Democratic Sentinel, Volume 14, Number 39, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 October 1890 — Duties for Rich and Poor. [ARTICLE]

Duties for Rich and Poor.

Maj. McKinley, in submitting his famous, or infamous, tariff bill to Congress last spring, said: “Thecommittee, responding as it believes to the sentiment of the country and tho recommendations of the President, submit what they consider to be a just and equitable revision of the tariff. ” “A just and equitable revision of the tariff.” Let us see. The fine cassimeres, worn by the rich, are advanced in duty 25 per cent., while woolens, worn by the poor, are advanced 40 per cent. Broadcloth is advanced 20 per cent; cotton corduroy 114 per cent. Sealskin sacqu.es are reduced 33 per cent.; imitation sealskin sacques are advanced 120 per cent. Silk velvets are not advanced at all; cotton velvets are advanced 100 per cent. Silk linings are taxed at the same rate as under the old tariff; cotton linings are advanced 285 per cent. Silk laces are advanced 20 per cent.; cotton laces 50 per cent. On black silk there is no advance; on black alpaca there is an advance of 66 per cent. Silk handkerchiefs are advanced 20 per cent.; cotton handkerchiefs 50 per cent. Silk stockings are advanced 10 per cent.; cotton stockings are advanced 15 to 25 per cent. On the finer grades of linens, worn by the rich, the McKinley duty is 35 per cent.; on the coarser grades, worn by the poorer classes, the new duty is 50 per cent. Yet these are duties imposed in a bill “to reduce the revenue and equalize duties on imports, ” and are what McKinley calls “a just and equitable revision of the tariff. ”