The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1893-03-24
MADISON SOUTH DAKOTA FRIDAY. MARCH "a 1898
A TARIFF IDEA.
The New York Reform Club oatIines
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The New York Reform Club Outlines
Bill.
NEW YoRK. March ga special
committee OF the Reform club Of this
city have completed q draft OF bill
which, when completed. viii be urged
upon congress as substitute for pres
ent tariff laws and in fulfillnent of the
pledges under which the Democracy
obtained control OF thenational govern
ment. The general principles upon
which the proposed tariff bill is formed
Is in the main as follows:
Crude Material Free.
Crude material In general is made
free of duty. In taxing other articles
the general object has been to fix such
rates az would produce the largest
amount OF revenue in series of years
consistent with large ilnportationa. The
purpose of obtaining the largest rev.
enue. however, is limited by consider
alton of the welfare and necessity of the
people atlarge, and despecially the poorer
classes All duties are made strictly
ad valorem, except some of those which
are levied as compensatory for the in
ternal revenue taxed upon similar arti-.
cles produced at home. In order to
assure the present administration Of an
ad valorem tariff, it is essential that the
rates of dnty upon the great mass OF
articles should be kept
At Very Moderate Figures.
Upon other articles experience shows
that duties cannot be raised above 25
per cent without offering dangerous in
centives to fraud. Al few articles of
luxury may be excepted from the oper-
ations of these general rules. All for
eign articles which, If made here, would
be subject TO internal revenue taxes
must, of course. be subjected to an
equal tax. As to liquors and tobacco,
the duties upon them should be made
with view Of obtaining the greatest
possible amount of revenue without any.
concern as to whether we give or with
hold protection to domestic producers.
Yielding in part to the popular opinion
of silk luxury, we place silk manufac-
lures generally ut 20 per cent Silk
yarns, thread and sewing silk were
placed at 90 per cent, aud spun and
thrown silk at 10 per cent, leaving raw
silk free. All forms of crude metal. not
merely in ores, but in pigs, ingots
and bars, with the exception of iron and
steel, are made free of duty.
The Duty Upon Woolens
and worstel manufactures of every
description is placed Mt 25 per CEN.
schedule. Tin plates should certainly
-nnta ahsAAxeds ssnere than 90 per cent ana
perhaps not more than 10 per cent.
Manufactures of wood in most finished
forms are placed in the 20 per cent
schedule, as are also buttons. except
metal or glass. Most provisions are
made free of duty, but some which par
take in mild degree of the nature of
luxuries are put in the 90 per cent
schedule, while potatoes are left sub
ject to duty of 10 per cent. Domestic
books could not be admitted without
the consent of the domestic publisher;
and foreign books, copyrighted here,
could not be admitted at all. On the
other hand, 90 long as paper binding
machinery Is taxed, it is not just to
make competing books free. The de-
mand for revenue may turn the scale,
and 10 per cent probably would be the
revenue duty. 1t would be exceedingly
desirable to have no specific free list,
but
Make Everything Free
which is not made expressly subject
duty. All articles upon which the rev.
enue collected is too osmall to pay for coll
lection, and upon which it is not prob
able any mere reduction of rates would
produce the substantial revenue are
placed on the free list. The committee
was satisfied that the proposed tariff
| would produce an immediate revenue Of
| e120. .000, 600 if not more. IL the existing
duty Of oue-half cent pound on refined
sugar should BE- retained, it ID sug-
| gested that q specific dnty of seven-six-
teenths cents per pound might b i'm
| posed on raw sugzr, which would pro-
sduce an additional Feyenue, probably
t15, ,00O, 900, besides reducing the bounty
/ by u, ,O00, ,O00. To this, however, one of
us II entirely opposed ana TIRES express
| no opinion The amount of revenue
which would be produced By the duty il
70 large a. to make . full discussion of
the prOpriety of tax necessary.
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