Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-03-19
CUSTOM TARIFFS.


many changes of front by men and
parties. 1t is the most thrilling story
of American politics, a story that reaches
to every home and every pocketbook in
this broad land
Athens and Rome had their custom
houses and collected duties on almost
everything that went in and out. The
usual rate was per cent, though in
times of war it was made higher. Ia
Rome the duty was per cent under the
earliest emperors, but when Nero anu
some of his successors wre on the throne
it averaged II 1-2 per cent. The digest
of Justinian gives a list of the dutiable
articles, and # is not widely different
from present ideas of tariff duties.
But it remained for the little town of
Tarifa, Spain, to give to the list of dutia
BILE articles the name of tariff" This
little town is located twenty-five miles
southwest of Gibraltar, and it is the most
southerly town of Europe. One who visits
1t today can easily imagine himself back
in the days of the Moors, when they ruled
Tarifa, and made ii a sort of marine toll
gate and halfway house between Medit-
erranean and Atlantic ports. It's toll list
became known by the international trad
ers as the tart" hence its use in almost
every tongue today
In feudal times they had sort of tariff
for entering the various cities of Europe.
The duty paid at the gates of Paris to-
day is a survival of this feudal custom.
The first English tariff was collected I'M
der King Ethelred. The duties were paid
at Billingsgate. No wonder that historic
entrance into the city of London has been
embalmed in the English tongue as a
synonym of foul and scurrilous language.
Tariffs have since become general, and
so long as human nature remains human
nature the tariff will doubtless remain the
favorite mode of collecting revenues. The
system works so silently that hardly a
single American citizen can approximate
his share of it. Were the revenues of the
United States collected by a system of d.
rect taxation, the man who is worth &c.
900 would have to pay to the publican"
tax collector $67 as his annual contribu-
ton to the cost of maintaining the ma
tional government. The man worth $1,000
would find that his tax ticket would call
on him to part with s6T. Direct taxes
have been levied by the general govern
ment but three times in the history of the
country. That form of taxation has been
left to the states and their minor civil
cities and towns
The tendency of the times in tariff mat
ters, viewed from a world standpoint. is
toward the maximum and minimum tar
in. This formidable appellation is moth
ing else than reciprocity by another
name. Europe is making use of the prin-
ciple with great success One country has
one line of exports and another line of
imports. 1t is manufacturing nation and
needs free market for its exports. Thus.
England might say to Russia: You give
me low rate on the manufactured goods
I send to you. and 1 will give you a low
rate on the food stuffs you send to me-
The bargain is to their mutual advant-
age.
The United States has never had max
imun and minimum tariff, though re-
ciprocity was at one time a generally ad-
vocated doctrine. In recent years many
OF our statesmen have believed in and
advocated such a law. Thereby, they
point out, we could extend our markets
much more rapidly. We would, under
such a law. really have two tariff rates
The one would be high, and would be
set up against the nation that insisted
on maintaining high tariff against u.s.
The other would be low and would be
tons which welcomed our products. Then
the state department would be empow-
Grad to negotiate trade treaties between
the United States and other nations. with
the difference between the maximum and
the minimum as a negotiating basis
The case of Brazil furnishes a remark
able argument I'm behalf of such a tariff
The coffee industry is to Brazil what the
cotton industry is to the south We adj
NIT her coffee to our markets free OF
duty, yet she taxes us for the utmost
farthtng on the manufactures we send to
her ports. 1t is pointed out that If we
could say to her: Unless you admit
our manufactures on a very low rate we
are going to put tariff on your coffee"
that would suffice to bring her TO terms
and We would be getting a trade outlet we
are seeking, and still enjoy the blessing
of free coffee.
Up to date our tariff laws have been
Single standard"-one rate TO all-while
many of the European nations have