Gloucester County Democrat., 1905-09-28
Tariff on Coffee,


It is announced in Washington dis
patches, on what authority / know not,
that President Roosevelt has evolved
from his inner consciousness a remedy
for the constantly increasing deficit.
1t is the very simple plan of clapping
a tariff of 3 cents per pound on coffee.
Simple, no doubt, but is it wise? It is
estimated by the treasury statisticians
that such a tax will bring thirty mil
lions annually into the treasury. That
is a matter of plain arithmetic. The
statement however, which accom-
pauies this announcement to the effect
that this enormous sum of new taxes
can be levied and nobody feel it is a
tale told by an idiot. This tax will be
a heavy burden to millions, increasing
the already high cost of living. It is
about 40 cents head for the Amer
ican people, making a total of about
1925 annually to the average family
That may seem inconsequential to the
well to do, but it will prove heavy
load to those who have trouble now in
making buckle and tongue meet. Ger
tainly these latter should be taken into
consideration when a cure for the def
cit is being arranged for. The tax on
coffee is a stand patters' proposition.
Like the horse leechs daughter, they
cry: "Give! Givev' Some time ago
Senator-General Dick, Mark Hanna's
understudy, who is now running the
Ohio campaign, blossomed out with
scheme to cure the deficit by reviving
the Spanish war stamp taxes. which
was another stand patters' proposition.
1t raised such a storm of protest that
it was speedily abandoned. Then came
Mr.. Speaker Cannon with proposition
to cure the deficit by practicing econ
omy, performance utterly impossible
to Republicans. This, too, seems to
have passed away. Now comes the
proposition to tax coffee. What will be
its fate? No man can tell. The Re
publicans have such enormous major
ities-114 in the house and 26 in the
senate-that they can do as they please,
they be lined up? There's the rub. For
Republican representatives from close
dictricts will be loath to support a
measure which will place them on the
defensive from the date of its passage.
Enough Of them may kick out of the
traces to defeat the coffee tax. Never
theless. the stand pat leaders would
rather sacrifice 113 Of that house ma
jority-in fact, the entire majority of
114-than give up one cent of their
largess.
If this coffee tax is levied, what be-
comes Of the Republican cry Of
free breakfast table," Of which so
much capital was made when the Nc
Kinley bill was enacted? OF course 1t
was an insincere cry, for, while no
tariff was levied on sugar, bounty
was paid to American sugar producers,
which was as much tax on the break
fast table as the same. amounts paid in
tariff would have been. But the Re-
publicans raised that cry for their own
behoof and are estopped now, In the
forum Of conscience at least. from
urging that free breakfast table,
is good thing for the American peo-
pie. They cannot whistle it down the
wind when arraigned at the bar of
public opinion by whooping It up about
the old flag.
There is a simple way of curing the
deficit and that IS by lowering the
present outrageously high rates In
many schedules, notably the steel
schedules, for let it never be forgotten
that we collect tariff from the mer-