New-York tribune., 1910-07-15
PAYNE LAW RESULTS.

The returns of imports and exports
for The fiscal wear 1909-'10 disarrange
the logic of two classes of critics of the
PAYNE tariff law and the Republican
policy of protection which it exenpll-
fies. In the first class are those VINO
have been trying to prove that the re-
vision of 1909 was not a downward re-
vision in the sense of opening larger
market here to foreign commodities. Ihe
Hon. Champ Clark has figured out 70
his own satisfaction-if TO nobody else $
that there has been no lowering OF the
tariff barrier under the Payne-Aidrlch
revision a. But the record of entries at
the custom houses is far better evidence
than Mr.. Clark's d priOrf estimates ana
surmises. According to figures collected
by the Bureau of Statistics of the De
par1ment of Commerce and Labor. the
imports for I9o9-'1o exceeded in value
the imports for any previous year. Their
value was S1.557 100000 This is much
the largest total in our history, showing
a gain of S246,o0O.OO0 over the total for
I9oS-'09 and a gain of S123.:N0,oo0 over
the largest previous total, that for the
boom year of 1Ht6-oI.
The volume of duty free imports has
increased notably under the Payne law
In 19oS-'O9 the value of non-dutiable
commodities brought in was S644.o0oG0o,
For 1909-'10 it was S756.00o.00o- 1t Is
obvious not only that more foreign goods
are coming into the American market,
but that more are coming in free of
duty-the latter class comprising 1000
products and the raw materials of manu-
farture. The Payne law has therefore
accomplished just what critics of the
Champ Clark school have been protest
ing that it could never accomplish and
was never intended to accomplish.
A second class of faultfinders has been
predicting that the Payne law would
strike a fatal blow at the American ex-
port trade The laws tendency. they
said. was to enhance prices here. and a
raising of the domestic level of prices
would make il impossible to export large
quantities of grain. cattle and foodstuffS
as We used to do. Last Monday The
Providence Journal" a vigorous asailant
of the new tariff. published long edi-
torial entitled THE Vanishing Export
Trade" If it had waited forty eight
hours for the report of the Bureau OF
Statistics on imports and exports, it
would hardly have contended that an
export trade is vanishing when it
shows growth from 190S-'09 to 1909 10
of $50 100000. The total of exports IN
the year Just ended was S1.144.Go0oo
That total has been exceeded only twice
in 1a0s-01 and 1907-'0S. The former
year WAS. as we have noted, a boom
year in trade and in the latter exports
were artifciaIly stimulated by the panic
of 1907. American foodstuffs being sold
abroad in extraordinary quantities and
q balance of trade of $685. 100000 being
built up in order to protect credit here.
The Payne law has not checked eXporta-
tions. although unusually high prices for
meats and foodstuffs in 1909 10 and
scarcity in the domestic food supply have
naturally restricted sales to Europe.
Even with that handicap the year has
been one of healthy growth in the for
eign trade So far as tariff changes have
affected that growth, the Payne law is
entitled TO substantial credit. just a s it is
entitled TO credit for having converted
the Treasury's deficit of SIS. 600 in
1a0S-'O9 into surplus of S11.G0000o in
I9o9--1O.