The morning call., 1893-03-23
NEW TARIFF LAW.
Proposals From the Re-
form Club.
HELPING Mr.. CLEVELAND OUT.
How the New Workers Would Raise
Revenue and at the Same Time
Be Just.
Special to THE MORNING CALL.

NEW YORK, March 22.-The special COM
mittee of the Reform Club of this city has
CON pleted the draft of a bill which, when
perfected, will be urged upon Congress as
a substitute for the present tariff laws and
the fulfiment of the pledges under which
the Democracy obtained control of the
national Government. The general prncl-
pies upon which the proposed tariff is
framed IN the main are as follows: Crude
material in general is made free of duty. In
taxing other articles the general object has
been TO fix such rates as would produce the
largest amount of revenue in a series of
years consistent with large importations,
the purpose of obtaining the largest rcve-
nue.. however, to be limited by the consd-
eration Of the welfare and necessity of the
people al large and especially of the poorer
classes. All the duties are made strictly
ad valOrem, except some of those which are
levied as compensatory for internal revenue
taxes upon similar articles produced at
home
In order to insure the perfect administra-
tiOn Of an ad valOrem tariff 1t is essential
that the rates of duty upon a great mass of
articles should be kept at very moderate
figures, and upon other articles experience
has shown that duties cannot be raised
Gus incentives to fraud. although a few
articles of luxury may be exc epted from the
operations of these general rules All
foreign articles which, If made here, would
be subject to internal revenue taxes must,
of course. be subject to at least an equal
tax.
AS to liquors and tobacco the duties upon
them should be made with view of OBJ
tanning the greatest possible amount ofrev-
enue without any concern as to whether we
give or withhold protection to the domestic
producer. Yielding in part to the popular
opinion that silk is a luxury the club has
placed silk manufactures generally at 20 per
cent Silk yarns, thread and sewing silk
are placed at 20 per cent, aud spun and
thrown silk at Is per cent, leaving raw silk
free.
All forms Of crude metal, not merely in
ores but in pig iron, ingots and bars, with
the exception of iron and steel, are made
free of duty.
The duty upon woolens and worsted
manufactures of every description is placed
at 25 per cent
Leather gloves and all other gloves, ex-
cept silk, are placed at % per cent on the
schedule.
Tin plates should certainly not be taxed
more than % per cent, and perhaps not
more than 10 per cent.
Manufactures of wood in most finished
forms are placed at 20 per cent in the
schedule, as are also all buttons, except
metal or glass.
Most provisions are made free of duty,
but some which partake in mild degree of
the nature Of luXuries are put in the 20 per
cent schedule, while breadstuffs are mostly
u, g., II
duty of Is per cent.
Domestic books could not be admitted
without the consent of the domestic pub
Usher, and foreign books copyrighted here
could not be admitted at all. On the other
hand. so long as paper binding materials
and machinery are taxed it is not Just to
make competing books free. The demand
for revenue may turn the scale, and 10 per
cent would probably be the revenue duty.
II would be extremely desirable to have
no specific free list. but 10 make everything
free which is not made expressly subject to
duty. All articles upon which the revenue
collected is too small TO pay for its collec-
tiOn. and upon which il is not probab ble that
any mere reduction Of rates would produce
a substantial revenue, are placed on the
free list.
The club is satisfied that the proposed
tariff would produce an immediate revenue
OF S120. 100000, if not more If the existing
duty of half cent per pound on refined
sugar should be retained it is suggested that
a specific duty Of seven-sixteenths of a cent
per pound might be imposed on raw sugar,
which would produce an additional revenue
of probably S15CO00OO. besides reducing the
bounty by 81, 100000. To this, however, one
member of the committee is entirely op-
posed aud three express no opinion.
The amount OF revenue which would be
produced by the duty is so large as to make
full discussion of the propriety of the tax
necessary,