The New Orleans Democrat. (New Orleans, La.) 1875-1876, 1875-12-26
HISTORY OF THE TEA AND COFFEE
TAX.
The Repeal Of the Duty In 1s71-Thc
Growing Work Of the Swimdling
PrOtectionists.

PrOtectionists.
"rRrE BREAKFAST TABLE" FoLLY-How
THE PEOPLE ARE DELUDED BY THE Sell
FISH AND SCHEMfNG.
from the Cincinnati Compercial.l
The question of relieving the people
from oppressive taxation, now amount
ing on the average to from forty-five to
fifty per cent. on u large portion OF the
necessaries Of life, including clothing
IL second in Importance TO no measure
that can come before Congress. To. ef-
feet this relief on the great staples that
enter into the consumption of every
family. and TO reduce the tariff from IN
average of forty-nino per cent. 70 an
average of twenty-five per cent. without
diminishing the revenue. is the problem
which addrr sses itself to the intelligent
members Of that body whose business
Il IA to provide ways and means to carry
on the Government. Being Of the opin-
ion that one Of the most certain and CT.
flcient means of providing Increased
revenue would be to lay q moderate
duty on imported tea and coffee, we pro-
pose to go into the history OF that duty
and TO show what rate OF taxation has
been at different times imposed upon
those great staples OF consumption from
the origin Of the Government. II will
DO remembered that both the Secretary
OF the Treasury and the President re-
commend the restoration Of the tea and
coffee duty ut this time.
The first tariffact In the United States
was that of July 4, 1889. BY this act
duties were imposed on various grades
Of tea, varying from Is to. i5 cents! u
pound. Two years later, In 1871. the
H.. rnx,trnI mud fhn IriitnE
on tea increased about ~ per cont.
Other revisions Of the tariff occurred
i'm 1899. 1895 and 1897, but without change
in the tea list, which remained at Is TO
60 cents per pound. In 1890 the duties
were raised on the middle grades Of tea
from AZ cents per pound to 80 cents per
pound, at which rate they continued
until the war with Great Britain In 1872.
There were three adjustments OF the
tariff during the three years OF the war
with England, each Of which added to
the burden placed upon tea, and by the
revised tariff OF February 3, 1916, (the
object OF which was to provide a large
revenue to pay for the heavy debt in
Cured for war expenses, the tariff on
ten was fixed Mt The enormous rate OF
"a cents for the lowest grade, and 81
per pound for the medium and higher
grades of the article.
In 1869, the debt being measurably re-
duced, u great reduction In the tariff
took place. by which tea was taxed from
IA to Gs cents per pound. These duties
continued In force for about ton years,
through all the tariff revisions of 1924.
1926 and 1923. In 1880 still further re-
duction took place, by which the cheap
est Bohea was admitted at cents per
pound, and the intermediate and higher
grades at 81 cents per pound. In the
days OF low tariff. beginning with 1882,
and during the years when the United
States Government was wholly out OF
debt and an immense surplus revenue
was I'm the treasury, the duties on tea
and coffee were all abolished, with the
single exception that teas imported in
foreign vessels were taxed 10 cents per
pound from 1882 to 1871. The same
rites were re-enacted In the tariff of
1912. and continued until the revision of
the tariff In 1861. which imposed a duty
OF IT. to 20 cents pound on teas. This
was raised by the act of 1862 TO 80 cents.
md still further raised to 20 cents q
pound In 1864. This high rate continued
the law until July IA, 1870, when the
tariff on teas was reduced to Is cents u
pound. BY act approved May !, 1872,
entitled ''an act repeating the duty on
tea and coffee" It was provided that
after the LIST of July, 1872, tea and coffee
should DO placed on the free list, where
they have ever since remained.
The first duty imposed on coffee in
the United States by the tariff act OF
1889 levied u duty Of "a cents q pound.
This was increased in 1874 to cents a
pound. and I'm 1906 to cents u pound,
where Il remained until the war tariff
of 1912 md 1916, which rendered war
duties necessary, and the tax on coffee
was fixed mt 10 cents per pound. In
1s1s-1g reduction was effected on cof-
fee to cents a pound, and by 1880 to 2
cents and cent a pound, according to
grade. The days of low tariff and no
tariff coming about, coffee was made
free from 1882 to 1861. In the latter
year. n duty Of and . cents a pound
was imposed, and the tax continued at
8 cents per pound during the war and
the years following, until the act of
July Ia, 1870, which reduced the duty on
coffee from cents to cents per pound,
until Il WIS wholly abolished In 1872.
rs previously stated.
II will thus be seen that during the
eighty-six years of our existence as a
nation. tea and coffee have been on the
free list for thirty-two years, while they
" two-thirds Of the time these comodi-
ties have brought heavy revenue into
the Treasury. The sudden repeal OF the
duty on tea and coffee in 1872 was due
TO the sharp practice OF the Protection
lists, and the combined ignorance and
carelessness of the majority i'm Con
gress. A bill to repeal the duties was
introduced on the 10Th of February by
a Pennsylvania Protectionist, for the
purpose Of preventing a reduction Of
the exhorbitant duties on the manufac-
lures of iron, wool and other fabrics,
and on coal.
The Secretary OF the Treasury had
recommended In his annual report re-
duction OF about $20. 000, 900 i'm the tariff
duties--a reduction which the state Of
the revenue then admitted OF. The
Committee Of Ways and Means, as was
well known. were maturing bill large
" reducing the duties on the necessa-
ries OF life'and many articles OF manu-
facture. To forestall this action. the
Protectionists crowded in this bill to
repeal in advance the whole duty on
tea and coffee, and it was passed with
out debate under a suspension of the
rules, within ten minutes after it was
offered The yeas were It's, and the
nays were only 80.
This piece OF sharp practice on the
part of the Protcctionists was subse- |
Quently got through the Senate under
the false demagogue cry OF free
breakfast table" 1t effected almost as
heavy n reduction on imports as the |