Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1911-10-28
TREASURY DEPARTMENT At.
TEMPTING TO GIVE OFFICIAL
STANDING TO TARIFF.
pREsENrs FIGURES TO SHOW
REDUCTIONS WERE MADE
Showing Possible BY Transfer Of
Large Number Of Articles to Free
List-Fisurss to Be Of Little Peliti-
cal Campaign valus-sems Figures
For Comparison.
Especial correspondence.l

Washington, Oct. 28.-ApparentIy TO
give official standing to the claim OF
its friends that the Payne-Aldrich tar
If law made an actual reduction IN
customs duties. the treasury depart
ment has made public statement
comparing rates during the whole per-
led Of the operation Of the Dinsley
law and OF the Payne-Aldrich act from
Aug. 5, 1909 to June 80, 1911.
For the year ending June 30, 1911,
the value Of imports was t1.527. s45.s52
Duties collected thereon were $780,
5s1,944. The average ad valorem rate
of duty on those importations. free
and dutiable, Was 1929 per cent. The
average rate for 1910, covering about
eleven months under the Payne-Al-
drich law was Pill per cent. making
the average during the life OF the new
law during Its first two fiscal years
20.6s per cent.
Figures For Comparison.
For the twelve years from 1893 TO
1909 inclusive, under the Dingley tarin.
the average ad valorem rate Vas 2o.4'
Der cent. The PAYNE Law therefore
made an average reduction upon all
free and dutiable imports OF 4.79 per
cent.
Answering the allegation that this
reduction was caused by large trans
fers to the free list rather than by
scaling Of duties actually imposed, 1t
may be said that the average rate on
dutiable goods under the Payne law
for the year 1911 was 41.22 per cent
and 1852 per cent for 1910. while for
1909, the last year Of the full opera
ton of the Dinghy law. the average
rate was As.l5 per cent This figure
marked almost the lowest stage OF
gradual reduction in the ad valorem
rate on dutiable goods since 1899,
when the rate was 52.O7 per cent. the
highest in the history Of the Dingiey
act. which was passed in 1897. For
the next four years the duties ranged
more than ~ per cent and dropped to
their lowest point OF 42.15 in 1907.
cause which contributed largely to this
steady drop in the average ad valor-
en during the twelve years OF the
Dingley act was the steady increase OF
prices for almost all articles. the ef-
feet OF which, Of course. was to make
the ad valorem work out lower upon
articles upon which the law imposed
specific duties. notably in textiles
OF Little Political Value.
The foregoing statement is only pre-
liminary and will be Of comparatively
little use for political purposes until
the treasury department follows its
hand and later makes presentation
Of imports by classes. For example,
the average duties on wool and wool
ems, all Of which are dutiable. were
1928 per cent in 1910, under the
Payne law. and s317 in 1909 under
the Dingley act. In the banner year OF
1899 the average rate on wool and
woolens was 77.12 per cent. The silk
duties during the same period ranged
from 1897 per cent in 1899 to 52.71
per cent In 1910 and was slightly
higher in the last named year than
in 1903, thus bearing out the claim
of the trainers Of the tarin that they
had Increased the rates on "luxuries."
IL silk goods may be regarded as In
that class. The average cotton rates
showed an increase in 1910 over 1909
from 44.4s per cent to 4s.11 per cent