The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1894-03-22

The Republican tariff policy for the LAST
fourteen years has consisted in reducing
duties on food and raw materials, increas-
ing them on manufactures which could b
produced In this country and steadily
adding TO the burden borne by Injuries,
spirits and wine and tobacco.
The excess of revenue over expenditures
and the rapid redemption Of the public
debt In 1850, the first year after the re-
sumption Of specie payment. made 1t
clear that revision Of the tariff Vas IN
svstable. This revision began In 1883 and
WAS thoroughly perfected In 1880.
In 1880 this country was importing
si99, les. sG7 Of food and paying 81. BOX. 55i
In duty on it, This was . duty OF 1919
per cent. on the dutiabls portions. or one
half OF these imports. and q per cent. on
the total food imports. In 1858 food i'm
ports we're $2s9. 277. 229. an increase OF IS
per cent but the duty collected on food
had dropped TO So, s73. $50. On the
dutisble portions, which had fallen to
81, 3se. s62, or one-sixth the whole. the
duty collected was 81 Is, and on oil food
the average duty Was 5 per cent. In other
words. instead OF paying duty on half the
food il imported. the country was paying
q duty on one-sixth, and the average
duty paid on food had fallen from n to
per cent. In no country In the world, not
even England. do imports of food bear 80
light duty A. In this country after the
legislation of the past fourteen years.
Raw materials were coming TO this
country in 1890 to the amount of
$3.50. 055, $40. Over one-third Of these, or
SIS, 075. 26i. paid duty Of so, $50. l23, an
average rate on dutiable articles of 32.7i
per cent and on raw materials Of 12.5
per cent. BY 1898 the imports Of raw
material had risen to $2ls. 3l0,959 or 1914
per cent. but the share paying duty had
fallen 90 81, 0s0, i26, a reduction Of IS per
cent. These dutiabls articles paid $i4.-
ss.03s, or 81. " per cent, and the duty
paid by raw materials a. whole had fall
len from 12.5 per cent to 81 per cent. or
ons-half The Mckinley tariff reduced
| dutiabie imports of raw materials from
$50 900 to $40. 600, 100. and another bill
on the same lines would have added FREQ
raw materials to FREQ food imports.
| On the other hand, partially manufac-
tured articles were nearly ali, or So, 657. III
out Of $73, iss. a63. dutiabie in 1880, and
| thirteen years latter nearly the same pro.
portion. or 81, 1851 out Of $94. 6O4. s56,
were dutiable in 1898. and the rate of duty
had risen from 80 II per cent. TO 40.17 per
cent. on the dutiable articles and on the
category a. whole from Is per cent to 30
still more Imports of $3.50. 0o4. 6i3 in 1880.
OF which 50. .s5s we're free. had ad-
vanced to $i53. sl3. ss5, of which only $751;
Al, ISIS were free. From ~. IS per cent In
1880 the rate had risen to 50 Is in 1898. So
! with Injuries, the rate rose from SO 81 to
| 81 20 and the total amount from SIS. i4i. $40
to sios. 447. si5, while the free portion was
Insignificant
These figures are cited from the official
report of Washington c. Ford by the Phil
dciphia Press with the following comment
Mark. then, what Republican legislation
brought. First, free food. Less duty on
that than in any other country. Second.
raw materials steadily more free. In five
or ten years. at the rate Of progress, they
would have all been free. These imports
increased one-third faster than popuia
| ton, or 1t the rate at 81 per cent, while
/ population grew but - Manufactured and
partially manufactured articles were undei
n steadily heavier rate and grew only two
thirds As fast ~ population. or 10 per cent
Lastly. so rapid was the growth Of pros
perity that the consumption of laurie,
rose .s6.t per cent, or ~ per cent. faste
| ~. Is
increasing tax.
"It is "a policy like this carried on with
these results which congress 10 now over
hrowIng.'