Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1910-02-09
new DUTY On SACRED WRIT.
Advance Of Is Gents Necessary say the
American Manufacturers.

hiu9it0Qu HvuuVtuVioi =
And now Bibles are going upl
Not content with putting a tax
upon practically every commodity
the common people eat and wear
ntr yet with levying a special tax
upon a fellows coffin and even
his tombstone: not satisfied with
making more complicated the
problem of existence from the
cradle to the grave, here comes
the genius of the American govern
meut along in pursuit of a mans
soul and proposes to raise the tax
on Bibles.
There is a little Paragraph in
the new tariff law which adds Is
Per cent. to the duty OIL the Holy
Scriptures.
G. II. Robinson, head of
the G II. R b;nson, Publishing
House If this city, n of the larg-
est dealers in Bibles in North Car
DINA, declares that that the cost
Of Bibles has Increased fouv times
within the past five years and ad-
m is that tbs upward tendency is
still exceedingly in evidence. AL
though he secured his last order
for the present year at an advance
over the price he paid a year ago,
there is nu denying that the sa-
CT d writings IT costing more
than ever aud will continue to
cost more The G. II. Robinson
firm sells about 40 600 Bibles a
year from it's supply house IN
this city, retailing to a large ter
titory III the piedmont section of
the Carclinas.
The news became public when
a large lumber If religious
PERIODICALS appe red carrying ad
vertisemeuts inserted by Bible
d q ributorg to the effect that,
lowing to an increase IN the tar
if, we sre obliged to withdraw
our prices on all Bibles and Testa-
ments listed in our 1900 cata,
logue.
Bibles are to cost from Is to 10
per cent. more than aver before in
the history of the country.
The joker which made these
changes in the catalogues neces-
sary, il develops, was discovered
by the Bible importers only a
few weeks ago. The joke-the
laugh, if you like-of the new
provision lies in the fact that the
chief cost Of virtually all the bet.
ter class of Bibles imported into
this country is i'll the binding Ct
the books. The joker, in effect,
puts a tax of 40 per cent on all of
the good English editions of the
holy writ.
The two big importers of En-
glish Bibles ara Thomas Nelson q
Sons and the Oxford Press. Both
of these concerns have notified
the distributing concerns that
Bible prices must be up. Small
or concerns have followed their
lead, and the advance in prices
for Bibles Is to be general throgh
out the c%ountry.
The following from a Chicago
paper carries this additional ~
formation:
"A number Of dealers in Bible
y, Yesterday said thas they had
learned about the joker OILY q
SHIRT t ma ago They had been
led t. believe that the duty q.
Bibles Was MT to te changed.
They did not disc ver their err. i
until the importers notified them
that they had u up against s
new tariff wall. Then they found
it necessary to notify their Gus
toners that the prices in their
catalogues could not stand.
"Most Of the concerns, hos
ever, will attempt to fill orders
at the old rate until March l,
when new catalogues generally
come out. Jinn1ngs & Graham
of the Western Methodist Book
Concern have notlfiAd their GUS
toners to that effect, and Others
are doing the same
"a number of Bible distributors
said that the advance would oe
carer 25 than Is per cont. he