Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1909-04-01
TARIFF AND COST OF LIVING
What Consumers Should Know
About Tariff Legislation.
4 Mig Front for Somebody in Free
Put on the Iattcr-IIich Tariff
on the quality of WOODEN
Clothing.

What every consumer ought to know
about the Payne tariff bill Is how It's
schedules will affect his cost of living
Manufacturers and producers are leaving
nothing undone to rcmould the measure
nearer to their hearts desire says the
Washington correspondent Of the New
York Evening Post The ultimate con-
sumer who pays the tax is not visible in
Washington, and his champions in the
two houses of Congress are not clearly
defined Does the ultimate consumer
know that 'in some way coffee which
Is introduced into this country at eight
and half cents a pound gets to the con-
sumner at thirty-nve cents a pound?"
This is the testimony of Chairman
Payne Of the ways and means committee
and he frankly adds:
"Who does the milking. and where
the profit goes never yet have been
able to find out and I do not see how
we could regulate it by law If We did.
We can fix the duty, that is all. We cam
not compel a nal when he imports an
article at eight cents pound to sell for
ten or fifteen or twenty. or prohibit him
|
in business, not for his health, but to
make money"
Mr.. Mann Of Illinois contributes this
hint to consumers who would like to
get their coffee at lower price: when
we passed the pure food law, requiring
coffee. like other articles. to be labelled
correctly. If labelled Mt all as to the
place of origin, people who had been
er11t
kcanle from BRAZIL ceased doing that.
and. In order to get the higher price,
put on fancy names. and nearly all the
coffee which housewives buy, instead Of
buying plain Rio coffee. is IN packages
under fancy names. although It Is the
same coffee, and they pay for the name.
AS long as people Ike to pay for names,
they will continue to do It, The same
coffee can hc bought In the market and
the stores, under the proper name for It,
at very much less price"
WHY 1T WAS DECIDED TO TAX TEA
The Payne bill puts a tax Of 5 cents
per pound on tea from producing coun-
tries. Mr.. Boutell of Illinois tells why:
THE ways and means committee found
that 100000 pounds of tea which had
Detfi ld1C uOWn IN New Ork IN tue last
several years cost on the average to the
importer II cents per pound. 1t was as
certained that the tea brought on the
market anywhere from 40 cents to 3l25
per pound. Indicating that between the
importer and the ultimate consumer
somebody was making an enormous pro-
NJ me committee came to the concius-
ion, therefore that the price Of tea is
-
any duty which might be levied would
be far more likely to come out OF the
present profit on tea rather than out Of
the ultimate consumer and for that rea-
son the tax was levied.
In addition, Canada now admits tea
free of duty from the countries which
produce It, and. in order to see to it
that our tea is bought direct, the COM
mittee added ono cent pound to the
duty on tea If it was sent into the
United states from countries winch DO
rot produce IT,
When William Whitman Of Boston,
president of the great Arlington M'Us,
the correspondent of 5. \. d. North on
the subject OF dress goods warns ana
tops. appeared before the WAYS ana
means committee while the Payne bill
wac il''Hi''7' ''+"ii'b y 'Hi N "'N'' - nv
price or woollen goods had not gone up
so high that no man could get a SUIT or
| all-wooi goods unless he pald m eNor-
btant price for 1t at tallor's shop ana
was GOOD Judge hlmselt or whether
thing was AL WOOL or part cotton. MIR
Whitman said NO; that Is not So
ttApD 10 C1,.r Cr OTt11<c ON AIN
~
Champ Clark offers this personal testi-
mony: "A year or two ago | took my boy
into a clothing store downtown. He was
seventeen or eighteen Years old then. I
got him a nice overcoat-that is. had it
laid out on the counter-a very hand
some coat for q boy. and II fitted him
we'll 7 also had laid out n whole suit of
clothes. Then 7 asked the clerk ia tell
me whether this suit Of clotbea and the
| overcoat were all wool lie said.
"Vhv Mr. clark Won cannot got a
| suit Of all wool or m overcoat ~ all
| u,ool upless va, fret 90 70 , bi,b-c,os
| tailor and ma, tuic. &c much ,s Vs.
| nav for +b;s .nd vor hod NATION ,oo,, or.
| mighty close then or Won viii nor ret If
all wool"
| Somebody o,so on tba oo,,,,,+..o os,xod
Mr. Whitman - tho u,rrroct,,rors did
| NOT mako IN for ,his t,rife an ,,,oo, h,,
making an infer,or gr.1a 30 oloth. Nv
Whitman disnuted that Mr. 1opeworth