New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-02-23
THE utyrFlcTrRE or OrwfyE.

The action of Congress last Spring with ref
erence TO the duty on qunine has not accom-
! plishel the object for which it was intended.
| The purpose was TO cheaper the price of quiz
nine to American consumers The special
power of this invaluable and wholly mcqualled
drug over the malarial and other fevers which
prevail in this country, especially in the States
of the West and South, "A power which 1t shares
f, with no other chemical known to science, rem
! dcrs the reduction of IFS cost a matter OF prime
importance to our people. To put high price
on this article seems like a wilful tamperng
with human life. In Europe they have been so
| alive to the special value Of qunne thlt not
/ only have all taxes been taken off the materials
| entering into its production, but the Govern
mcuts, those of England and the Netherlands,
| have themselves great plantations of the Gin
| chona tree in their East Indian possessions in
order to increase the supply of bark The
/ Importance of abundant quinine and n low
priceIs understood the world over.
| OF late years the price of quinine has been
steadily rising. In this country, in 1877, it
reached s. % an ounce and in the early part
of 1879 it was still SO go an ounce. Repre-
! scntations were made To Congress about this
matter last Spring. and it was generally de-
sired that the whole subject should be taken
up and considered, and that something should
he done to give relief to the purchasers of
this drug. Congress was busy with the ex-
citing politics of the time, and without stop
ping TO examine all the details of this ques-
ton, it repealed the 20 per cent duty on
qunne. in the expectation that that would
accomplish all that was desired. Some con-
I'll -. i. :.
will do no harm at this time to look at and
consider.
In the first place. the price did not fall in
the United States as speedily as was antic
pated. On the contrary, the first effect of the
repeal of the American duty was to raise the
price of quinine in Europe about to the level
of the American market The manufacturers
of that part of the world shipped large guam
titles of their product to America at
once. in order to obtain therefor the
high prices prevailing here. Yellow fever
had broken out in the South and it was
the general expectation that there would be
n large demand during the year and that
prces would rule high. While this belief was
prevalent the market remained steady; but it
happened that it was not well founded. The
America, and neither the West nor the South
bought quininc As largely sit was accustomed
TO. The demand was, in fact, smaller than
had been known in this country for thirty
years. In consequence of this fact and of the
heavy importations, the market did finally
break down and the price fell off 90 cents an
ounce, that Is TO say, from SO 80 to 50 90.
This decline was u great advantage to the
American public for the time being, and
while the low prices ruled it "was thought
that the wisdom of Congress IN repeating the
duty had been amply indicated. But Con-
gIess had acted so hastily as not to take into
account one or two important matters While
taking off the duty OH the manufac tured pro-
duct. il had left all the duties and taxes on
the expensive raw materials used in the pre-
paraton of the drug, thus putting the Ameri-
can manufacturers at q positive disadvantage
with all the rest of the world. They were
then the only quinine makers in the world
who had to pay taxes and duties on their raw
materials, while unprotected on their product.