Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1890-10-03
CURRENT AFFAIRS.
TIfE TARIFF BILL.
Its RinnI Pns-nge---somc of It's Pea

Its RinnI Pnssnge---somc of It's Pea
lures,
The tariff bill, as it came from the con
ference committee. passed the House on
Saturday, ljl to 49, Coleman Of Louisiana
and Kelly Of Kansas were the only Repub
licuns who voted against the conference
report. Congressman Dingley Of Maine
made a masterly presentation Of the case
to the House. He demonstrated that the
Mckinley bill added nearly S61 900. 600 i'm
ports to the free.list, making 80 per cent.
Of our imports free Of duty, reduces the
revenues between 40 and 60 millions, and
reduces the duties ON all imports to an av
erage Of % per ceut al valorem.
Some Of the more important features Of
the bill are thus summarized: 1t goes into
effect October 9, and all goods that arrive
in port on that day will pay the new rate
of duty. Goods in bond October / can re
main in bond till February /.
January t. 1891, the tax on tobacco is
reduced from eight cents, the present tax,
to six cents per pound. On and after May
/, 1891 all taxes on dealers aud peddlers
and manufacturers of tobacco. re abolished.
Growers Of tobacco may sell to whomsoever
they please The Aldrich reciprocity
amendment for trade with South Amer
lean countries is agreed to.
According to the sugar schedule sugar
polurizing up to % degrees, produced in
this country from sorghum, heets, cane or
maple is paid bounty Of two cents a
pound; but sugar polarizing less than 30
and more than 80 is paid cents per
pound, beginning next July 1t is esti-
mated that as much time a. that will be
necessary to put in order the machinery by
which the bounty is to be obtained This
excludes the crop Of the present year from
the bounty, and also the maple sugar crop
Of next spring. The new duties ON i'm
ported sugar 20 into effect April l. With
out having been Intentionally drawn this
way, and against the protest Of Gen
| Grout and the other Vermont members,
the new bill discrimnates against maple
sugar by not including next years crop in
the bounty list The effect Of the high test
standard established will be 10 exclude
large amount Of maple sugar, as most of it
Is not of sufficient saccharine quality to
test 30 degrees polariscope. Another oh
lection raised by the maple sugar men is to
the provision which increases the quantity
which farmer must produce in order to
| be entitled 10 any bounty ON maple sugar.
| The House fixed the rate at 2jO pounds
| product per annum, but the conference re
port has increased this 10 500 pounds. Mr.
Grout thinks this will reduce the number
| Of farmers who will he entitled to the bene-
fit of the bounty by nearly one half, but at
the snme time the effect will be to largely
increase both the amount produced and the
quality by stimulating small growers to
increase their annual product to at least
800 pounds that will stand high test.
The agricultural schedule is not materi-
ally changed from the House bill Hay is
left at s. a ton, eggs at , cents dozen,
ilaxseed at % cents bushel, barley at 30
cents. The contest over binding Irvine be
tween the western farmers and the eastern
manufacturers resulted in compromise.
making the duty 10 Of cent a pound.
The outcome Of the long discussion over
tin plates is that they are made dutiable at
; 40 cents a pound after July /, 1891,
and there is a duty put on tin after Jan /
1888, Of four cents a pound to continue for
two years If at the end of that time
there has not been produced in this coun
try in any one year more than 5000 tons OF
pig tin, then tin ore Is to 90 back to the
free list. That is to say. pig tin must he
come Il factor in American mining indus
tries before the first Of January, 1898, oi
retire from competition.
The wool schedule puts duty Of II cent.
on clothing wool which is an increase OF
one cent over the existing duty, Comhnl
woods are also increased one cent 10 /,
cents Carpet woods valued at l3 cents, OIL
less, are to he dutiabe at - per cent ad
valorem over that amount 20 per cent az
valorem. Russian camel's hair is classeC
among carpet woods Other camel's an,
goats hair pay duty of - cents pound
Noils shoddy, top waste aud materials o
that character pay 30 ceuts and woolel
rags 10 cents pound.
1t is estimated that the total reduction il
revenue accomplished by the bill vii
amount to 500, OOO, 600 year.