Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1906-03-01
TARIFF TAX INEQUALITY
Duty or Carpets and That on
Jewels Compared.
NECESSITIES HIGH, LUZURIEs LOW

N~4Ol1D111b HUI, LUAULltS LUW
Enormous Profits Which the peopIe
Pay to Favored Manuf.cturcrs-Thc
Tariff Protected Trusts Sell Their
Products Cheaper In F'orc;cn Mnr.
kets Than at Home.
h imports of diamonds, pearls and
other precious stones have increased
during the past year to the remarka-
BILE total Of $37,OO0,O00. This is nearly
$11,O00,O00 more thar in 1904. which
was the banner year before this ex-
traordinary increase for this year. 1t
shows the extravaganza of the era in
which we live and the enormous
amount that is annually expended for
jewelry. rs nearly all the value of
these importations of precious stones
were diamonds and pearls, uncut and
unset, this vast value has been greatly
Increased, probably by 200 per G
when cut and set as sold by the retail
jewelers..
AS the tariff duty OIL the greater part
OF these unset jewels is but 10 per cent,
the m%illionaires, who mostly buy them,
pay but that small tax to support the
government. With articles of neces-
sity the tariff tax is much higher. For
example, when the same value of me-
dunn quality carpets are imported the
tariff tax is a. cents a square yard and.
IN addition thereto, 40 per cent ad va
loren, or q total tax Of ITS per cent or
over, according to the value.
This inequality in the tariff law,
which requires the person of moderate
means to pay IT'S per cent and over
on necessities and the millionaire only
10 per cent on luxuries, pervades the
whole law more or less, and yet most
OF the people that pay the tax have
voted for Republican congressman,
who in turn vote to perpetuate such
unequal taxation.
Nor does the inequality of the tax
stop there, for the protected manufac-
turers who produce the products taxed
by the tariff add to the price they sell
their products for, just about as much
as the tariff tax would be on similar
products when imported. For instance,
II a brussels carpet is imported it
costs wholesale in the country where
it is manufactured, If of medium quail
ity, an average of 80 cents a yard. (See
imports of carpets, page POP, United
States Statistical Abstract, 1904 The
tariff tax on this yard of carpet is A
cents and 40 per cent of it's value,
which would be 1890 cents, or a total
tax Of $3.50 cents, to which must be
added the profits Of those who import
it and the freight and insurance, prob
ably 1920 cents more. Thus the price
to the retail carpet merchant would
be at least $1.02 a yard, to which the
retailer would add his profit of 20 per
cent or over and sell it probably for
$1.25 a yard.
Now, a similar yard Of carpet manu-
featured in Philadelphia would cost
the manufacturer about the same price
as the foreign carpet costs to produce,
which, it must be remembered, was 80
cents, with the manufacturers profit
included, but as the materials cost so
to 100 per cent more in this country
than in Europe because Of the protec-
tive tariff, and this increases the cost
Of the manufactured carpet here IS
per cent, the price at which it can be
sold here by the manufacturer would
be 40 cents a yard. But as the foreign
carpet cannot come in and compete
without paying the tariff tax. freight.
insurance and profits OF the importer
he is protected by the tariff in charg-
ing and does charge for brussels car
pet from 60 to 80 cents a yard, accord
ing to quality, and the retailer sells it
for 80 cents to ST a yard, according
to circumstances.
So the American consumer pays from
33 to 100 per cent tariff tax to the car
pet trust or combine that is protected
by the tariff in plundering him over
and above the ordinary profit, of which
the government gets nothing.
But this Is not the worst of this plum
dering of the long suffering buyer Of Il
carpet in the United States, for on page
255 Of the Statistical Abstract for the
year 1904 is given the price that the
carpet trust or manufacturer charged
for similar carpet when sold for eX-
port to foreign countries, which aver
aged 40 cents a yard, while the people
here are charged nearly double. Is that
a square deal?
This is why the Democrats especially
demand that the tariff should be re-
vised, SO that the trusts cannot sell ut
a much lower price to foreigners than
to our w people.
Pork
Those representatives, that have
MStucl1 to the adminiStrat innN IRE to