The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1921-04-17
REVIEW OF THE
TARIFF LAWS
First Act Stated Its Pur-
pose Clearly and Sim
cerely
SOFTEN|NG THE BLOW
preiudices Against Tax Tenn
porized With in Giving Title
an Apologize Slant

WASHINGTON. April 10
,farv musty oddly OF forgotten
,,,If statutes has been turned up by
s.oreh Of the capitol archives. This
E,s disclosed that the first congress
.ssemblcd under the constitution
,,ced the game problem as Will the
stythy-sevcnth when It meets "A week
borrc-that Of cnacting "a tariff law.
rhe first tariff act was passed on
1py a. 1889. Its formal title state
rnort Of purpose--Nfor laying duty
ON goods. wares, and merchandise
,,rrorfcd into the United States"
,,rriad a bluntness which statesmen
for tho next hundred years were to
s,oid.
no government" this first congress
ssid "for the discharge of debts OF
,ba United states and for the on
,ouraroment and protection OF man
rf,r,lrers that duty be laid upon
goods. wares and merchandise i'm
ported
IL was Just 100 years, the com
,y,tipn shows. before such
str,ighfforward statement OF pur-
rosspogs about encouraging and
protecting manufacturers" would be
made again in an import tax statute.
though the purpose was most evil
IDENTIFY behind most OF the scores OF
following acts. SO simple was the
first bill that II required only two
parcs of the committee print against
moro than 100 for the Payne-Al-
dr.ch act Of 1903.
Too simple. II probably was, for a
gtar later-August 10, l79O-con-
tress passed And act making fur
yher provision for the payment Of
Debts Of the United states
Protecting Frontiers.
More dcftly, the purpose of tho
next tariff bill as IL passed on March
Q. l7g2, was stated to be for the
raising OF farther sum of money
for the protection OF frontiers,
evadlng any remarks about protec-
tion of industries. Its duties were
increases and one duty imposed
was "on coal. per bushel. four and
one half cents"
Two years later the famous TripoH
troubles arose and congress, on
March 90. 1874. passed IAN act 10
protect the commerce and seamen
II the United States against the Bar
barry powers" This act slapped on
general increase OF . 1-2 and 10
per cent ad valorem duties. The
statute stated itself to be temporary,
for one year, but the title proved TO
be too good to be wasted. Year by
wear. after, clear up TO 1918. con
gress reiterated it's laudable purpose,
re-enacted its increased schedules,
and announced 1t was going after
the Barbary pirates with continue
ton Of the tariff for another twelve
month.
In 1918. however, the nation went
90 war with Great Britain, and in
has,y and brief paragraph OF statute
congress announced "an additional
duty Of 100 per cent on all perma-
nent duties' to be collected for the
duration Of hostiities. The tax on
imported salt, incidentally. got up to
70 cents a pound.
This was about the end Of the
early tariff era, according to the
compilation, For the next 40 years,
most of the acts were labelled "to
reduce duties" This they plainly did,
Tor the salt tax was placed at 10
cents bushel. Congress was fruitful
ot cnactments "to release from duty
iron prepared for railways" and the
Ike.
Presidential proclamations re-.
duCed schedules even further. one
dated February 25. 1858, noted thT
vessels and subjects OF His Holiness
the Pope' were no longer to be
charged higher customs rates. ho-
cause reciprocity with the Holy See
had been arranged.
But the tariff came back with the
beginning OF the Civil war. Congress
ON March ., 1851, passed IAN act 10
provide for payment OF outstanding
treasury notes. II was composed Of
70 pages Of tariff schedules This
length foreshadowed the modern
era.
Tariff in War Times.
with misplaced optimism, on July
u, 1862, congress asserted il had
passed IAN act increasing, tempOrar-
NY, the duties on imports" The
succeeding war enactments took the
word temporary completely out ot
the congressional taX-laying vocabu-
larry.
with the end OF the Civil war, acts
reducing import duties went into ef-
leel but on March 3, 1888, when the
modern political controversy over
'a'Iit was well under way, the title
was almost as politely evasive as the
version about the Barbary pirates.
II was called IAN act to reduce in
lernal taxation"
one or two measures designed as
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