The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-03-15
AMERICAN TARIFF LAWS
 E.EpoIufjon of Custom Tarifs
By Frederic ]. Haskin.

that reaches to every home and every pocket-book 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 percent, though in times Of war 1t was made higher. In Rome the duty wns five percent un- der the earliest emperors, but when Nero and some Of his successors were on the throne 1t averaged 12h percent. The digest of Justinian gives a list of the dutiable articles, and 1t Is not widely different from present ideas of tariff duties.
 But 1t remained for the little town of Tarifa. Spain, to give to the list of dutiabls articles the name of ''tsrin." This little town Is located twenty-two miles southwest of Gibralter, and it is the most southerly town of Eurepc. One who visits 1t today can easily im- aEine himself back in the days of the Moors. when they ruled Tarifa, and and halfway house between Mediter- sanean and Atlantic ports. Its toll list became known by the internation- al traders as the "tarif." hence it's use Tn almost every tongue today.
 In feudal times they had a sort of tarin for entering the various cities of Enrope. The duty paid at the gates u fcudal custom. The first English tar Tn was collected under 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 the 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 sf- lently that hardly single American citizen can approximate his share of 1t. Were the revenues of the United States collected by system of di- rect taxation. the man who Is worth Slo.0oo would have to pay to the pub ltcan" tax collector $67 as his annual contribution to the cost of maintaining the national government. The man worth t1.00o would find that his tax ticket would call on him to part with seer. Direct taxes have been levied by the general government but three times in the history of the country. That form of taxation has been left 10 the states and their minor civil es- tablfshments, such az counties and cities anl towns.
 The tendency of the times in tariff matters. viewed from a world stand point, is toward the maximum and
 
 pellation is nothing else than "Recip- rocity" by another name. Europe is making use of the principle with great success. one country has one line of exports and another line of imports. It IS a manufacturing nation and needs a free market for It's exports. Thus, England might Say to Russia: You tured goods send to you. and I will give you low rate on the food stuffs you send to me-" The bargain is to their mutual advantage.
 Ths United States has never had a maximum and minimum tariff, though reciprocity was at one time & gener- ally advocated doctrine. Tn recent years many of our statesmen have believed in and advocated such a law. Thereby. they point out. we could ex. tend 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 us. The other would be low. and would be applied to the imports from those nations which welcomed our products. Then the State Department would be empowered to negotiate trade treaties between the United States and other nations, with the dif- ference between the maximum and the minimum as g negotiating basis.
 In6 CASS UI DEd1iA huEhkohCS a AS- markable argument In behalf of such a tariff The coffee industry is to Brazil what the cotton industry is to the South. We admit her coffee to our markets free of duty, yet she tax es us for the utmost farthing on the manufactures we send to her ports. It is pointed out that if we could say to her: Unless you admit our manu- factures on a very low rate we are going to put a tariff on your coffee,' that would suffice to bring her 10 terms and we would be getting a trade outlet we are seeking. anl still enjoy the blessing of free coffee.
 Cp to date our tariff laws have been "single standard"--one rate to all-while many of the European na- tions have found the "dual standard" or maximum and minimum, a great success as a trade getter. Even Bra- gil has this sort of tsriff. While she Ia trading with other nations. and get ting good bargains out of them, her highest duties apply to us. The ten- lency of the times elsewhere than in the United States seems to be toward welcoming certain imports in order to strengthen the market for exports.
 Copyright. 1909, by Frederic J. Has,