Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1870-08-03
What il Does.

What it Does.
The Industrial Bulletin, in noting the
passage of the Tariff aud Tax bill says The
final passage of the Short Tariff bl i, tackled
to the Tax Bill, Is a substantial triumph of
| the friends of American Industry, and the
! law. defective as it is in some respects, and
not what the Protectionists would have
made it, will be boon to the country. 1t
is the result of several compromises agreed
upon first Icy the thorough and the half
way Protectioni,ts Of the House, and after
wasds by committees appointed TO reconcile
the disagreements between the House and
the Senate. The law will effect reduction
of duties estimated at $27, 100000, which
should be exceedingly gratifying to the Free
Tralers who constantly declaim against high
tariffs. but it does not please them in the
least, and Me.srs. Brooks, Cox, Marshall,
Wood, Woodward and forty other gentle
men opposed it, and voted against its final
passage.
Its principal features are, very large
addition to the free list by the admission of
more than two hundred articles, consisting
of drugs, medicines, chemicals, manures,
! dye-stuffs, feed, etc. Scientific apparatus,
works of art, animals and pants imported
for propagation, books valued for antiquity,
and many crude materials of home manu-
factures are made free. In principle, this
is wholly approved by the Protectioni.ts,
and little fault will be found with the de-
tails, which were carefully considered in the
Committee of Ways and Means, and fully
debated in the House. We admit that
tariff is tax when it is imposed upon arti
cles of necessity which cannot be produced
in the United States, and to remit such
duties is direct relief 20 home industry.
The wants of the Treasury require that
large amount of revenue must be raised
from some foreign articles of general con
sumption, and while it was, therefore, impos-
sible to put them into tie free list, the du-
ties upon them were reduced as much as
could at this time be attempted with safety.
Two cents per pound is taken off of coffee,
ten cents per pound from tea, ten cents
per pound from all kinds of pepper; the
various sorts of sugar are reduced from
cent to cent and a quarter pound, and
duty on molasses drops three cents per gal
lon. As the working poor man consumes
more of the articles than any one else, the
reduction of duty upon them is in his inter
est, and as directly beneficial to him As an
increase of his wages.
A few articles, such as fax and its pro-
ducts, Bessemer steel, nickel, wool, etc, are
subjected to revised classification, the con-
version of ad raIOren, into specific rates, or
a slight increase of duty Pig iron is wan
tonly brought down from nine dollars to
seven dollars ton, it will be remembered
that General Buffers re.olutic to cut it
down to five dollars had been carried in the
House, aud the rate finally adopted was the
best compromise that could be made
The vote in the House upon the aeeep-
tance of the report of the Conference Com
mittee, which passed the bill was l44 to 40,
and the Senate cohcurred without divis-
ion. The measure as we have said, had
its defects, but having been adopted with
substantial unanimity, we hope its whole
some features will possess the most desira-
bly, quality Of permanence, and our indus
tries, being safe from any formidable assault
may, at least, survive until It's defects are
.emedied.
The reduction of internal taxes effected
by the Tax bill is estimated to amount to
$50 600, ,000. Nearly all the special taxes,
the tax on gross receipts, tax on sales, part
OF the stamp taxes and part of the income
taxes are abolished That any portion of
the income tax was retained will excite much
hostile criticism, but the exemption of all
incomes under So, ,OO0 and reduction of
the rate to two and half per cent is
sensible mitigation of its stringency.