The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1913-10-04
The Measure Was Approved
Last Night by Presi-
dent Wilson
AVERAGE CUT IN
DUTIES 10 PER CENT.
Many Articles of Food Are
Put on the Free
List

Washington, oct. f.-7oui iuuiidCu ~
the leaders of the united Democracy
President Wilson signed the Underwood
Simmons tariff bill at 900 o'clock last
night in the White House.
simultaneously kilograms We're sent
to the customs collectors throughout the
country by the treasury department,
putting into actual operation the first
Democratic tariff revision since 1894.
The president used two gold pens. He
presented to Representative Underwood
the pen that had written "Woodrow"
and the one which had completed his
name to Senator Simmons.
The president delivered an extempor-
aneous address in which he declared a
great service had been done for the rank
and file of the country, but that the sec
ond step in the emancipation OF busi-
ness would be currency reform.
He earnestly called upon his colleagues
to go the rest of the journey with fresh
impulse.
1--WE have set the business OF this
country free from those conditions which
have made monopoly not only possible
but in sense easy and natural. Buc
there is no use taking away conditions
that produce monopoly if we don't take
away also the power to create mo-
nopoly; and that is financial rather
than merely circumstantial and economic
power.
"'The power to control, guide and d.
rect the credits of the country is the
power to say who shall and who shall
not build up the industries OF the eoun-
try, in which direction they shall be
built and in which direction they shall
not be built.
"We are now about to take second
step which will be the final step set
ting the business of the country free.
That is what we shall do in the currency
bill.p
President Wilson's signing of the
Underwood Simmons bill brings in ef
feet one of the most far-reaching ,evis
ions of tariff rates and revenue laws
enacted for many years.
A new income tax, applying directly
to the incomes of citizens; the aboli-
tion of all tariff on scores of items of
immense Importance to American in
dustry and American consumers and
heavy reduction of tariff rates on most
of the articles in general use in this
country are it's chief features.
While certain portions of the new law
do not take effect at once, most of It's
provisions and almost all the direct re-
ductions, do.
At every port collectors of customs,
appraisers of merchandise and hundreds
of other employees of the treasury de-
partment will plunge at once into tile
task of collecting the nations revenue
on new basis, and with hundreds of
new classifcations and new provisions of
law to compIicate their activities.
The federal govern -nent has been
spending nearly billion dollars year
and the new tariff law will raise less
than one third of that sum. Recent es-
Inmates by tariff experts in Congress
predict that the rates will raise S24S,-
100000 year, and that the income tax
will raise Sl00,000,000. The remainder
of the governments great income is
made up principally of internal revenue
taxes and postal receipts.
1Sle income tax probably viii bring
TIA new tariff law most foreibly to the
attention of citizens President Wilson
and Democratic leaders in Congress be-
lieve, however, that the reduction of
duties on clothing, foodstuffs and other
neeessaries of life, and the complete re-
moyal of the duty from many like ar.
ticles, will eventually bring a reduction |
in the cost of living" without material |
ly affecting business prosperity.
A brief summary of the new tariff law |
as prepared for the Senate follows:
Average percentage of tariff rates as |
compared to the value of all imported |
merchandise: old law 81 per cent; new |
law 27 per cent.
Value of annual imports added to the
free list Sl47 100000.
Estimated revenue from all import |
rates; old law $305,000,000; new law |
SPAS, 100000.
Estimated revenue from corporation |
and income taxes; old law S37 900 900; |
new law Sl00000,000.
Altogether, consumers in the United |
States probably will receive from abroad |
free of all tariff, more than 81 100000 |
600 worth of merchandise during the |
next year. During 1912 the amount of |
free imports" was more than $3.50 ,000.- |
600 and when the tariff is entirely re-
moved from wool, sugar, iron ore and
cheap iron, and other important items,
the total is expected to. increase notably. |
Under 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 proportion will be in
creased by the new law.
The free wool provision of the new
law takes effect December / 1913; the
free sugar provision May l, 1915; the
tax on trades in "cotton futures" Sep
tember !. 1914.
The new tariff law, passed four years
after President Taft signed the existing
Aldrich Payne law, is the result of more
than nine months of work in Congress.
Hearings We're started January 6, hy
the House ways and means committee.
fCoDfinua1 on third raoa