St. Paul daily globe., 1894-09-08
wooLENs UNDaR Two ACTS.

Jacob Schoenhof needs no intrOuuc.
ton to students of economic questions
and readers Of the more recent litera-
ture which the discussion and agitation
of the hast ten years has produced. As
consul to Tunstal he supplemented his
long business experience with investi-
cations, and as member of the board
of appraisers of the New York custom
house he speaks with the authority OF
an expert. He is not content with deal
ing with genrralities, but delves pa
tiently among the details of any Ques-
ton. He has been examining the effect
of the former ami the present tariff on
the cost of certain kinds of woolen
goods, and now makes his comparisons.
In the year 1928 he finds there were
imported sS6, 6,99S,0o0 worth Of wooien
manufactures. which paid a duty of
$50. 900. The census returns show
that the domestic prodact in 1SS9-90 was
valued at $500. SIC, 900, making total of
imports and domesticS of S394, ,3l1 200.
To this he adds 80 per cent for all the
charges accruing between the importer
and manufacturer and the consumers,
of the wooiens for that year to S59l, 1885,
900. Taking the imports and domestic
products to be the same, he calculates
the effect on prices of the new act, re-
ducing the value of the domestic goods
prOportiOnately to the reduction OF the
tariff, making it 1892, ,0Oo; and. adding
so per cent as before, he makes the total
cost to consumers s427. .93aa, ,OOO, decrease
in cost Of Sl63. 534, 200.
But he is not content with this gener-
ality, and descends into. particulars and
takes samples Of goods and makes
comparison with them. The article of
woman'S dress goods known as all-wool
challis, imported from France. the net
cost of which to import is % cents a
yard, and the duty on which was more
than 100 per cent. is now taxed less than
half OF that, or so per cent. This tariff,
with the necessary addition of cost,
brought the full price. under the Nc
Kinley tariff, up to 6S cents yard. 1t
will now bp. he says. under like condi-
tiOns, 81 cents. reduction of II cents
yard Oh that one item.
Then, in the matter Of wool CASH
meres, which cost the importers "a
cents a yard, and on which Mr.. Mc-
kinley imposed a duty of 112 per cent,
the present duty is so per cent. making
difference in the cost to consumers of
"a cents yard. Another instance which
he presents is that of the melton goods,
made of wool and cotton in Bedford, OH
which Mr.. Mckinley imposed a tariff of
165 per cent, and which the present law
reduces to 40 per cent. The first cost of
the goods was 23 cents a yard. The
difference in the cost to the consumers
of these goods will be 4615 cents yard.
He then shows a sample of all-wOOl
worsted coating from Germany which
cost at the outset 5315 cents yard.
Mekinleyism imposed duty on it in
the interest of domestic manufacturers
OF 134 per cent, duty which is reduced
under the present act to so per cent,
and which makes saving to the con-
sumner of 701a cents a yard. Another
article Of the same kind of cloth from
Germany, on which the Mckinley duty
was 81 per cent, is reduced in cost to the
consumer by the present tariff S01a
cents yard. An article of heavy
overcCating on which the former act
imposed tariff of 14S per cent is re-
duced TO 40 per cent, and the saving OH
this. effected by the change, is 81. 16
yard. Mr.. Schoenhof thus makes very
different showing from the one made by
some of the advocates of McKinleyism,
who claim that the only reduction made
was in the removal of the tax on the wool
that went into the cloth. and as this
amounted to only few cents yard.
the consumer would not receive the
benefit of it. but it would be appropri-
ated by the manufacturer of the cloth
or of the clothing. AS the new tariff
gets in its work. consumers OF goods
affected by it all over the country will
experience its excellent effect, and gain
thereby an appetite tor greater effects,
which they will proceed to satisfy 10y
maintaining the Democratic policy of
a steady, progressive. continuous re-
duction.
BOOSTING ON 4 MEMORY.