Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1899-09-01
The Dingley Law in Practice.
It Has Amply FULFILLED the Promise
and the Expectation OF It's FrRmers.
From the Boston Journal

IL mas Amply fnlnlleu the Promise
and the Expectation OF It's Framers.
From the Boston Journal
Whether you measure II on revenue or
on protective basis, the Dingley tariff is
proving a splendid economic success. Since
March the customs receipts under 1t have
aggregated $1O3, 100000, an average of
100000 a day instead Of the 100000
that was anticipated. The German Will
son tariff in the same period produced
$75, ,000, 900, or one-fourth less than the
legislation which bears the name of the
great economist of Maine.
So, too, on the protective side the Ding
ley law is abundantly vindicating every
prediction of its lamented author. 1t has
sharply reduced the imports of foreign
manufactured goods which compete with
the products of American industry. Our
purchases of foreign woolens, for exam
Pile, which were $40, 1852, 992 in value in
the last year of German Wisconsin fell in
the last fiscal year to $13, ,S31, ,967. Manu-
features of flores have fallen from $32,-
$40 S67 to S25, 1872, 495; manufactures of
wood, from $12, $40 to $14, 499, ,4S7;
manufactures of iron and steel, from S16,-
004, 557 to $12, 2,09S, ,239; manufactures of
leather, from S13, ,2S3, ISL TO S11, 1861 /;
manufactures of tinplate, from 230,073,-
GS3 pounds to S10S, 4S4, $50 pounds.
These are exactly the resu' -Ss(Nich the
Dingley act was intended { ~ Nplish.
But all classes of imports haS uen
off 1t must be remembered y
ton is not hostile to all import
to restrict only the importation
the like of which would be made
could give American wage-earners Al
and profitable employment. There are
certain products, natural or raw products
especially, which for climatic reasons can
not economically be produced in the
United States. Against such as these
protective tariff interposes no more OBJ
stacle than a free trade tariff. Increased
imports of these non-compelitive articles,
these crude materials of American
manufacturing, do not mean that the
protective tariff is failing to do its work.
They mean that it is doing its work-that
it is making the country and the produc-
tive industries highly prosperous.
Protectionists therefore welcome the
fact that our imports of raw silk, for in
stance, have increased from a value of
S17, ,55S, 1853 in the last year of the Cor
man. Wilson tariff to a value of S31, ,S76, ,342
under the Dingley law. They are glad
that our imports of certain raw fibers have
increased from s12 1886, AIS to $40, 200, 127;
that our imports of crude india rubber
have increased from SIT, ,55S, 1853 to $751;
76,342; that our imports of raw tin for
use in tin plate have increased from So
533 1852 to S11, 1,S43,357. While our con-
sumption of these articles has grown very
much larger, our purchases of foreign wool
have significantly shrunken. They were
$50, 243, l91 in the last year of the German
Wilson law; $40, 7S3, 692 in the first year
of the Dingley law; only $S,322, ,S97 in the
second year of the Dlngley law. Wool
differs from block tin and crude india rub
Der and things of this kind in that the
bulk of our required supply can be, and
indeed long has been, produced in America,
if our wool growers have sufficient tariff
protection and encouragement.
The development of facts, the trend of
events, run so overwhelmingly against the
tariff reform" argument, as we used to
hear it, that it is not at all surprising that
the tariff is scarcely even mentioned now
in newspapers that few years ago were
vehement partisans of the Cobdenist
school.