Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-07-17
A TARIFF FOR WAR REVENUE
Conditions Are Rapidly Forcing Considers.
ton Of the Obvious and Easiest
Way to Raise Funds

planning. under the guidance of Profess
sor Taussig, of the Tariff Commission,
to increase the duties on long list of
!, articles in order to increase the national
| revenues.
But it will not be purely revenue
tariff that is to come from the Ways and
Means Committee, however it may be
described when it is introduced in the
House. There will be large measure
of protection in it.
Take the case of sugar. The Demo-
cratic Congress made cane sugar free by
the Underwood-Sim act, the duty to
| disappear on May 1, 1915. The sugar
| duty in the previous tariffs had been
protective and the cane growers of the
South and the beet sugar planters Of
the West had benefited by it. Indeed,
without the, protective tariff we should
have had no beet sugar industry. and as
soon as the Underwood Simmons law
was passed the western farmers began
to cut down their beet acreage.
The war. however. came to their
rescue. 1t cut down imports and de-
creased revenues to such an alarming
extent that Congress in April, 1916, re-
pealcd the frce sugar provisions of the
tariff law. The cutting off of the Ger
man and Russian sugar from the rest of
the world has made heavy demands on
the sources of supply from which we
have been drawing. The price has gone
nd hoo i-
able. not because of the Democratic
tariff, but because Of conditions for which
the Democratic tariff makers would not
like to be held responsible.
sugar tariff, nominally to raise more
revenue. The effect Of an increase will
be to foster both beet and cane sugar
raising. 1t will be a protective tariff
regardless Of any other name by which
the Democrats may choose to call it.
1t is also intimated that the duties on
tobacco and spirits are to be increased
and that tea and coffee are to be taken
from the free list. The Republicans have
consistently kept tea and coffee free, as
tective by any stretching of the meaning
of the word. They have taxed the i'm
portation of tobacco and spirits both for
revenue and for protection. The Demo-
Gratis allowed the tariff to remain on
spirits and tobacco with little change
and the custom houses have been col
lecting about s25.OOO,OOO in duties on
about $26.OO0.000 worth of imported to-
bacco and S9,50O,000 duties on about
s6,7OO.OoO worth of imported spirits.
The prohibition amendment to the
Constitution forbids the importation of
spirits. The Democrats say that that
amendment will be adopted. The stua-
tion is so uncertain that it is unwse to
count on increasing revenue from i'm
ported spirits. And if the nation be-
comes "bone dry" some source of. reve-
nue. will have to be found to make up for
the sums collected from the brewers and
distillers.
The significant fact to be noted in the
discussion going on IN the Ways Cnd
Means Committee is that the Democratic
leaders are beginning to regard the tariff
as a source of revenue to be tapped to
the utmost. Professor Taussig. of their
Tariff Commission, has even gone so far
in the interest of instant revenue as to
urge that a resolution be adopted by
Congress forbidding the importation of
any of the articles on which the duty is
| to be increased from the moment the bill
is made public until its final passage
He seeks to prevent importers from rush
ing goods into the country under the
lower duties.
The purpose of such a resolution is
commendable, but it's wisdom is doubt
full. We have no oversuppy of anything
at the present time. The effect of an
embargo on importations would be to in
crease at once the market price of the
stock of goods already in the country
and the domestic consumers would have
to pay in the increased prices sum
greater than would be lost by the Gov
ernment in revenues on goods rushed in
ahead of the higher tariffs. This is a
kind of indirect taxation for which there
is no defense in morals or in economics
If the Democratic majority in the
Ways and Means Committee will follow
the advice of the Republican members
and ask their cooperation in drafting q
war tariff bill whose primary purpose is
to raise revenue and decrease the burder
of direct taxation they can write meas
ure which will commend itself to tn,
judgment of Congress so completely tina
il, can be passed with little debate ant
the new duties can be put into effec
before the importers will have time t,
stock up with goods under the presen
tariff rates.
The resolution empowering the Presiden