The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-04-27
THE TARIFF AND THE REVENUE.

/
| The government surrendered s54 0oo, 900
| of revenue from sugar by the Mckinley
revenue act, but the internal revenue re-
| ceipts in the past nine months were s1i3,-
9ei, 900 against 800, go. 900 in the month.
of 1ss9-90 and 500, "a 90 in 1850 and 800
CO.. coo in 1888. The increase in inter
nal revenue receipts in four years has,
therefore, made up nearly half of what has
been surrendered on sugar. The customs
revenue for the nine months Just over has
has been si36, 3f2, 900. In the two previous
years the customs receipts outside the re-
turn from sugar averaged sl3l, 900, 600. In
short, where the act Of 1883 returned on
the average, outside of sugar, 1872 900 go
in nine months, the act of 1890 mckinley
billy returns s13s. oo0,00
The aggregate revenue from all sources
for the first three-quarters Of the fiscal
year which has just closed was s26s, 14o. 537
This is 81. 10000 less than for the same
nine months Of the fiscal year of I39O-91,
in which the Mckinley act went into
effect, the new law going into operation
October /, 1880, and the sugar clauses the
following March.
The revenue in the nine months from
July l, 1890, TO April 1, 1891, was heavily
swollen by importations to evade the
higher duties of the new law, but if we
compare the revenue under the Mckinley
act with the first three-quarters Of the
fiscal year 1Ss9-9O, In which the tariff of
1879 ~as uorks n o. r,nHsr no--n al 49, a;t;o.
we find that in the nine months ending
April l, 1890, the total revenue was $685.
2S3, 107, or s27, 092 $40 more than in the
nine months just closed. This points to a
reduction of revenue of about $50, Ooo, 600
for the year. II We 60 back still further,
the revenue in the firss nine months of the
fiscal year 1883 will be found to be
s2S6, pa. 900, and for the first three-quarters
OF the previous fiscal year $3.50, 235 600.
These figures are from $1,000, 900 to SIS
10000 greater than the revenue Under
the Mckinley tariff for the nine months
just over.
These figures show that the revenue
under the Mckinley act has been for nine
months only S2O, 000, 0C0 less than the av-
erage revenue under the act of 1888 for the
first nine months of the last three years
in which imports and customs duties were
unaffected by the perturbation due to the
approach of new tariff. At the utmost.
therefore. the reduction OF revenue due to
the Mckinley revenue act passed by the
last congress will not be over $36, OOO, 900,
as compared with the largest normal re-
turn under ordinary conditions from the
act of 1888, and it will not be over ST.
0Dc,00o less than the average receipts in
the last three years in which that act was
under normal operation.
As imports have increased the McKin-
ley tariff, while it collected the same
amount of duties as the old law, has COL
iected it under lower rates. In the first
eight months of the current fiscal year, I'M
der the Mckinley tariff, sll9, sO7, 900 of Gus
toms revenue was collected on s2i6, 900, 900
worth of dutiable imports, an average rate
of 43 per cent, while the rate under the
old law was from 40 to 45.
For these interesting, important and
significant figures concerning the practical
working Of the Mckinley tariff. we are in
debted to the Philadelphia Press, which
sums up the situation and forecasts the
future AS follows:
II imports continue to increase and internal
and revenue receipts 10 rise, the aggregate reve-
nne OF the government in two or three years
| VIII be as large, with sugar free. as they were
under the act OF 1853 with sugar paving rate of
g. per cent, which added appreciably to the
| cost OF living In every family in the country
! Prices are ~ the same time no higher on duti-
able articles thsn before, except in the case of
| tin plate, and In many eases they are lower.
better practical proof Of the wisdom OF the
Mckinley revenue act could not be offered 1t
made sugar free II has not increased the prices
| OF manufactured articles, save noted. and in
the case Of tin plate the advance s far less than
| the duty imposed. II reduced internal revenue
tmposis, yet has increased the returns from this
source In four years from its pAsssgs, while
sugar will be free, the aggregate receipts will be
a. large as under the Old law with sugar taxed