Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 51, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 January 1893 — Inner Workings of the Tariff. [ARTICLE]

Inner Workings of the Tariff.

A report of the Board of General Appraisers of Customs to the Secretary of The Treasury for the year ended Oct. 31, 1892, throws much light upon the inner workings of the tariff system. The report shows that during the year in question 45,995 protests were made against the classification of goods by the custom house officials. These protests covered nearly all classes of imports, and their multitude shows how great is the confusion in the administration of the tariff. Besides the protests against wrongful classification, there were during the year 2,090 appeals against assessments of values by the local appraisers. In 573 of these cases the action of the local appraisers was sustained by the general board; in 796 cases the decisions were sustained in part; in 86 cases the valuations of the local appraisers were increased; and in 446 cases the claims of the Importers were confirmed. In 17 cases the appeals against the custom house valuations were withdrawn, and in 172 cases the decision of the Board of Appraisers is still pending. The extent of the embarrassment to trade by the incessant conflicts over a vastly complicated machinery of tariff laws and custom house administration is almost incalculable. The Importing merchants find themselves harassed beyond mousure by stupid and inconsistent decisions which delay their business operations, while they are not infrequently the victims of official dishonesty and bluckmall. Under a wise and just system of revenue laws most of the conflicts over the administration of the customs laws would disappear. It is not strange that the great commercial interests of the country should have risen in earnest protest against the maintenance of the McKinley tariff and its niMltitudlirous abuses.. —Philadelphia Record.