The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-05-22

The House Tariff bill provided that only
one hundred dollars worth Of foreign goods
could be brought into the United States,
free of duty, by any one person. The Finance
Committee of the Senate has struck out
this limit, thereby restoring the old rule,
which, as applied by tho United States
courts, permits a tourist to bring in such
foreign wearing apparel, owned by himself,
appropriate in quantity or price to his
income and habits Of life at home. Directly,
and by good.natured evasions, an immense
amount of wearing apparel Is thus brought
into the country every year and a very con-
siderable revenue is lost by the Govern
ment. Moreover, a very considerable trade
is thereby taken away from American
t%ailors, furnishers, milliners, n so on and
given to foreigners. The Merchant Tailors'
Exchange of this town declares that the
tailoring trade here ais slowly but surely
passing into the hands of the European
t~ailors, and we are powerless, because either
the customs statutes or the Interpretation
of them by the courts allows hundreds Of
thousands of American tourists to purchase
and bring In their clothing from abroad
without paying one cent of duty" The
lio lIAShhhSS HuotSo VIZ
Surveyor of the Port of New York az
saying -four years g that the average
amount of duty paid by more than 100000
returning tourists was 20 cents apiece.
The New York Retail Dry Goods Asso-
citation points out that those milliners,
dressmakers, and tailors who go abroad
every year, bring in "vast amounts Of
goods, which are passed free, as personal
baggage, although such representation is
manifestly false and absurd" 1t also points
out that "the existing law discriminates
in favor of the travelling public as against
the vastly greater number that is COM
PEELED to stay at home, n also in favor Of
the agents of foreign merchants who So
licit riders in this country as against
American merchants" The President Of
the Merchant Tailors' National Exchange
of Chicago thus puts the case for the lords
of the shears and goose:
Enormous increase in imported clothing within
the last few years, consequent on the facilities which
existing tariff laws AFFORD and the almost insane
mania for foreign travel. added to the class iegisla.
ton by which tourists are enabled to bring In free Of
duty almost an unlimited amount OF clothing. works
o rank injustice to those engaged in an industry which
Is computed as being the third in the United States.
Inc present laflH law on clOtnlnB enholes tine English
tailors (mainiy on account OF the great difference in
labor to undersell those in the United States engaged
In the same business. There is no other great indus
try that has suffered as much by reason Of unjust dis.
elimination in tho tariff as that of merchant tailors.'
There seems to be no reason why a trip
abroad should exempt anybody from the
| operation of the tariff laws. The Senate
Finance Committee has dealt hardly with
the ~tailors, the glovesellers, and the rest of
the furnishers. The House provision ought
to be restored. 1t may lie added, for the
consolation of the American tailor, that it
is mainly cheapness which prompts the i'm
portation of the most fearfully cut or uncut
clothes in the world, the product of English
genius. There are still a very few good
English ~tailors, but they are expensive be-
yond the dreams Of avarice and known to
but few Americans. The English tailors
whose constructions are most commonly
brought over here, cut with a scythe and
dom sew at all.