Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-11-09
TIE TARIFF TAKES.

Custom House Freedom in the Spanish.
American RepubIic-The Temper of the
Delegates.
For the benefit of Pittsburg manufac-
turers and shippers, an effort was made yes
terday to obtain from the Spanish-American
delegates some information in regard to the
customs duties levied by their several Gov
ernments on machinery, glassware, agri-
cultural implements and coal. 1t was dis
covered that few of the delegates were pre-
pared to give positive details on these points.
They have stacks of statistics and tariff
tables at their offices in Washington, but
they do not carry the detailed figures in
their minds. A general disposition is mani
Tested by the Spanish-American commits
sioners to the Congress to secure as great a
degree of reciprocity between the nations of
the three Americas, in the way of lowering
or abolishing customs taxes, as can be at
tained without impairlng Government reve-
nues.
Delegate F. C. C. Zegarra, of Peru, said:
Manufactured machinery, agricultural i'm
plements and apparatus used in the arts and
sciences are all admitted free of duty. To
bring them in free is conducive to the de-
velopment of our country. Mining ma
chinery is free. As to locomotives and other
appliances for railroad equipment, such
things are admitted through our custom
houses according to the terms of special con-
tracts between the Government and the con-
tractors who build and equip the various
railroads. As rule in such matters the
Government admits them free, for the pur-
pose of contributing to the fullest develop
ment of our country. I cannot say whether
Al, No,- 7 = Il Il
is a small one. At present we get our coal
from England. We have coal and petro-
leum in Peru, but they have not been de-
veloped. These matters of the tariff are the
things which we will discuss at Washing
ton. l will there, for my country, present
full statistics relating to our tariff and the
products which we have to sell, against
which the tariffs of our other nations
operate. We are ready to cut down tariffs
radically. OF course these things cannot
be done all at once"
GILLIAN TARIFF VERY SMALL.
Judge Jose Alfonso, the veteran delegate
from Chill, said: 1.-The tariff on industrial
machinery is very small. The rates have re-
Gently been very much reduced on all ma
chinery, including mining machinery and
agricultural implements. We have scarcely
any mill machinery In our country. We
nave mucQ raw maIeTla1 IN Cnlll, Dut we
have not yet done much in the way of manu-
featuring. There was formerly small duty
on coal, but 1 think it has recently been
taken off. Our coal comes from Newcastle
on-the-Tyne."
Judge Alfonso was asked: "Have your
people disposition to reduce or remove
your custom duties on our products if our
Government does likewise for your prod
ucts?" To that the Judge replied: 1--WE
have friendly feeling for the United States,
with disposition to let down the tariff bar
riers as much as we,can."
Delegate Horatio Guzman, of Nicaragua, i
said: "An machinery, agricultural imple-
ments, mining apparatus, printing presses,
sewing machines etc., are admitted free into
our country. think there is slight duty
on glassware, but do not recollect what it is.
Coal we scarcely use at all. Wood is the
fuel"
Secretary Ernesto Bosch Attwell, of the
Argentine Republic said that the Custom
Houses of his country levy no tax whatever
on machinery.
The Colombian delegate SeDor Calderon,
departed yesterday afternoon for Washing
ton. Samuel Boyd, of the Panama Star
and Herald, said for that country: "At
Panama there are no Custom Houses and
ali imports are free. In the rest of the re-
public there is a small tariff on machinery.
None of the South American countries are
affected By tariff duties except Argentine, ]