Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-10-04

ciuQeQ his charge TO the jury.
! Coroner Feinberg's charge seemed to
| At every port collectors of customs,
appraisers of merchandise and hun
dreds of other employees of the Treas
ury Department will plunge at once
| into the task of collecting the Ma
| tons revenue on a new basis, and
| with hundreds of new classificationS
and new provisions of law to compli-
| cate their activities.
| The Federal Government has been
! spending nearly a billion dollars
year and the new tariff law will raise
less than one third of that sum. Re-
cent estimates by tariff experts in
| Congress predict the rates will raise
SPAS. 900 a year; and that the in
come tax and corporation taxes VIII
raise s122.000.0o0. The remainder of
the Governments great income is
made up principally of internal reve-
nue. taxes and postal receipts.
| The income tax probably will
bring the new tariff law most forcibly
TO the attention of citizens. Presi-
dent Wilson and Democratic leaders
| in Congress believe, however that the
| reduction of duties on clothing, food
stuffs and other neeessaries of life,
and the complete removal of the duty
| from many like articles. will even
| tually bring a reduction in the cost
of living without materially affect
| ing business prosperity.
A brief summary of the new tariff
| law as prepared for the Senate fol-
lows:
| Average percentage of tariff rates
as compared to the value of all inn
ported merchandise; old law 81 per
cent: new law q per cent.
Value of annual imports added to
the free list STAT 100000.
Estimated revenue from all import
| rates: Old law 1905, 100000; new law
$249 100000.
Estimated revenue from corporation
and income taxes: Old law $1,000
| Ooo; new lew 1922, 900.
Altogether consumers in the United
States probably will receive from
abroad free of all tariff more than
81 200, 100000 worth of merchandise
during the next year. During 1872.
the amount of free imports" was
| more than $SS0000,0o0, and when the
| tariff is entirely removed from wool,
sugar, iron ore and cheap iron, and
other important items, the total is
expected to increase notably. I'm
der the old law more than SO per
cent of all goods brought to the
| United States from all parts of the
world paid no tariff, and that proper
| ton will be increased by the new
| law.
| The free wool provision of the new
law takes effect December l, 1913:
the free sugar provision May l, 1916,
the tax on trades in cotton futures"
September ], 1914.
| The new tariff law, passed four
years after President Taft signed the
existing Payne Aldrich law. is the
result of more than nine months of
work in Congress. Hearings were
started January 6, by the House Ways
and Means Committee. Chairman
Underwood introduced the tariff bill
April 4 Immediately after President
Wilson had convened the new Con-
gress 1t passed the House May 8
and the Senate September 9.
In the opinion of it's makers. the
democratic leaders of Congress, the
most important features Of the new
tariff are:
A reduction of nearly one-half in
the average tariff on foodstuffs and
farm products.
The placing of raw wool on the
| free list, and a reduction of nearly
1878 in the tariff on wooden clothing,
| especially of the cheaper grades.
A reduction of one-third (ayerage)
on cotton clothing.
Reduction of the sugar tariff and
| it's ultimate adjustment in 1916
| A reduction of one third taverage)
| in the tariff on earthenware ana
glassware.
Adjustment of all tariff on meats,
fish, dairy products. flour. potatoes.
coal, iron ore, lumber and many
classes of farm and Office machinery.
General tariff reduction on all inn
lportant articles in general use.
Throughout the long fight over the
bill, the Republican attack on the
measure has been directed against
those rates which the Republicans
declared were so low as to threaten
destruction to American industries.
through the competition of foreign
manufacturers. The Democratic sup
porters Of the new law have insisted
that except in those cases where pub
lie welfare demanded radical changes
the tariff has been reduced only to a
point where it will Stimulate COM
petition" without turning American
markets over to foreigners.
A great amount of work will fall
upon the Treasury Department, it is
expected, in working out the details
Of the new income tax and the meth
DDS of collecting the direct taxes
from individual citizens of the United