Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 March 1893 — Full of Trap Doors. [ARTICLE]

Full of Trap Doors.

The McKinley tariff bill is a marvel of bad legislation. It contains many suggestions of McKinley’s impractical methods of doing business. It is as full of tricky clauses and tariff jobs as an egg is of meat. No schedule can stand honest criticism. Hundreds of jobs have already been exposed by the courts and by Treasury officials, and new ones are constantly brought to light—cases where the bill did not behave as was expected by McKinley, or at least by the most of his associates who framed and voted for it Here is one just exposed by the Dry Goods Economist, of Feb. 25, 1893: Section 373, schedule J, of the McKinley tariff specifies the duty on this class of cotton fabrics, which are the articles manufactured of.cotton that are most largely imported into this country, and describes the goods as follows: “Laces, edgings, embroideries, insertings, neck rufflings, ruchlngs, trimmings, tuckings, lace window curtains, and other similar tamboured articles, and articles‘embroidered by hand or machinery, embroidered and hem-stitched handkerchiefs, and articles made wholly or in part of lace, rufflings. tuckings, or ruchlngs, all of the above named articles composed of flax, jute, cotton, or other vegetable fiber, or of which these substances, or either of them, or a mixture of any of them, is the component material of chief value, not specially provided for in this act, 60 per centum ad valorem. ” The duty on these fabrics according to the tariff of 1883 was from 30 to 40 per cent. Why was it increased by the McKinley tariff? Because certain American manufacturers of ruchlngs and rufflings, who found themselves in competition with European makers of these trimmings, brought pressure to bear in the right quarter in order to have the duty increased t on these particular articles, not desiring by any means to increase the duty on the other items classified in this section. By negligence, apparently, the duty was increased, however, on the whole section. Thus, for the sake of benefiting the whole manufacturers, who sew together into rufflings, ruchlngs and other trimmings some of the fabrics classified in this section, a decided change was made in the trade on lace curtains, in particular, and the consumer of laces and embroideries was called upon to pay a tax of at least 20 per cent, more than previously. The increase in the duty on lace curtains has benefited not one single domestic manufacturer of those goods. On the contrary, all such manufacturers would be glad to see the tariff put back to its old figure.