The New York herald., 1922-05-22
MONDAY. MAY %, 1922.
The Tariff on Your Hands.

Would you know how tarln Is
made and how it works out in what
it costs you in cold cash? Perhaps
you will find interest in the glove
schedule, since everybody wears
gloves.
1t was long ago discovered by wise
and experienced tariff rate makers
like MCKINLEY, DINGLEY and ALDRIcH,
after deep study and thorough under
standing of the American glove in
dustry, that for gloves the so-called
specific duty was the simplest and
the most practical. 1t was agreed by
these men of conspicuous tariff abil-
ity. and the practice Of years proved
they were right, that in normal con-
ditions a specific duty Of 81 to SO
dozen was about right for gloves.
The specific duty is fixed sum OF
American money collected as a GUS
toms duty on any given Article Of
certain quality and description i'm
ported from any country. The mer-
its of such a duty are that it exacts
from every like importation the same
amount of duty whether its foreign
cost of production is high or low; IT,
collects the same amount of duty
whether foreign exchange Is stable
or whether it fiuctuates widely. and
1t prevents the Treasury from being
defrauded by differentiation. Under
valuation is the dishonest practice of
swearing that a dutiable imported
article cost less abroad than 1t actu-
ally did cost.
The obvious defect of the specific
duty as protective measure is that
under a heavily falling foreign cost
OF an article or a heavily falling
foreign exchange the American pro-
ducer gets less and less protection
through the specific duty so long as
the foreign cost or foreign exchange
continues to fall.
Thus in women's gloves, the i'm
portations of which are almost
wholly from France, the Paris price
normal exchange the Paris cost would |
be 1890 and a fixed tariff rate of So |
would make the cost here S21.30, no. |
counting transportation charges, In
surance, interest, &c. But with francs
worth approximately nine cents in
American money, the Paris cost to
our importer would be only SO. which
with the 50 specific duty added would
make the cost laid down in New |
York s11.
The American producer, in other |
words, would be armed by the tariff
on gloves to meet a foreign competi- |
tive drive of some s21. AS matter
of fact, however, because OF the |
French exchange conditions, he
would be compelled TO face a for
eign competitive price Of only about |
half that s21.
1t was an abnormal development Of
exactly this kind which made II nee |
essary for Congress revisers of the
present tariff to do something to cor
rect the situation. But IL Is one thing |
10 remedy trouble; It is quite an
other thing to make out OF II |
worse evil.
Examine the new glove duties un-
der the Fordney schedules and the
McCumber amendments and you will |
gather some idea OF how the tariff |
makers have muddled and bedeviled |
the general tariff legislation. And, |
first, let it be remembered that in /
the past thirty years and more the
specific tariff rates on women's kii |
gloves have been: MCKINLEY. 1925
o dozen: WILSON. s2.25; DNGLEY, SO; |
ALpRIcH. SO; UNDERWOOD. now in
effect, 50.
The Senate Finance Committees
rates are 81 on women's gloves and
S. on mems gloves, but with this ex-
traordinary qualification: provided
the rate of duty Is not less than 60
per cent. or more than 20 per cent.
ed valorem." That is to say, the duty
collected on the woman's gloves cost.
ing 100 francs dozen must never be
less than 81, even though the franc
might fall to an exchange value OF
pne cent in American money.
But under the sweeping catchall
provision mot less than so or more
than 20 per cent" the added duty
paid beyond 81 would go up as the
exchange value of the franc went up.
and this from the protective point
pf view, is putting the cart before
the horse. II does not provide the
nrote<tive duty when II is most