The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1911-07-27

reflect on public document Issued
Monday by the Department Of Com
merce and Labor. 1t is purely a non
partisan document, yet it is the most
striking justification of the Aldrich
bill that has ever been uttered. 1t
will be recalled that the Aldrich bill
made many changes in tariff sched-
ules, lowering a dozen to where it
raised one, but it was attacked by
every free trader in the country on
the ground that it did not go far
enough. There really was nothing
the matter with the Aldrich bill, ex-
cept that it was a so-called stand
pat" measure, as the following Off
cial statement will prove:
"Non-dutiable merchandise entering
the United States in the fiscal year
lust ended exceeded in value that Of
any earlier year, and the share of the
imports which entered free of duty
was larger than in any other year e
cept 1892, 1893 and 1894, when sugar
was admitted free of duty"
Continuing the Department bulle'
tin gives further information that fur
nishes interesting reading at this
time:
THE value of imports free of duty
in the fiscal year 1911 was IT'S mill
ion dollars, against 1855 million in
1910, SIT million in 1905, 367 million
in 1900, 1853 million in 1895, and 366
million in 1891. Thus non-dutiable
imports were increasing from 479
million to $50 million, and imports
as a whole from S45 million to 1928
million. This growth in free impors
tations occurred chiefly in the last
half of the 20-year period. Compar-
ing 1911 with 1901, free imports in.
creased from $40 million to IT'S mil
lion, a growth of 1879 per cent, while
dutiable imports increased from 4S4
million to $50 million dollars, a
growth of So per cent.
"In 1911 non-dutiable merchandise
formed 50.92 per cent of the total i'm
ports, against $3.50 per cent in 1905,
1894 per cent in 1897, 1913 per cent
in 1894, $685. per cent in 1892 and
43.35 per cent in 1891.
While imports as a whole decreas.
ed 80 million dollars compared with
those of last year, free imports in
creased % 2-3 million, this gain being
more than offset by loss of 81 %
million occurring in dutiable imports.
In the II months period for which
detailed information is available gains
were apparent in most of the leading
articles, noteworthy exceptions being
india rubber and hides and skins. I'm
ports of india rubber, gutta percha,
review, 80 million pounds valued at
|S7A million dollars, were consider
ably less than in the corresponding
period of 1910, 1913 million pounds
valued at 100 million dollars, but
were far in excess of those of 1909.
Imports of hides and skins in the II
months of 1911 aggregated 339 mil
lion pounds valued at GA million dol
lars, against $50 million pounds val
ued at los million dollars in the same
VI the plCSCulh6 yCdi'
ports of fibers in the IL months of the
years named aggregated "a 1-3 million
dollars in 1911, against 26 million in
1910. Other important non-dutiable
articles, however, are larger than in
the preceding year. Coffee imports,
for the period under discussion, in
creased from rs million dollars in
1909 and 81 million in 1910 to SO mil
lion in 1911, the larger value in 1911,
however, being solely due to higher
prices in 1911, since in the IL months
but sos million pounds were imported,
compared with $50 million in 1910
and LOIS million in 1909. Consider
ing the II months imports in other
important non-dutiable classes, silk
increased from 621a million dollars in
1910 to 70 million in 1911; chemicals,
exclusive of the dutiable class, from
52A million to Sc 1-3 million dollars;
tin in bars, blocks and pigs, from %
million to Sc million dollars; tea,
from 12% million to 16 million dol.
lars; cotton, from l5A to 23 million
dollars; cocoa or cacao, from 10A
million to Is 1-3 million dollars; and
fertilizers, from less than 8 million
to 81 million dollars"