The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1913-04-15
E. J. Hill on the New Tariff


One of the most Industrious and in
| telligent students of the tariff in re-
cent Congresses was Representative
K. ]. Hill of Connecticut Mr.. Hill
was defeated as a candidate for re-
election last fall, but his interest in
the tariff is as keen as ever, and at
the request of the Hartford Courant
he has given his views of the Under
wood bill. In his expert Judgment
"the bill is wrong in principle, faulty
in construction and will prove unfor-
tunate in its results" He hopes he
is mistaken, but that is the way it
looks to him now. He says that the
bill is in substantial accord with the
promises made by the democratic par
ty before election. In campaign
speeches Mr.. Underwood told the peo-
pie of Connecticut that they could
Judge the future action of his party
by the attempted legislation of the
last Congress which President Taft
vetoed; but Mr.. Hill says "As gen
eral proposition the present bill is
more radical than that" Two excep-
lions are noted, printing presses and
machine tools being made dutiable at
Is per cent, instead of being free as
before. Mr.. Hill continues
The report of the committees on for
mer schedule X said that "the rates
of duty were fixed without any ref
erence whatever to protection" This
is literally true of the whole measure
for the rates on liquor and tobacco
In, hn hill q rn rnnrnInnnA hnrn
and the increases made by Mr. Payne
there were purely for revenue and
far beyond the protection point even
in the Dingley law. Protection as a
characteristic of tariff legislation has
disappeared, and If found In AMI rate,
is mere happen-so. Heretofore the
difference between the parties has
been as to the degree of protection.
Even the Wilson bill of "a gave a
rate of so per cent ad valorem on
wooden fabrics. with free wool This
was then possible on some grades
This bill gives IS per cent and this
subject to 5 per cent discount II i'm
ported in American vessels. OF
course that means all vessels, for the
cut will be met by the foreigner rath-
er than lose the carrying trade. This
means a net rate of 33A per cent and
that will not Offset the difference in
labor cost alone between Rockville,
CT, and Bradford, England, for the
duty is on the wholesale foreign price
and not on the domestic price as-even
some members of Congress have cal
culated 1t in their committee reports
Saving fhat Tannantia,,ttr fnd
tries are hit hard. Mr.. Hill adds that
'it is now manifest that the campaign
was one of false pretenses or perhaps
innocent Misunderstanding" or the
revenue and income tax features of
the bill Mr.. Hill says:
But, even in its revenue features
the bill is failure, for its authors adj
NIT a deficit in the revenues under
1t of more than hundred million dol
lars which must be made up by a d.
rect tax on incomes. This means far
more for Connecticut than 1t does for
the Southern and Western states. 1t
means tax not only on the earnings
of today, but on the savings and In
dustry and pinching economy of $50
years of New England life. Last year
Connecticut paid s75S, 1858 of the
tax on corporations out of a total of
s27, 100000.
Alabama, Alaska, Arizonia, Arkan-
sas, Delaware, Idaho, Mississippi.
Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota,
Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Da-
kota and Wyoming all put together
only paid $754.420.79. Connecticut on
ly had seven senators and representa-
tives to vote on the way 1t should be
spent, and the other states "a sena-
tors and representatives. On the
whole. this bill is regular double
header. Ii takes away work from-our
people and taxes our saving bank
books to pay the expenses of a gov
eminent OF which we are a mighty
small part. II transfers taxation from
the present consumption of the West
and South to the past savings of the
North and East.
Much has been made of the demo-
cratic promise to reduce the cost of
living by removing the duties on food.
and so IL is interesting, even IL a bit
depressing, to find this matter-of.fact
tariff expert saying: I'VE are shin
pers OF food products TO all the worl,.
today and, while free meat and all
food free is desirable as a sentimen-
tai proposition. II will not reduce the
cost OF living in face OF the startling
iact that while our population has
increased by 10000 600 in 10 years.
our cattle and sheep have decrease
by 2O,OO0.O0O in the same time"
That Mr. Hill expects that those
who look for a larger measure of pros
perity under the new tariff will be dis
appointed is evident. but he will be de
lighted II he finds that the President
and the chairman OF the WAYS and
means committee were right and that
ne himself was wrong-Rutland Her.
aid.