St. Paul daily globe., 1893-03-31

the rich; and then. to balance this
monstrous wrong, they added heavy ad
valorem duties. so as to give dishonest
honest rivals which an exclusive al
valorem system could give them.
Then, to rectify the frauds, which
were certain to multiply under such a
tariff, they prescribed schedule OF
0aths or statements so complicated and
inconsistent that it is utterly impossible
for the majority of importers to carry
on business at all without telling lies
with every invoice. Importers are reg
ularly compelled to make positive state
1nents as to matters concerning which
they have not and cannot have any
knowledge, information or belief. Fin
ally, judges are appointed to pass upon
this evidence, who throw it all out OF
/ the window and proceed to decide each
case upon backstairs whisperlngs or
their own infallible consciousness.
Among the devices by which the pres
ent tariff seeks to avoid the gross injus-
tice of specific duties is the increase or
such duties according to the increase of
value in the article taxed. Thus, Ill
many articles of iron and steel, as we'll
as in woods and woolens, the spe-
cific duty rises with the cost OF the
goods. Stockings of cotton, which are
valued at 60 cents dozen, are taxed 81
cents; but, il they are worth 81 cents,
they are taxed Is cents. Those which
are worth 50 are taxed $l.lO;
il worth S205 they are taxed
Sl.57. Similar provisions appear as to
cutlery, steel ingots, bars, ETC.. and
many other articles. The enormous
temptation offered by such laws to un-
LIBERALIZATION is manifest at glance.
By swearing down the price 2 cents
tax of SO cents in one case or AZ cents in
another may be evaded. No purely ad
valorem tariff offers Cne-tenth of the IN
ducement to false invoices which is Of
fered by such laws as these.
Moreover, such regulations put pre-
MUM upon the degradation Of goods on
the border line. BY lowering the quail
ity of pair of stockings from II cents
to 16, they can be honestly sold in our
market at price 5 cents lower. Ac-
cordingly, 1t is notorious that the quail
ity of these articles has been greatly
degraded since the new tariff took effect.
Specific duties on manufactured goods
have a self-acting tendency to increase
the burdens of the people and the
power of extOrtiOn by home manufact-
urers. Manufacturing processes are
continually improving, and the cost OF
production continually grows less. But
the specific duty remains the same.
Thus, when the duty of S29 was imposed
upon steel rails III 1870, it was, and was
intended to be, only the equivalent of
the ad valorem dGty OF 45 per cent ad
valOrem. But the constant improve
ments in manufacturing methods re
duced tine cost in Europe so much that
in less than five years this duty became
a tax Of nearly 100 per cent ad valorem,
and was absolutely prohibitory. The
same thing has happened in equal or
little less degree in hundreds OF other
instances.
Thus duties. which at first were laid
purely for revenue purposes, become
first highly protective and finally pro-
hibitory. They are gradually perverted.
by automatic action, from fulfilling their,
only justitiable purpose, that OF provld-
ing levenue for the public good, into
forced contributions for private profit,
and finally into mere engines OF mo-
nopoly and extortion.
Since, then, specific duties III most
cases are impossible; since they are i'll
all cases unjust, unequal and OppreS-
sive; since they increase the burdens OF
poverty and lessen the burdens OF
wealth: since they offer even greater
temptations to fraud than other duties,
and since they insidiouSly increase the
burdens of taxation and stealthily
diminish the public revenue to increase
the tribute levied by individuals upon
the masses, they should not be tolerated
in any case except one. The one eXcep-
ton is where articles are imported
which, if produced here, would be sub
Ject to specific internal revenue tax.
tinln net of "a
upon the same footing with similar do
mestic articles. Spirits and malt liquors
should therefore pay the internal rev.
enue tax, In addition to such ad Valorem
duty as will produce the most revenue.
This, however, is not real exception
to the rule as to the tariff, because these
articles are governed by the internal
revenue system, concerning which we
have nothing at present to do. Opium
should pay the internal revenue tax,
and nothing else. The internal tax upon
wines and tobacco is so small that it can
easily be allowed for in ad valorem
rates.
An ad valorem tariff is the only one
which is sound in theory; and long
experience has proved that it is. after
all allowance is made for its faults, the
fairest and EOSt honest in practice. 1t
has grave faults, it is true; but those
faults are inherent and unavoidable in
every tariff. All taxes upon merchan-
disc or production, whether domestic or
foreign, are inevitably vicious. unequal,
unjust. and corrupting. Under an ad
valorem tariff some few hundred busi-
ness men suffer Inconvenience and loss.
Under specific tariff the same classes
su fer half as much Inconvenience,
while millions of our people suffer
enormous losses. Bad as smuggling is,
it is far better to endure some snug
Cling by undervaluations than it is to
deprive millions of the comforts, or
even luXuries, of life through the
stealthy and snaky expressions of spe-
cifc duties. Yours very res pectfully,
THOMAS q. SHEAR MAN,
Hon. Grover Cleveland.