46o THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



it has resulted in the creation of a watch " trust/' producing millions 

 of profits, even while the labor employed was often so poorly paid as 

 to be unsettled and to have gone upon strike a number of times, and 

 the consumer has paid for his American-made watch 20 per cent, to 

 30 per cent, more than the Italian, the Englishman, or even the Swiss 

 paid for the same article purchased abroad. 



That such a condition is evil, and that it should be corrected, all 

 true lovers of their country will agree, but too often "What is every 

 one's business is no one's," and tariff revision along this and a score of 

 other lines equally bad can only be hoped for if the facts are placed 

 before the Congress in convincing form. 



It must ever be remembered that those who are now benefited 

 through the protection of the tariff are on the alert to prevent any 

 revision which will reduce their profits, whether reasonable or unreason- 

 able, while the importer can, at the most, be only secondarily interested. 

 He must continue business under existing conditions, although he 

 would prefer a change, but those most interested and to whose benefit 

 such a change would most conduce — the great mass of consumers, the 

 people, are individuals busy with their daily affairs and unable to give 

 the time or afford the expense which would be necessitated by any 

 concerted effort to correct the existing wrongs. 



And a great number of wrongs exist under the present act. It is 

 somewhat of a popular fallacy that duties are levied only upon luxuries, 

 and that the average citizen, the one who does not buy diamonds or 

 automobiles and who has never made a trip abroad, has little or no 

 interest in tariff questions. 



That this is an error is easily proved by a glance at the act itself. 

 There are 705 separate paragraphs, 463 of which, covering more than 

 six thousand different articles, impose duties running as high as 60 

 per cent, ad valorem. The remaining paragraphs, 242 in number, con- 

 stitute the " free list." In the minds of the general public the " free 

 list" should contain all the necessities of life; as a matter of fact it 

 covers less than half a dozen articles regarded as necessities, tea, coffee, 

 needles, ice. 



With all the remaining " free of duty importations " the average 

 citizen has nothing to do. The wool which enters into the manufacture 

 of your hat and your clothing pays a duty ranging from 4 to 12 cents 

 per pound; the linen you wear or that is upon your bed pays 60 per 

 cent, ad valorem; your stockings pay 30 per cent, ad valorem and the 

 hides which are imported to make leather for your shoes pay from 15 

 per cent, ad valorem up. Gloves are taxed from $1.75 per dozen pairs 

 to $4.75 per dozen, and jewelry pays 60 per cent, ad valorem. 



We need to import but little food stuffs, as we are able to produce 

 enough to supply our home necessities, but if we eat imported food we 

 pay a tax upon it ranging from 10 per cent, to 45 per cent, ad valorem. 



