Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1907-07-30
ONE DECADE OF DlNoLeY QUITE.

ONE DECADE OF DlNGLEY DUTIES
II was just ten years ago last We'd
ncsday-on July "a. lSg7-that the
United States senate formally adopt-
cd the conference report on the then.
pending DlnElcy tariff bill by "A vote
OF forty to thirty. the populist and
Silvoritc senators rcrrainlng from
voting. and President Mckinley sign
cd the act the same day. II must
lie said of ii, MS IT enters upon the
eleventh year of its operation that
II has on the whole proved to be a
most excellent law; but It has had
good times. not of It's own crca
lion, for proving its "raison d'ctrc"
ana demonstrating the wisdom of its
trainers ana cnactcrs. II must also
be said of 1t that the pol'ti condi
tons under which ii was enacted In
1897 and the commercial and indus
trial conditions that have prevailed
during all the years that II has been
In operation have been uniformly as
ihvoritc To It's success MS those con.
lions which applied to the two pre-.
vlons tariff laws--thc Wilson German
and the Mckinley cnactmcnts-wcr
unlavorablc for their success. AS had
been predicted of II and ms was in
tended by its author, the Dingloy law
has boon mighty revenue Garner.
The figures for the ten years are al
most astounding.
semi-oiiicial report from Wash
ington states that the collections OF
customs duties OH IMPORTS into the
United States under the Dinghy law
during the decade ended with Tues.
day last have amounted To $2,527 sos.
SIG. these figures including all OK.
ccpt the collections made in the last
seven days of July, 1897. of which
no separate record was kept. The
largest revenue results of the law
were realized in the fiscal year clos.
cd on June 80 last, when the colcc-
tions amounted to upward of s333.-
100000, or more than II million dollars
Il day for every business day of the
year. So much for the laws great
revenue achievements.
Meant me. although the Dinglcy
acts record discloses enormous in.
crcases in the quantity and the value
OF our imports. It's operation cannot
of course he said to have been in any
way against homc-manufacturing in.
tcrests. The value of manufactured
products in the United States. many
OF which have been protected by the
Dnglcy law-and dcsigncdly. of
course-has increased TO Il larger OK
tent even than the customs collec-
tons. In the five years from 1901 to
1905 tho customs receipts were 81.
300,5S3,2i7, hut the gain in value of
manufactured products was In the
same years si,7S7, S5O,5S9. Tho total
value of manufacturers in 1905 was
nearly $l5.OO0.000.O
IL We turn now to the record of
our exports of manufactured articles
before and following the Dinglcy en-
actment some interesting contrasts
are presented, 1t will readily be re.
called that tho out.and.out frec-trad.
crs and the lOw-protcctionists as we'll
predicted dnring,thc discussion of the
bill that its passage and operation as
law would erect Il Chinese wall that
would shut our American goods ont
of tho foreign markets. The record
rcfutes that argument For instance.
in 1S7S--a year in which the value of
our exports of manufactures was the
largest for any year up to that time
AL the manufactures that were sent
abroad footed up only $SS7S9.75S in
value; seven years later. in 1880 they
were valued at $l02 900 600 in round
numbers; at the close Of that decade.
lin 1890, their value had mounted M
to 1851 100000: for the year ended
with June 30. lS97--thc last seal
year of tho operation of the Wilson
German act-thc record shows OK.
ports of American manufactures
valued at s277,000,0O0: while only
five years later in 1902, and under
the Dinglcy Interpretation of which
1t had predicted that ii would shut
us out of the worlds markets. we
shipped abroad manufactured articles
valued ut si03.S90.763.
II Is not here contcndcd that the
Dinglcy law is responsible for this
gratifying increase in our foreign
trade-for year-to.ycar fluctuations in
the quantity and the value Of many
classes OF American exports are due
chiefly to the amount of the supply
The urgency of the foreign demand
and the nrice-mt 1t surely cannot
be said of The tariff act of 1897 thai
1t has injured our foreign trade. IT
Is lifting To speak well of the bridge
that carries us safely over''-bnt that
does not mean that such bridge
never needs repairing or that 1t is
too sacred to be "tinkered."-N
n