Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1905-04-13
TARIFF RETALIATION.
Foreign Countries Likely to
Erect Protection Walls.
GERMANY POINTING THE WAY.
Her New Law Presents an Extraor-
binary Increase Of Duties Aimed at
the Same Mind,

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the Same Mind.
The beneficiaries of the Dingley tariff
law do not desire any revision Of the
present schedules, but there is a large
commercial class in various parts of
the country who do not feel sanguine
relative to the future successful oper-
atoms of this law.
While the foreign of the
United States may have been benefited
greatly by some Of the provisions of
the law, there are many rates that are
SO high they are beginning to interfere
with the very purpose for which the
schedules were framed.
The important question now is, Will
not other countries finally frame such
retaliatory tariff bills that our foreign
commerce will begin to decline instead
Of advance?
This matter Of tariff retaliation by
foreign governments, now that there
are no elections pending and congress
has adjourned without taking steps to-
ward even a slight revision of the Ding
ley act, is being discussed by authori-
ties upon the subject. The experts are
more fully Investigating our actual for
eign trade relations, and there are
many matters connected Herewith that
disturb their calculations.
Much valuable information concern
ing these trade relations is furnished
by N. I. Stone, the tariff expert Of the
bureau of statistics, in al elaborate ar
ticle in the current North American Re
view. Without going into the merits
of high or low duties this writer, while
admitting how much the Mckinley and
Dingley tariffs have helped Ameri-
can manufacturing industries abroad,
points out how France, Russia, Italy,
Switzerland, Spain and Portugal have
each introduced a high protective sys-
TEN, (Which has been raised higher and
higher as one country tried to meet
the repeated assaults of the other
against one or other Of her W in
dustries." In other words, the so call
ed tariff war which it has been proph-
esied would occur eventually between
many leading nations seems to be neal
at hand.
1t has been argued complacently by
the high protectionists of the United
States that American goods of every
description could be dumped upon the
foreign markets Unfortunately and
as long as desired. This argument re-
ceives a rude shock by the recent &C.
ton of many European governments.
Germany has a new tariff, which
was passed in 1902, that has not yet
been put in force, but the kaiser is
said to be using it as a basis for new
negotiations with the principal coun-
tries with which Germany has had
commercial treaties. In it's final shape,
Mr.. Stone asserts, this German tariff
presents such an extraordinary in
crease Of protective duties, especially
on agricultural products and other raw
materials, as to have called forth the
strongest condemnation even from the
protectionist manufacturing associa-
tons Of Europe.
To illustrate what the German en-
peror can do by this new tariff with
some Of the principal items of Amer
lean trade with Germany the following
rates are quoted:
The duty on bacon is raised from %
marks per 100 Kilograms in the old tariff
to 36 in the new, or so per cent; on canned
beef, from Is marks per 100 kilograms in
the old tariff to 6 marks, plus a surtax of
20 per cent, in the new, making a total
increase Of $50 per cent; on lard and cot
tonseed oil. from 10 marks in the old
tariff to 12.5O marks in the new, or Is pei
cent; the duty on various kinds of lumber
Is increased about Is per cent; the old duty
of "a marks on sewing machines is raised
to IS marks, or 46 per cent; the increase OF
duty on. other kinds of machinery, such as
typewriters. agricultural implements, ETC.,
reaches as high as SO and 100 per cent; the
duty on wheat, which has been $50 marks
per 100 Kilograms under the conventional
tariff still in force. is raised to 7.50 marks
per 100 kilograms (about SO cents per bush.
ell, or over ia per cent?; on corn, from 16
marks to 5 marks, or 22 per cent; on flour
from 7.3O to 1871 marks, or 1856 per cent.
1t is not unknown that Germany is
very friendly with Russia in tariff mat.
ters and has considerable influence
with the czar's financiers. 1t is recall
ed that Germany forced Russia to
grant more favorable terms to her
t goods in 1894 and that on that occasion
: the kaiser used Yankee competition as
J q whip against the car. At present
it is asserted, it is apparently the in.
tention to use Russia as a whip against
: the United States.
A similar game Of tariff retaliation
seems imminent in France because
: German and English competitors are
favored by cheaper freights and Gus
tom duties.
1t is obvious that high tariff walls
can be built in foreign countries as
we'll as in the United States. The
} sooner congress realizes this and takes
J proper action the better it will be fol
: our future foreign trade relations
Boston Globe.