The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1882-10-12

Fourteen YearS-Of Prosperity. I'm
der a Democratic System for
Revenue Only.
A System that Knew Neither Class Nor
Section, But Benefited the
Whole People.
New YOrk.worid.1

in New York on the I'd, and held ses-
sion in the morning at the Windsor
Hotel. Mr.. H, W. oliver, Jr., of Massa-
chusetts. occupied the chair in the alb
sence of the President, Mr.. John L.
Hayes, and there were present Commits
siOner Underwood, Porter, Garland,
Ambler and MacMahOn.
Mr.. j. 8. Moore appeared before the
Commissioners and read an address re-
viewing The tariff history of the United
States from its inception to the present
time. rhe first Tariff acton the statute
books had been approved July 4th, 1889.
The .Ostensible object Of this measure
waS. nf course. Ia raise revenue. vet
., -slot lbst EARLY stage Of taIllf history
lETLlLg GeSlt..0r protection was al
ready noticeable. Unimportant changes,
in which tendency to increase the
tariff were shown, were made in 1893 and
1894. The subsequent tariff acts up to
July, 1872, were seven in number and
all seemed to have followed in the road
of complication and higher rates. The
important bill Of July, 1872, doubted the
ret of April 9th, 1916, reduction was
made in the duty on cotton goods and
iron, though the war duties of 1912
were substantially sustained. Another
change in the interests of protection
was made in May 22d, 1924, after which
came the tariff of 1928, still further in
creasing duties. Thes'Clay Compromise
act" of 1928 was celebrated for the ad-
ditiOnal number of articles that were
put on the free list. The next general
tariff change was in 1912. Robert j.
Walker, an able financier and economist,
who was Secretary of the Treasury un-
der President Polk, conceived the idea
of reforming the tariff laws upon an
equitable, honest SYSTEM and nowhere
in the history of the world could be
found a better tariff system than that
embodied in the act of 1916. Walkers
six great principles were that no more
money should be collected than was
necessary for the wants of the country
economically administered; thatInO duty
should be imposed on any article above
the lowest rate which would yield the
largest amount of revenues; that below
such, discriminatory might be made,
descending in the scale of duties, or the
article, for imperative reasons, placed
on the free list; that the heaviest duty
should be placed on luxuries; that all
minimum and specific duties should be
abolished and ad ValOrem duties substi-
fraudulent invoices and undervaluatiOn
al d to assess the duty upon the actual
market value; and that the duty should
be so imposed as to operate as equally
as possible over all the Union.
"To explain this last principle by the
| ligh of modern tariff history" said Mr..
Moore, ''it simply means that Mr..
Walker did not recognize plate-glass in
| Indiana, pottery ware in New Jersey,
Louisiana, or steel rails in Pennsylvania.
| Being an old fashioned Democrat, his
aim was equal justice and equal rights to
the whole people; he knew neither friend
| nor section" The Walker tariff sys-
tenn lasted fourteen years, although a
reduction of 10 per cent. in rates was
made in 1857, and articles that had paid
30 per cent. were reduced to "a per cent.
ad valOreIn, and so on throughout the
list, excepting spirits, which were re-
duced to 40 per cent. ad yalOrem from
100 per cent. During the operation of
that tariff the country had prospeTed,
and the foundation for manufacturing
on the largest scale was laid on a solid
basis. The famous Morrill, Tariff bill
was approved March 22d, 1861, and its
object appeared to have been to restore
as nearly as possible not only the rates
of 1912 but also to break down the equit-
able ad valorem system: When the war
began the Morrill, act was speedily aug
mented by rise in rates, and during
the conflict tariff acts fnnumerable
were made, all tending to higher rates,
specific rates and compound rates.
The advocates for revision Of tariff
in the interests of protection argued
that the country could not compete with
the pauper labor of Europe, but the
modern Inventions of labor saving ma
chineEy had neutTalized this great bug
bear, and with their Intelligence, means
and superior machinery Americans
might well laugh at the pauper laborers
of all other countries. The competition
really to be dreaded was from Australia,
where wages, are still higher than in
America. What, after all, did the tariff
TefOrmers demand? The two things in
dispensable to reform were, first, a re-
ductiOn of tariff taxes; second, tariff
simpli6cation. The only plausible ex-
cuse for the present high tariff was that
the expenses of the war had made i'm
peratiVe the imposing of war taxes, but
it was an undue assumption of arbitrary
power for a Government to continue
those taxes after a seventeen years.
peace. Mr.. Moore said in conclusion:
''In revising the present tariffin the di-
rection of simplifieation l must most
emphatically protest against the reten-
tiOn of any compound duties. There is
no excuse for them. ii If it is absolutely
necessary to tax an article 80 or 80 per
cent, let 1t be stated openly and clearly
and not through hidden devices. If
specific duties are really so essential to
uphold the prejudices of ignorance, OF,
perhaps, more strictly speaking, to allay
the fears of importers, let such articles
be taxed in specific form at least upon
the basis Of a three, four or five years
average value in foreign markets. In
my own judgment, the real triumph for
tariff reform is simplification. And this
policy have aimed at more In the tariff
revision / lay before you than extreme
average reductions in duties" Ia o1
The principal changes contained in
the revised scale of tariff duties submit
ted by Mr.. Moore are: On cotton manu-
factures, the alteration of 1856 to %
per cent; wOOllen manufactures, $3.50
per cent. to 45 per cent; silk manufac-
lures, $3.50 per cent. to 45 per cent:
fax manufactures, 25.10 per cent. to 25
per cent, pig iron, 81 to So per ton
steel rails, $28 to $15 per ton; other iron
and steel, 4015 per cent. to 35 per cent.
other metals, except pig and bar lead,
80 per cent. to % per cent; raw sugar,
$500 per cent. to 40 per cent; all sugar
above No. %, 20 per cent. to 30 per cent;
sparkling wines, So to a dozen; cigars
and cigarettes, $3.50 pound and % per
cent. to $3.50; earthen, stone and china
ware, 42.72 per cent. to 80 per cent;
window glass, 10 per cent. to 40 per
H. -1ooo oh0vo "a hvy On 1O0 "a