Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-03-23
THE REFORM CLUB BILL,


Tariff Reduction a Proposed by Ellery An
dersOn and Associates.
A special committee of the Reform Club Of
New York. consisting Of E. Elery Anderson,
Charles s. Fairchild, Thomas G. Sherman
David A. Wells, John Dewitt Warner and
Everett P. Wheeler, has completed draft OF a
bill, as already announced in The STAR, which,
when perfected. will be urged upon Congress
as a substitute for the present tariff laws and .
fulfllment of the pledges under which the
democracy has obtained control Of the national
government. The bill will be presented to
Secretary Carlisle for his assistance in formu-
latIng the administration scheme for reforming
the tariff.
THE PLAN OF THE BILL.
The general principles upon which the pro-
posed tariff has been framed are in the main.
as follows: ''Crude material to be used in the
process of manufacture are. in general, made
free of duty. In taxing other articles the gen.
eral object has been to fix such rates as would
produce the largest amount Of re venue in a
series Of years consistent with the large impor-
tations. The purpose of obtaining the largest
revenue has. however, been limited by consid-
GRAFTON OF the welfare and necessities of the
people at large, and especially the poorer
classes.
1.-The purpose of obtaining revenue for the
government having been made in good faith,
the sole reason for levying any of these duties,
it has rot been thought necessary and hardly
proper to reduce rates merely for the purpose
Of avoiding some incidental protection to do
nestle producers. All duties have been made
strictly ad valorem except some of those which
have been levied as compensatory for internal
revenue taxes upon similar articles produced at
home.
UNDER AN AID vALoREM TARIFF.
''In order to secure the honest administration
of an ad valorem tariff 1t is essential that the
rates of duty upon the great mass of articles
should be kept at very moderate figures. Upon
articles of immense value and small bulk is 1t abb
solutely necessary to impose very low duties,
because otherwise they will be struggled by
wholesale and no revenue will be obtained.
Upon other articles experience has shown that
duties cannot be raised above 25 per cent with
out offering dangerous incentives to fraud,
while IL they are kept at or below that rate the
inducements to fraud are not often sufficient to
compensate for the risk of punishment. A few ar
ticles OF luxury may be excepted from the
operation of these general rules, in difference
to q widespread prejudice that point al
of % per cent IS not as much as can wisely
be levied upon anything whatever.
"All foreign articles which il made here
would be subject to internal taxes must, of
course, be subject to at least an equal tax.
SOME OF THE LUxURIEs.
''Silk is classed as luxury. but silk ribbons
are practically q necessity of life to the vast
majority Of women. Marble may be considered
luxury, and, therefore, we put higher duty
upon that than upon ordinary stone. As to
liquors and tobacco the duties upon them
should be with view of obtaining the greatest
possible amount of revenue without any con-
Germ in SO doing as to whether we give or with
hold protection to the domestic producers.
yielding in part to the popular opinion that
silk is a luxury We have placed silk manufac-
lures generally in schedule d at 20 per cent,
instead of with cottons and woolens. Silk
yarns, silk thread and sewing silk, which are
now charged 80 per cent, are placed in schedule
+ at 20 per cent and spun and thrown silk at Is
per cent, leaving raw silk, of course, free.
SWEEPING SCHEDULE.
1.-THE Is per cent schedule is the most i'm
portant of any and is purposely the most sweep
ing. Long experience has shown that this rate
of duty upon the whole is the most productive
Of revenue. All forms Of crude metal not
merely in Ores but In pigs, ingots and bars. with
the exception OF iron and steel, have been made
free Of duty.
The duty upon woolens and worsted manu-
features of every description is placed at 25 per
cent. Leather gloves and all other gloves, ex-
cept Of silk. are placed in the rs per cent
schedule. Gloves are not q luxury; they are q
necessity.
'Tin plates should certainly not be taxed
more than 20 per cent. and, perhaps, not more
than Is per cent. Manufactures of wood in
the most finished forms are placed in the 20 per
cent schedule, as also buttons. except of metal
or glass; Most provisions are made free Of duty,
but some, which partake in a mild degree Of
the nature OF l1xuries, are put in the 20 per
cent schedule, while breadstuffs are mostly made
free. Potatoes are left subject to duty of 10
per cent
ut would be exceedingly desirable to have no
specific free list. but make everything free
which Is not made expressly subject to duty.
AL articles upon which the revenue collected is
too small to pay for a collection, and upon
which 1t Is not probable that any mere reduc-
ton Of rates would produce substantial revenue,
have been placed on the free list.
I'VE are satisfied that the proposed tariff
would produce an immediate revenue of $780,
10000, If not more. II the existing duty Of
half a cent pound on refined sugar should be
retained, it is suggested by two of our number
that a specific duty Of 7-16 cent per pound
might be imposed upon raw sugar, which would
produce an additional revenue Of proba bly,
els, 0Oo. 900: besides reducing the bounty by
$40, co. Co.,"