The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-08-05
MUST
ADD TO REVENUE
Continued from First Page.

deficit Of about $25 1000 900 would in.
ciude many OF the more offensive of the
stamp charges, and such a program
would be resisted to the last.
No Tariff Revision.
1t is also a waste of breath r. toll,
aae present OF revision of the tariff
"a H. I'm tlme t! to meet the treasury demand.
lhere will be no revision at the newt
session Of congress, and perhaps none
curing the Roosevelt administration.
e aeni aa1 is SO determinedly set
states of thu IN e the pig manufacturing
these t1. states could with impunity OBJ
defeat it. @'' ul'ilii"'eiy
| :, The proposition for an increase of
me revenue on beer, or for an import
GUY on coffee, therefore, remains the
b proposition. Both of these will be
e eltterly opposed. The big brewers would
light ar increase of the beer tax with
an the force at their command; the
democratic party. could be depended
upon to make political capital out of
a tax on coffee. At the same time, if
5 Jae IS to be any wiping out of the
that + op1n1o n IN washington holds
methods, IT. - -, WV
Inc present tax on beer is 81 bar
rel. During the Spanish war this tax
was raised to So, and it yielded a rev
e3ue OF $34,450,00O in one year, one-haif
OF -, which was the result of the extra
dollar would swell the revenues about
Sao,ooo'oOO year, allowing for the in
creased consumption since war times.
An increased beer tax would be popu-
lar In many quarters, but the beer trust
Is SO strong that many members Of con-
| to+a 10 IL IL
AS to a Tax on Coffee.
~, This brings us to coffee. The United
States is the largest consumer of coffee,
per capita, in the world. Last year we
consumed la16,922,56l pounds, or an
average Of 1872 pounds for every man,
woman W. = and child in the land. A duty
enue of about $2SSoo0,00o, or enough to
wipe out the deficit, but such a duty
would amount to a. tax of 40 cent; on
every inhabitant. It is at this point
that the democrats can be depended
upon to try to embarrass their repub-
lican opponents.
In reality, however, it is asserted
that the tax would not. result in in
creasing the price Of coffee. Years ago
this country collected duty of cents
pound, and it yielded handsome
revenue. At the time of the enact
ment of the Wilson tariff law, the re-
publicans, then in the minority, raised
a hue and cry about the taxation of
"the poor mans breakfast table,
which caused the democrats, in the
Wilson bill, to remove the tax. It was
then supposed that coffee would be
cheapened, but it was not. Brazil, who
supplies nearly all of our coffee, was
quick to see her opportunity, and as
soon as we had abolished our import
duty of cents a pound, she imposed
an export duty Of 8 cents a pound, with
the result that the Wilson bill left the
price Of coffee 20 the American con-
sumner at the old figure.
/ What Brazil Might Do.
! It is now argued that; if the United
States were to reimpose its import duty
! Of 3 cents, Brazil would be compelled
to withdraw her. export duty, and that
the revenue now being derived by that
country would be transferred to our
own, with no additional cost to the
American consumer. This is perhaps
true, for investigation shows that only
the cheaper grades Of Brazilian coffee
come to this country-co which
3 brings from 3 to 5 cents a pound at
J. WHOLESALE, and that the traffic could
not withstand an export duty of 8
} cents and an import duty of like
amount.
It was the republican party which
raised the cry of "taxing the poor
mans breakfast table, and it cannot
complain If the democrats should in
, its turn use the same cry.
} Porto Rico and Hawaii Factors.
!, But aside from the mere matter Of
, revenue, the question of taxing coffee
has an interest which will probably
: make strong appeal to all those citi-
zens who sided with the president when
he demanded reciprocity with Cuba.
Porto Rico and Hawaii, both belonging
to the United States, are large pro-
ducers Of coffee, and their revenues
increased under any system that would
help close the door to coffee from Bra
zil. Such an increase of revenue would
mean change from relatively hard
times to great prosperity in those
, islands, and SO, on the argument of
fair dealing with these dependencies,
, and giving them a chance to work out
their destiny under favorable condi-
, tions, many American citizens would be
, willing to transfer our coffee trade from
a foreign flag to the stars and stripes
Last year we imported 100000
i. pounds Of coffee from Porto Rico, and
!. 1,S27,000 pounds from Hawaii. These
j. islands, combined, could easily produce
r. all the coffee that we consume, and, in
. addition, the Philippines could also con
8 tribute their share, for coffee can be
: grown there as advantageouslv as ir
8 either Hawaii or Porto Rico. The tota
$ value Of the coffee consumed in the
!. United States each year is about $S1,
100000, and If that sum could be give1
to the island possessions named, nearly
/. all Of the fnancial problems now per
e picking their people would disappear.
f Americans recently returned from
;. South America speak in detail regard
q ing the fact that only the inferio,
q grades Of Brazilian coffee come to THU
!, country. The better grades raised Their,
, sell for from 10 to Is cents a pound
! wholesale, which price is greater thar
= the average American is willing to pay
. and so this higher grade article is sen,
! to Europe. Scarcely any coffee brough
into the United States WHOLESALERS il
Brazil for more than 3 to 5 cents
pound.
Fifth Means to Revenue.
u u Several members Of congress VIII
have been in Washington lately sugges
b a fifth method of raising revenue TIL
= =: fifth plan is to tax all free imports
ii The United States yearly imports good
til to the value of ST., 100000 900, of whic
8, about So per cent come in free, an
. abont 48 per cent are Idutiable under tn