Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-12-01

! in the United States, is to meet shortly and
| will, under the provisions of the Porto
| Rican act above quoted, have the power to
! Immediately terminate the Porto Rican tar
| if by enacting legislation which will pro-
| vide funds for the necessities of the gov
| eminent of Porto Rico. and the question
whether this action shall be taken and the
| 10 per cent tariff thus terminated is being
| discussed by the press and public of that
| island as is shown by the following lead
ing editorial taken from the San Juan
| porto Rico) Daily News of November 49,
just received by the treasury bureau of sta
tistics:
I'VE have lived now for six months I'M
der the 50 per cent preferential tariff The
question now is, Is it good or bad? Has it
helped or injured US? The legislature will
have these questions to decide. We now
have the question to deal with aside and
apart from politics. It's as a campaign
club is past and gone. The burden of de-
Gliding this very important question is sole
ly upon the Legislature. AS it DEGREES so
shall it be. If it desires to abolish the tariff
and operate the island upon free trade
basis it be so ordered.
IF the people of Porto Rico. through the
legislature, desire to continue the tariff it
can be done. A precedent has been estab-
lished which will permit this class of taxa
ton. 1t has been legally decreed that such
action is constitutional.
If the tariff is abolished 1t Is at once
evident that a more burdensOme and higher
rate of internal taxation must be imposed
Where and upon what this shall be levied
Is indeed a perpIeXlnS question.
aside from all the difficulties that NAV
or will arise from the abolition of the tariff
let us glance at the tariff itself and see
what 1t has done. In the last six months
the 10 per cent tariff has afforded the island
as much, if not more, revenue than the 100
per cent tariff. The theory that The way to
increase revenue is by lowering the taxes
is proven to be true for Porto Rico. This
revenue Will be constantly increasing as
our trade increases. as it is sure to do. 1t
has helped the consumer, for it has lowered
the taxes he has to pay, not only on Amer
lean goods, but upon all goods that enter
our market in competition with them. mis-
results in an increase of importations. This
helps the producer by constantly providing
him means to carry his goods to the
great American market which is always so
hungry for the products this island has to
both ways the steamers must make one
trip without a cargo, and the freight is
thereby doubled.
"A tariff helps borrowers; 1t will
give our securities standing in the United
states which they could not have without
a permanent revenue like the tarf reve-
nue.. The argument so often advanced in
favor of a tariff tax against other means of
raising revenue, that il is easily collected,
is especially forcible in Porto Rico. We
would advise that the tariff is necessary
and If it were not it would still be the most
convenient and logical means Of raising our
cent.
The children of the blacklist Africans are
born white, in year tncy become brown,
and their skin gradually blac'<ens until the
age of thirty, when it is ebony colored.