Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1888-10-04
The PLAIN TRUTH.
The Mills BnI Reduces the Average Rr.'
of DUTY on Dutlable Goods
e3.S9 Fer Cont.

1885 Fer Cont.
Mr.. Mills claims that his tariff bill
which passed the House of Representa-.
tives reduces the average rate oi duty on
dutable goods from A110 per cent in
the fiscal year 1887 TO 42.40 per centi q
reduction as he says, OF 46l per cent.
and this he says is not free trade Ger
taiuly it is not; but does Mr. Mills tell
the whole truthg Emphatcallv he does
not Here are the proofs. We chal-
lenro the successful contradiction by
free traders Of the figures we now pre-.
sent; 9"
Whon Mr. Mills says that his bill re.
duces the average rate OF duty on dutia-
BILE goods only 46l per cent he intends TO
deceive his hearers. The truth Is that
4s6i "a simply the difference between
az 10 per cent, the average rate of duty
collected on all dutiablc goods in 1887.
and 42.49 per cent. which Mr. Mills sayt
is the average rate Of duty in tho dutiai
bic list of his bill. The total revenue
derived from imported dutiahlo goods
in the fiscal year 1887, on which impor-
tatious Mr. Mills bases his calculations.
was S219. 032, d9l II, as Mr., Mills said
hs bill reduces the average rate OF duty
on dutiablo goods only 4.Gl per cent,
tho amount OF duty RENTED by his bill
would be only 80 66i, COS As. however,
the ostcnsihle object Of his bin is to- re-
duce the revenue surplus OF the country,
of what avail would tho reduction of q
sum Of less than $40. 600 600 be when no
claims that the revenue should be re.
duced about $50. 600 000l Ii Mr.. Minis
statement Of the percentage OF reduction
in duties were correct his bill would not
be worthy OF the slightC5t consideration
as a revenue reduction measure
But Mr. Mills has also distinctly stated
that his bill, II passed., would reduce tho
revenue from customs by $50, 50l 030,
basing his calculations on the dutiable,
imports of 1887, namely $500 325, 322
Assuming that this result would follow
the passage OF his bill. then, as our GUS
toms revenue IN 1887 amounted TO S2l2.-
032 ,d2i. IL would be reduced under his
bill to StGi ,4i0, 7S9 This would be a re-
duction of 1886 per cent instead of 46l
per cent.
To please the few who protest against
the protective principle OF our tnriU sys-
tenn, Mr. Mills says that his bill would
reduce oar large surplus revenue from
customs 10y over $50 100000. and to
hoodwinl the great body Of our people
who believe in adequate protection to
home industry. he declares that his bill
would reduce duties on dutiable goods
an average only Of 4.6l per cent.
Mr.. Mills dupllcity may be exposed
in another way He totally suppresses
the fact that. having made large add.
tons by his bin from the present dutia-
bio list to the free list the present dutia-
bic list is affected by the articles made
free Of duty as w2ll as by the articles on
which the duty is simply reduced. Tho
foreign value Of the dutiabIe articles inn
ported in the fiscal year 1887 was $3.50.
1895 1922 and the duty collected was S2l2,-
032 42i making the average nd yalorem
rate ON dutlablp articles lIl0 per cent.
BY reducing the rates Que some Of these
articles and making others wholly free
Of duty, hlr Mills RENTS duties amount.
Ing In th" .-cfcgato as ne states, 10
$50 50i .G35 Hence, the average ratio of
duty on articles which are now dutlable
would be reduced by hts bill from 4Il0
per cent TO 80 81 per cent, which is a
reduction OF nearly onefourlh, or of
nearly "a per cent, az we have already
demonstrated What protection would
this average rate afford to our manufac.
turers and workingmcn against foreign
competition while wages IN nearly all
American industries ARE from 80 10 100
per cent higher than the wages paid in
similar industries abroad and when II Is
well known that about 50 per cent of
the value Of all products is made up of
wages paid TO labori
MIR Mills. in common with many 9th
ers. in his criticism Of our present tariff
suppresscs the fact that. although the
average rate Of duty on duliahle goods
was A. 10 per cent. in the fiscal year
1897. tho average rate OF duty on all the
importatons OF that year, both free and
duliable was only 81 per cent Hc en-
tires ignores the important fact that un-
der the present tariff the people Of this
country now receive absolutely free OF
duty many products Of foreign countries
which DO not compete with our own
producla such as ten and coffee, n Mr..
Mills bin should become law the aver.
age rate OF duty on all Imported goods,
both free and duuable would be reduced
to less than "A per cent on the basis Of
last years imDortatious in making
this reduction. largely by additions to
the FREQ list, the industries Of the coun'
try which require protection would &C.
verely suffer Our present free list, on
tho contrary. BARNS no domestic indus
try. --Builctin 81 The Amerie4a Iron and
lSleci A80ctatiOB
In New York City, while Chairman
Mills was cXclaiming Give us free wool
md our wooden goods shall fll the mar