The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1915-12-28
Cutting Off The ImpoFhlisas
By The War
Alone Caused Reduction Of
COuntry's Revenue

man Alfred G. Allen, of the Second dis
triet, has issued a statement that is
most enlightening as to the operation
of the Underwood tariff laws Mr.. Al
,len has just returne to the state for
the holiday period. He says:
During the first seven months Of
1914 the Underwood act produced
s2s2, 600, 600, and during the same per-
iod of 1913 the Payne-AIdrich act
turned into the treasury $21s,0G0, ,0eG-
In other words the Underwood act pro-
duced $14, 1000, 900 more than the Payne
A1drich act.
The tariff and treasury experts fg-
ured that it would produce 0,0a0,-
900 customs revenue the first year. As
a matter of fact it produced $293. .G00,-
900 Of customs revenues-S23,00 ,000,0oa
more than expected of it. Exclusive
of postal receipts the income for the
fiscal year 1918 amounted 10 s724-f11,- :
coo; for the fiscal year 1914 the first
under the Underwood law. 4,34S,-
900, or $4,000, 900 more than was pro-
duced under the last year of the Payne
law, and / may say s45.000,0o0 more
than was produced in 1872 These
figures are all a matter Of record in
the department and easy to obtain
They also show what happened to our
imports after the war began During
the fiscal year ending June 80, 1914,
the imports from the European coun-
tries now at war amounted to $780,
100000. The importations from these
same countries during the fiscal year
1915 fell to s503. 100000 a decrease of
100000. The aggregate customs
receipts for the former year were
S292, 800 900, and for the latter year
$209, ,7s6, ,Oa0, of falling off since the
war began of over $s2.O00,000. The
ordinary receipts from distilled spir-
its, tobacco and fermented liquors
showed a decrease for the last fiscal
year of SIS. 5.sO6,OO0.
The Underwood law has amply JUS
titled itself. Had the Payne law been
in effect when the war broke out, In
stead of having to raise $s0.000,00G to
meet the emergency, we would have
had to raise $160,000,000, for bear in
mind that the Payne law. save for the
corporation tax, depended upon the
custom house to raise it's revenues.
while the Underwood law carried the
/ income tax provision, an additional
source of revenue which is not affected
by cutting of of imports
Measured by every standard and
tried by every test. the Underwood
law has fully met the expectation OF
it's trainers"
II is to be hoped that Louis NJ Day
of Chillicothe, makes a better record
as a member of the public utilities
commission of Ohio, than the means
he took to get the position would In
dicate for him. Day was the secretary
of the True Glue Democracy League
organized by Harvey C. CARRIER, and is
the man CARRIER first selected for the
position 1t will be remembered thai
the charge was made during the cam
paign last fall that the public utiIitie.
commission was the objective poin
of onslaught of the True Glue leader
The term of Day will run to Febru
ary, 1919. the vacancy to which b,
arose being created by the resignation
of Judge o. p. Hughes. Democrat. Civ
en- at the demand of Governor Willis
Personally the new member of thi
board is well mentioned As a mem
her Of the Ohio legislature he nege
did anything good or bad His hes
niends trust that the watchfulnssa q
the Republican members Of tina hoard
against whom NO suspicion has eve