The San Francisco call., 1897-03-23

manufacturers and administrators OF the law
schedule and some embroideries have for the
first time been given exclusively specific rates,
a desderatum which was earnestly recon.
mended by both Secretaries Manning ana
Fairchild several years ago.
| In many cases where exclusively ad vaIorem
duties are Impracticable, because OF the varied
| character of goods, compound duties have
| been devised which SO minimize the ad val
| orem feature as to take away large part OF
| the inducement to undervalue. While 1t is dlf-
ficult TO compare the Rates of tariff almost ell
| trely ad vaIorem with bill whose rates are
! so largely specific the pending measure. yet
| the fact that very few duties in this bill are
! higher than those of the act of 1880 ana
! nearly all outside of the few schedules re-
| ferred to are lower and that two important
| schedules are for the most part the same as the
duties of the present law, clearly show that
! the actual average rates of the proposed Dill
are lower than those OF the tariff OF 1893 and
some higher than of the present tariH-noi-
withstanding the average percentum al val
| orem duty under the pending bill on the
| present reduced prices, will appear to be
higher than the present law sDd little
! higher than that OF the act OF $50.
Per centum averages are always misleading
| when estimated on a changed basis. Thus
duty of SO per cent imposed upon an imported
| article valued at 90 cents abroad and 80 cents
! here, making 80 cents difference of cost of
! production, becomes a duty of go per cent
| when the foreign and domestic cost are each
reduced 10 cents, but the duty is still 80
! cents.
Again, different specific or compound duties
| imposed by lines OF value always give rich
| opportunity for juggling with the percent
| ages For example, If q duty of rs cents is iih-
posed on article valued between 81 and
| So rs on the same kind of article valued
| above 81, and so on for higher lines, then the
unsound critic, shutting his eyes to the tact
that the importer will adapt his goods SO as to
fall slightly below the lines erected. proceeds
TO declare that duty of over 40 cents has
! been placed on article valued at 81 %,
when as q matter of fact goods anywhere near
81 in value Will come in under that price, and
the rs cents duty will be those valued at
50; so that in point of fact the actual duty Is
less than 40 per cent.
1t is because OF these facts that it has been
found difficult to so compare rates under two
tariffs OF so different character by equivalent
ad valorems SO as 10 make the comparison sat-
iSfactory.
The average ad valorem of dutiabie sched-
ules under the act OF 1890, on the basis of i'm
ports of 1898 was 4915 pee cent, and with the
lower price of 1896 1t would nave been at least
So per cent But this was with sugRr on the
free list and liquors per cent less than in the
proposed bill. II sugar aud liquors had borne
the same duties under the act OF 1890 and
prices had been as low in 1893 as in 1896, the
average duty would have exceeded 6O per cent
under the act of 1894. The average duty in
| 1896 was 40 per cent, but this was with sugar
al only 40 per cent, and tobacco, liquors, laces
and 81 ks considerably less than either in the
act OF $50 or the proposed bill
Unouestionsbly the average duty under the
act OF 1894, if sugar, tobacco, liquors silks
and iaces had borne the same duty as In the
per cent. The average duty under the pro-
posed law, 18th the high duties on sugars and
luxuries, is estimated by the experts al 90 per
cent.
The report of the Committee on Ways aud
Means has set forth the fact that the pending
bill has not only restored the provisions OF the
tariff of 1890 as TO reciprocity, under which
our trade was so successfully enlarged, but
has extended that policy.
The inquiry naturally arises as 10 what will
be the robable annual revenue derived from
fba "a N 81
become law. The only solid basis from which
we can draw differences is that supplied by
the estimate OF Mr.. Evans, the statistician, who
has made the comparative statement that, on
the basis of the importations OF the fiscal
year 1896 the pending bill enacted into law
would yield an increase OF revenue OF about
Sl13, ,000, 900, the details OF which given in
the report of the Committee of Ways aud
Means The committee estimates, after max
ing liberal reductions, that for the first year,
in case the bill should become a law by May l,
the additional revenue wound reach s75, ,OOO,-
600, and that for every week thereafter, in
case its passage should be deferred, there
would have to be deduction of from one to
two million dollars for wool, sugar and other
articles on speculation 70 avoid the increased
duties. For the second year 1t is believed the
proposed bill would yield 500, 900, 600 of in
creased revenue.
1t must be obvious from any point of view
that prompt action Dy the two houses of Con-
gress is Indispensable TO secure the revenue
which the pending Dill Is intended 10 yield.
| The eXigency is an unusual one. The people,
without regard to party affiliations, are asking
| for action. Business awaits our final decisi on.
| With this great question OF adequate revenue
! to carry on the Government settled favorably
| by suctSR adjustment of duties as will restore
our people what has been surrendered TO
| others during the past four years, with re-
stored confidence in the future, there is every
reason to believe that gradually and surely
there will come back 10 US the great prosperity
which we enjoyed in the decade prior TO 1893,
and which the greatest OF living English stati-
sticians so strikingly eulogized when he said,
in 1892, tnat ut would be impossible to fnd
in history any parallel to the progress OF the
United States in the (then) las ten years"
Some applause came from the Repu bill
can size when DingIey declared that in
the second year OF The operation of the
| proposed law the revenue of the Govern
ment would be increased by at least $780,
! OO0, 900; the Government would be put on
its feet again and the Understanding
debt would be reduced. Its effect for the
| first year would depend largely upon
whether it became law by the 1st of May
next.
| In conclusion he quoted from an Eng
| lish authority 10 the effect that no coun-
| try on the face of the earth had ever wit
messed such UNPARALLELED prosperity as
| the United States in the ten years preced-
| ing 1892 With this quotation he took his
seat amid demonstrations of applause.
| Wheeler (D.) of Alabama, member of
| the Committee on Ways and Means, was
| the first 10 oppose the bill.
! Hopkins (R. of Illinois, also a member
| of the Committee on Ways and Means,
followed Wheeler. The Republican party,
| he SAID, was again in power, and had been
| com missioned TO enact legislation that
| would give confidence to capital restore
| prosperity to industries and to agricul-
! ture and give employment to labor. The
bill now before the House is in accordance
with the aim ost universal demand Of the
| people for tariff legislation. 1t was framed
| on principles that were purely Republican
| in character and were designed to meet
the wants Gt The Government as we'll as
those of the people. He had supposed
| until he had heard the speech of the gen.
tleman from Alabama (Wheeier) that no
| American believed in free trade. He had
thought that even Democrats would ac-
| knowledge the utter failure of the Wilson
bill, and would recognize the importance
ami necessity of the proposed legislation.
But the argument of the gentleman from
| Alabama only illustrated the truth OF the
saying that the genuine Bourbon Demo-
crat rarely forgot any of the errors he had
learned, or learned anything new. IAp-
| plause and laughter
A reference to the increase of American
territory encouraged Wheeler to come
over to Hor.kins' vicinity and ask him to
which politacai party shat increase was
due. The question was countered by
Hopkins, who told Wheeler that the
Democratic party had done all that it
could to take eleven States ont of the
Union. Applause from the Repu blican
side proved now the reply was approved
in that quarter, and Wheeler went back
to his seat without another word.
Mcguire CD of California asked Mr..
Hopkins how it was that the Republican