The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1892-10-21
THE TARIFF ON GOAT HAIR
A Trotectionisf Paper Exposes the inJus
tIce aud Absurdity "f H.

a Irotectionisf PAPER EXPOSES tue AnJ"s-
tice aud Absurdity "f IT,
Judge Gray, Of the United States su.
preme court. has just sustained the
action Of Collector Beard. of Boston, in
classifying common goat hair with
second class wool and making IT duti-
able therefore at II cents per pound
In commenting on this decision the
American Wool and Cotton reporter
edited by a moderate protectionisp
SAYS in its issue Of September %:
'.Of course the court did not consider
whether this duty of 500 tn 500 per cent
upon the paupcr goat hair Of Bombay
or Russia is absurd or the reverse. The
court simply decided that under the
phraseology Of the Mckinley bill, all
goat hair comes within the provisions
of class > OF the WOO. schedule and Is
therefore dutiablc at IL cents per pound.
Under the tariff law which was in
force previous to the passage Of the Me-
Kinlcy act, this goat hair was free OF
duty.
las the law now reads. the hair 81 a
primitive Russian or Bombay goat,
worth cents per pound. is dutiable NJ
II cents per pound. while the wool of .
primitive sheep At - pr cent al VA
loren might get in at cents per pounc
or less
1.-THE supreme cour. has decided upon
the sxact reading OF the law. and IL ha
reached decision that must tie con
cetlei as correct by every person wh'
, interprets the Law as it stands. and no
t.a
, economical standpoint
9 ..The fact that the Law imposes
! duty OF IL cents per pound upon al
I article. the commercial value of whicl
, Is from , TO 3 cents per pound an
!, which has heretofore come in free Q
!, duty. has no bearing npon the question
! The Mckinley schedule is replete Wit
these Inconsistencies. end a close stud
= of the measure and the methods en-
: ployed in constructing it will sho'
/ that these seeming absurdities Al
!. ridiculous features did not get in ,
!, chance. but were Gle verify deviss
}. schemes Of men who knew what the
!, wanted, and were not scrupulors
]. reaching for it And it is this featn
:, Of the Mckinley bill that has ca
= odium upon it. and has cost the repu
y lican party a large number Of voters
!. 1T seems absurd to talk about II cen
= per pound duty on common goat hal
4. and yet this is the law and there IS !
r escape from it.
> 1.-The Ohio wool growers have gain
- their point. but we fail to sec where
i, can benefit them in the slightest 1t
10 hardly probable that they contempla
- establishing q common goat industr
= nor is it at all probable that the excl
"A sion OF foreign goat hair will apprcci
N bly, increase the demand for wool. c.
=. tainly not domestic wool II is a har
:, ship which falls heavily upon carp
" manufacturers and also upon consu'
~ crs % low grade carpetinys, and IS
T. no materia. beaesit TO any ono. a du
\. of IL cents per pound on goat hair
~ nonscnsical; it means absolute proAil
Ia ton. and that Is what the trainers
~ that portion Of the tariff aimed.
~ II is not surprising that. underssar
- ing rs ii DOES how the wool scheds
~ was concoc.cI. the American Wool a
~ Cotton Reporter. protectionist thou
/, il Is. has come out in favor Of free w
i. and dares 20 say that the Mckinley
q. is not perfect.