a farth-
ing, while the fifteen separate taxes i'm
posed by law upon the American n
amount to at least four cents. In
words, we "proteet" the British
manufacturer of books by imposing upon
him by way Of duty only one-ffth as much
as is paid by the American manufacturer
direct taxes upon raw material and la
Dor alone.
If this continues, one of two things is
inevitable. The manufacture of books
here will cease, and the great amount of
labor involved in it directly and indirectly
must find other channels or the labor
must be paid for at English starvation
Practically, both results will en-
Three-fourths of our printers will be
out Of employment, and the others will
receive pay at British rates; and all for
the benefit Of our British friends.