Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 April 1893 — Paying lor Recipro ity. [ARTICLE]

Paying lor Recipro ity.

It will ,be remembered that President Harrison, under the so-called reciprocity sections of the McKinley bill, issued his proclamation declaring coffee imported to this country from Venezuela, Colombia and Haiti subject to an import tax of three cents a pound, because those countries were derelict in meeting the administration’s reciprocity ideas in admitting American products free of duty. They alleged they could not do so as it would break up tholr revenue system. The excuse was not accepted, and reciprocity as to those countries became retaliation. Well, what has been the result, and who pays the piper? In 1891,, before the retaliatory proclamation was issued, we imported about 520,000,000 pdunds of coffee, of which 87,500,000 pounds came from Venezuela, Colombia and Haiti. Th'is was a monthly average of 7,300,000 pounds from these three countries. Under the President’s proclamation this has fallen off to about 835,800 pounds a month, valued at $150,000. This was the report for January. The decrease was the effect of the exaction of a duty of three cents a pound so far as the quantity received from those countries is concerned. It cut down our supply to that extent. We received one-sixth pf our consumption from them. It was what is known in the trade as mild coffees, and cutting off their supply enabled other countries producing*the same grades to exact higher prices. The price of mild coffees to American consumers has been increased at least H cents a pound,-the increase in the aggregate amounting to several millions of dollars annually. The retaliatory proclamation has not only increased the price of coffee from the three countries, but has also affected the price of the large quantities of coffee that are on the free list. It has been stated that President Cleveland has called on the State Department for information as to our trade relations with the three countries; and tills suggests what is probably a fact, that be may rescind

President Harrison’s proclamation imposing the tax of three cents a pound. As the operation of McKinley reciprocity has been ter add to the cost of coffee to American consumers, it would seem to be the commonsense thing to do to wipe it out. It only adds another to the stupendous failures of McKinley ism.—Pittsburg Post.