New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1871-12-21

the Uasfsd Suites
Your Memorialists, The Salt Company Q
Onondags, The Ssngnaw and Bay Salt Coul
oauy. and the Ohio River Salt Company, re
spectfully show
That information has reached them 10 tn
effect that singular and extraordinary state
inents in printed form have recently been pu
10 circulation for the purpose of procuring peti
tions ia favor OF the'repeal, or some sudden an,
violent change in the duty on imported salt
1 These statements are put forth ia the form o
.. printed circular issued from the salt import
ing houses of Boston. and sent throughout The
country, accompanied by printed petitions ant
q request that such petitions be signed and for
warded to Congress. Your memorIaists are
also informed that eredulous persons are sign
| ing the said petitions and sending them forward
10 your honorable bodies.
The circular to which we refer is now before
us, and 1t presents - tissue Of fable, quite as
extraordinary as any we have ever seen or read
Of. Ii sets forth,
First. That that the present tariff on salt is
two hundred per cent aud that IT doubles the
cost OF salt to the consumer without proportion
ate revenue to the Government In reiutation
of this statement we refer your honorable bodies
to the actual tariff as established in 1864, which
is precisely Is cents per one hundred pounds
i BY looking at the guotatons in the New York
market it will be seen that this duty does not
exceed tcenty tive TO thirty per cent. upon the
average price and value of the different kinds
Of foreign salt in that market and as TO the
revenue received by the Government from that
source, we beg to state that under a free trade
tariff as it was in 1860, equal to about J cents
per bushel, the duties amounted TO only S2l4,.
900 on an importation of about $4,000 900
bushels annually, whereas under the tariff as it
Of only Il, 000, 900 bushels, amounts to between
a million and a million and half of dollars,
being more than six times greater.
Secondly, the circular aforesaid states that
the people pay TO the salt monOpolists SO,
000, 900 per annum increased cost of salt caused
by the outrageous duty upon that article. y
This statement surpasses anything IN the tales
of the Genii or the Arabian Night entertain
ments. The price OF domestic salt to-day III
all the markets of the country, deducting the
actual cost of barrel or package, of transpor-
tation aud expenses of sale. does not exceed
twenty-three cents per bushel, and inasmuch
as the whole quantity produced in the United
States does not amount to more than 10000,
900 of bushels annually, the said salt monopo-
lists receive only the sum of 81 COO 600 for
manufacturing all the domestic salt annually
consumed in this country. From this state
ment, which we are prepared to verify at any
time or place, it will be seen that the whole
people Of the United States paw for the actual
manufacture OF American salt consumed by
them less than one-h half of the sum which the
circular aforesaid assures them that they pay
for the mere increase 0f cost produced by the
tariff alone. We beg leave to add that the
price of our salt everywhere is not at all in
excess Of the actual cost of production if we
include in such cost low rate of interest upon
the capital invested.
The circular aforesaid concludes by asking
those to whom il is sent to "do the needfulr by
procuring signatures and sending forward petit
tons. We, on the other hand, most respectfully
ask of your honorable bodies to pay no atten-
ton TO such fabulous statements TO receive
only such facts as are true, aud such argu-
ments as are pertinent, and to give to the sub
ject the patient and dignifed consideration
which it merits.
And inasmuch as it is not our present pur-
pose to submit an argument, we conclude by
respectfully asking the attention of your hon
orable bodies to the documents which We shall
forward without delay, and which will exhibit
all the facts connected with this branch of in
dustry, and present the suggestions and con
siderations which, as it seems to us, ought to
influence the action of Congress
GEo. T. CoNsToCE,
PreSt SAT- Co. cf Oncadagd.
'. IL. HORTON,
Prest Ohio Riser SAT- Co.
ii. NJ. FITzHUGH,
Prest Sagjnaw j. Bay Salt Co.
December Is, 1871.
The annexed is copy of the circular re
ferred to in the foregoing memorial.
BOsToN, November :.
DEAR SIR: The present duty of two hundred
per cent. on salt is a great wrong, for the rea
son that the cost Of this necessary article is
thereby nearly doubled without bringing pro
pOrtionate revenue to the United States Trea
sury.
The dear people pay into the hands of the
salt monopolists $l0,000.00O per annum in
creased cost of salt caused by this outrageous
duty. The United States Government receives
annually not more than 81 2O0, 900 revenue from
this article.
strong effort is being made TO procure
repeal of this obnoxious tax, and you are re-
quested to aid, by procuring signatures to the
petition sent herewith.
Please do the needful, and return by mail to
my address in time to be presented in Congress
early in December.
Very respectfully,
GEORGE l.. DowNEs,
Importer and Dealer in Salt,
206 State and % Commerce ats