Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1908-06-18
INDUSTRY.
Holds Seventh Place Among Our
Manufactures.
THE TARIFF AND NEWSPAPERS

Oppressive Dingiey Duty stransling
an Important Business-Herman Rid
der Writes on the Contest For Free
Paper.
The publishing and printing industry
holds the seventh place among the
manufacturing industries iii the United
States, representing an annual product
of over one-half billion dollars. This
important industry is being strangled
by the oppressive duties Of the Dingiey
tariff upon the one article indispensa-
BILE to its production, print paper, and
on wood pulp, which is used In the
manufacture of paper Yielding to
representations con nE.ncing him of the
detrimental effects OF these duties,
President Roosevelt has In special
message to congress recommended
their repeal What is the response Of
the defenders of the protective tariff
in that body? AS voiced by the speak
er himself, Mr.. Cannon, the grand mar
shal of the anti-revisionist forces, 1t
read: "The duty on print paper is Is
per cent ad valorem and has been the
same since 1890, under the Mckinley
law, the Wilson law and the Dingley
law, covering a period of eighteen
years. If the claim of the
publishers Gas to large advances in
prices within the last few mOnths) Is
correct, the advance in the price is not
due to the duty, but resulting from the
Illegal trust and combination. If the
small duty were repealed it would not
interfere with the Illegal trust agree
ment"
This argument is disingenuOus, as
can be clearly shown by the following
facts: The duty on print paper under
the Dingley tariff is not 10 per cent
ad valorem, but Sc per ton on paper
valued at not above 2 cents per pound
and So per ton upon paper valued
above 2 cents per pound. At the time
of the enactment of the Dingley law
print paper was sold at the mill at
S1.75 per hundred pounds and in some
instances in the city Of New York at
S165, or $135 at the Canadian mill.
That Is $27 per ton. Placing the duty
on the old basis Of 10 per cent ad valo-
rem, as is claimed by the speaker, this
should have made the amount of the
duty about 81, so that this duty was
by the Dingley tariff increased so per
cent. at the same time the duty on
wood pulp was increased from 10 per
cent. or an average of S1.20 per ton, to
S1.67 per ton.
The trust is the offspring of the
tariff Especially has this been proved
in the case of the paper trust. While
the paper schedule of the Dingley tariff
was under consideration the committee
on ways and means was formally
warned by John Norris, an acknowl-
edged authority, of the fact that in an
ticipation of the final adoption Of the
bill "the news paper manufacturers of
the United States have perfected their
arrangement for combination by
which every newspaper should be at
the mercy of a central selling agency
and by which the price of news print
paper shall be raised and by which
these gentlemen shall derive an addi-
tional profit of from five to six million
dollars out of their investment and
thereby tax knowledge and diminish
the educational possibilities of the
newspaper press"
Mr.. Norris went SO far as to name
the men who were at that time making
plans to create the future paper trust
of the United States-ex-Congressma
Russell, ex-senator Warner Miller and
Hugh Chisholm. The Dingley bill was
enacted in July, 1897. The Internation-
al Paper company was organized the
following January, and the three paper
manufacturers who had appeared be-
fore the committee and secured the
print paper and wood pulp tariff
Messrs. Russell, Warner Miller and
Chisholm-became its executive Off
GERS. Is not this conclusive proof that
the paper trust was born and its crea-
ton made possible by the tariff? The
government has dissolved as an unlaw
full combination the General Paper
company. Its business has been con-
ttuued bns other combinations, and SO