Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1885-07-30

ton. For the lower class, carpet wool,
the duty Is two and half cents per
pound IL not valued at more than
twelve cents per pound, or five cents II
valued over twelve cents at the last
port of expectation.
Prior tothe tari fl act Of March 3, 1888,
the duty on this last class was three
cents per pound If valued under twelve
cents per pound or six cents IL valued
over twelve cents.
THE FARMERS HOODWINKED.
The wool tariff was made by the re-
publicans in Congress, ostensibly for
the "protection" of the wool farmers of
the United States and particularly of
Ohio; and the very high duties on the
higher classes, combing and clothing
woods, was a particular concession to
the Ohio wool men, who raise those
kinds of wool, largely of merino blood,
and who demanded high duties for
their "protectiOn."
A high duty on a foreign product, If
it is faithfully collected, may enable
the home producer to get larger price
for his product than he would get with
lower duty; but if the high duty is
secretly evaded in that case i ia obv-
ious only that the home producer
fails to get this effect; but If he has
based his business operations on the
high duty he may come to very serious
loss without being able to guess the
reason why.
There is on the files of the Treasury
Department great mass of evidence
proving eonclusively that the duties
laid dy Congress on all classes of wool
have been systematically and on a
great scale evaded by differentiation
and by misrepresentation or falsifica-
ton of the invoices. But this is not all.
This evidence shows that these evasions
of the revenue, so injurious to the wool
| farmers of this country and to the
greater number of the wool manu-
facturers, who were led to conduct
their business on the basis of a high
tariff, have been known, through con-
sular and other reports, to the republi-
can officers for several years. So far
from being remedied, the wrong to
the revenue and to the honest manu-
facturers and wool farmers has been
allowed to go on under Republican
Treasury management not only un-
CHeCheu, Dut, WItllli tWO years, even
assisted by Treasury constructions"
and decisions.
CONVENIENT AVERAGES.
Among the woods classed as carpet
woods is that from the blackfaced sheep
of Scotland, known as Highland, white
or laid. A considerable part of the wool
is adapted to higher uses for carpets, and
this part comes into competition with
the home grown woods of this country.
The tariff, being enacted to Protect"
American growers, took notice of the
fact by laying duty fisk cents per
pound on the higher quality of this
wool costing twelve cents or over per
pound at the last place of expectation,
while only three cents per pound was
laid upon the lower quality valued at
less than twelve cents per pound.
AS early as January, 1882, the Treasu-
agents and consuls that Scotch High,
land wool was being shipped to the
United States, undervalued so as to
come in under the low duty of three
cents, rather than the high duty of six
cents. These reports continued to come
at frequent intervals, with detailed and
abundant proof of the undervaluation of
large quantities of wool and the devices
used to secure this end, which were
various and ingenious. For instance,
it was shown that the low and the
higher qualities were mixed in the same
invoices. By this device the average of
an invoice was brought under the low
duty scale; but the revenue was
wronged; because of the two quantities
had come in separately part would
have had to pay the high duty, as the
law clearly intended, and as American
wool producers, who had demanded
this law, expected.
CASE IN POINT.
AS an example, an invoice would be
Highland; the former worth in the for
eign market thirteen cents per pound
and dutiable at six cents, the latter
worth eight cents and dutiable at three.
In order to bring all this under the low
duty of three cents the white Highland
was invorced at shade under twelve
cents, while the Highland was invoiced
higher than cost, at ten cents, but still,
it will be seen, at low duty rate.
By this divice the total of the invoice
was correct and could be sworn to, but
the whole invoice came in under low
duty and the government lost large
amounts of revenue. In only one case
of which the Treasury and the customs
officers had full notice in advance, as
they had ofmany others, the loss to the
revenue was over $4,000.
Again, one-half of a shipment all of
the higher quality would be uuder-
valued in the invoice to bring it to low
duty; the other half would be over
valued in the same proportion. Thus
again the footings would announce
correct total value, but one-half of the
shipment would come in, by careless
ness or collusion of the customs officers,
at low duty, thus defrauding the reve-
nue. and the injuring the American
wool grower, who thought himself
protected" by the law which had been
ostentatiously passed by his Republican
friends, but was secretly violated by the
Republican treasury and customs off.
GERS.
UNJUST COMPETITION.
Again, the men engaged in these
frauds on the revenue and on the farm
ers and honest manufacturers would
undervalue a shipment of high quality
wool on a q fo hriuu ~ ,IpIar ~ "a lNx,, 4