The enterprise. [volume] (Harlem, Mont.) 1899-1926, 1915-10-28
RUMORED PRESIDENT HAS
DECIDED TO RETAIN DUTY.

The Washington correspondent OF
several of the big dailies report
President Wilson as having decided
to ask the Sixty-fourth Congress to
undo little of the mischief perpe-
trated by the Sixty-third. It Is re-
ported that the President is not con-
WINGED that the Underwood tarlH
law has been mistake, but that the
Eul opean war has necessitated an
economic readjustment. Among the
principal amendments, which 1t IS
rumored the President will ask for,
are a retention of the existing duty
on sugar, a restoration of the duty
on wool, increase of duty on dye
stuffs and chemicals and an in
crease in the income tax, either by
lowering the rate or lowering the
exemptions.
Democratic leaders are reported
as being divided on the advisabil1ty
of such course on the eve OF the
election, some holding that the OPP
ening of the tariff issue would stir
up feeling that would not be conduc-
tive to success at the polls for the
Democratic party, while others be-
lieve that it would be possible to
receive a few selected schedules
without harm to the party.
Loyalty to ones country and its
highest good is taught us from the
cradle up, and in crises like these
we have been facing almost con-
stantly since the outbreak of the
European war, the best of us have
discarded party feeling and have
stood behind the president ready
and willing to back him up for the
honor of our country. Republicans
and Democrats worthy of the name
of Americans have forgotten their
political affiliations and have re-
membered only that they were Am
orleans. The same lesson could be
practiced to advantage by po1iti-
clans, whether Republicans or DEM
ocrats. With a 100000 deficit
in sight at the end of the current
fiscal year something must be done
The war tax yielding about $780,
100000 expires on January 1 next.
From the time the Underwood
tariff went into effect on March 1,
1914, up to the end of June, 1915,
the government lost $26,542,327 in
cold cash by reason of the Is per
cent reduction in the tariff. During
that sixteen-month period dutiable
sugar to the amount of 7,497,5S7
278 pounds was imported. Under
the old tariff the revenue on this
sugar would have amounted to
SOL, 142,462 while only $74,600,-
1876 was actually collected under the
new tariff
This loss divided among the hun
dred million people of the United
States would amount to 26.5 cents
apiece, to be raised in some other
form of taxation. The avowed pur-
pose of the new tariff was to effect
a saving to consumers. The annual
per capita consumption of sugar in
the United States is 85.5 pounds,
and the saving if we had received
the benefit of the Is per cent reduc-
ton in the tariff would have am
ounted to only 20 cents a year, or
about 38 cents for the sixteen
months. Therefore, if we deduct
from the SO cents we might have
saved, the 26.5 cents per capita
share in the government revenue
loss, to be made up some other way.
we stood to gain about 11.5 cents in
sixteen month. So much for theory.
How the Saving" worked out in
practice was som ething like this:
The average New York duty paid
price of 96-test sugar (refners' pur-
chasing price) for nine weeks pre-
ceding March 4, 1914, when the Is
per cent reduction went into effect,
was $3.373 hundred. From March
5. 1914, to July 80, 1914. when the
European war broke out, the aver
age New York duty paid price of &C.
test sugar was $3.164. Here seems
to be 300 cents per hundred of the
tariff cut accounted for. The aver
age New York wholesale price of
granulated which is the refiners'
selling price, for the nine weeks pri-
or to the tariff cut was 1892 hun
dred. For the period from March
to July 80, 1914, the average New
York wholesale price of graduated
was $3.975. The refiners, there
fore, bought their sugar 300 cents
a hundred cheaper and sold it SIS
cents higher, which means that they
absorbed IS per cent of the 34-cent
cut. incidentally foreign sugar
manufacturers also got about 13
CeHIS HuHuTeu DeCter imam before
the tariff reduction.
The foreign sugar manufacturer
also received about $1.67 more a
hundred pounds for his 96-test
sugar than he did during the nine
weeks preceding the tariff reduction
From the week ending August g.
1914, to and including the week
ending July 1, 1915, the average
New York duty-paid price of 96-test
sugar was $4.705 a hundred, which
is an increase of 1882 a hundred
compared with the average for nine
weeks preceding the tariff reduction.
The average New York wholesale
price for granulated during the