The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1894-05-18

IL ~ klCoS OOlSNsAOA VIA viz
part of the advocates Of a high ia
lIriff to sad valorem" duties. They
prefer Specific" duties. The diff
ference is this:
I An ad valorem duty means tax
upon the actual value Of an importa-
Ition. A specific duty means tax
upon the numbers or weight Of an
imported quantity.
4 II will be seen that the chance for
'Icheating is not nearly so great by
1.-THE former as by the latter method
|of levying tax, because an ad va
loren duty is a certain percentage
'Iupon the invoice, while the specific
duty is percentage upon the num-
Iber Of articles or number Of pounds
composing an importation.
To illustrate this point, Mr.. Van
Iderbilt's wife might import an East
linda shawl worth, let us say 81 600
! we mean no insult to Mrs. Van
Iderbilt, who probably wears shawl
worth ten times that sum. An ad
valorem tax makes her pay the per-
ilcentage, whatever il may be, upon
1.-The value Of the shawl. A specific
tax would only make her pay for
1.-The number of shawls that she want
led or the pounds that it or they
| weighed. A camel's hair shawl
such as this wealthy person would
wear would cost not less than 81 600.
1t would be too cheap at that price
sfor Mrs. Vanderbilt. But this shawl
: would only weigh a few pounds and
at specific rate there would be prac-
tically no tariff upon it because it
would be subject to the percentage
levied upon weights and numbers
instead Of upon values.
The People do not have these
things set before them properly.
The kind Of shawl that laboring
. woman wears is poor excuse for
! iIluxury. 1t costs her a hundred per
cent. taxes-that is, twice as much
e as it is worth. Mrs. Vanderbilts
shawl costs her practically nothing
IN the way OF tax.
What does this mean? There
:. are certain things that cannot be
produced in certain countries. A
camel's hair shawl cannot be made
lin the United States, and therefore
: ! il is an expensive luxury which only
I'sla very few rich people can buy.
: For that reason it ought TO be taxed
lat high rate il we are to have . Ia
!. riff at all, because under our cOnsti-
tuition there is no power anywhere
!. TO levy tax except for revenue.
> But the actual tax upon camel hair
: shawls is only Is per cent, and
'slthere are SO few Mrs. vanderbilts in
! the country we do not get much
!, revenue from camel's hair shawls.
u In the factories of France, Eng
land, Belgium and Germany cheap
shawls are made which have q sort
- OF resemblance to camel's hair
: shawls. They are used by people
! of moderate fortunes, while still
!. cheaper grades in great numbers are
, bought by laboring people. Upon
! an ad valorem duty the price OF
! these articles to consumers would be
: their actual value with the duty and
;, the legitimate profit Of the importer
added, and the invoice accompany
! ing the importation would show
q what the value was.
But a specific tax is different.
! The value Of the importation given
, i'm the invoice is not considered,
: but the number Of the articles
! in units or pounds forms the
basis Of the duty. Thus Mrs.
vanderbilt's camel's hair shawl
A. would be counted as a unit and
9, taxed by the pound scale, which
e. would make the tariff upon it moi
y much more than the postage would
le he from the same country. But
= the shawl which a traders wife or q
W laborer's wife wears would be taxed
an by the bulk Of the importation oi
3, which it was a part either in pound:
n. or units, and thus the price would
er be progressive according to the ex
u tent Of the importation. The ob
ne iect Of such tax is to prohibit i'm
a, portations altogether, because these
ms classes Of shawls are manufactured
here and the owners Of the concerns
in which produce them want monop
a oily Of the home market.
Id- The difference between q SPECIFIC
he and an ad valorem tax is this:
ng A specific tax means the building
we up Of home monopolies by levyinl
m tribute on The People.
lar An ad valorem tax means no IN
ng reference with the right OF In
5" People to buy what they wan
ate where they can buy at the cheapes
Is prices.-Evansville Courier.