744 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



or basket clause at the end to catch any article that could not be in- 

 cluded in any enumeration. This desire to fix specific rates upon 

 each imported commodity has been applied more generally in the 

 law of 1897 than in any previous tariff act. An examination of the 

 imports of manufactures of textile fibers will illustrate this increase 

 of complexity without any increase of revenue. Indeed, these classi- 

 fications and rates, being suggested by interested parties, have for 

 their object a reduction of imports, and as a rule a reduction in revenue 

 from them follows. 



The second objection to the increasing complexity of the tariff 

 laws is to be found in the petty annoyances imposed upon importers 

 and others in enforcing the not always consistent provisions of the 

 law. These vexations are made all the more telling by the fact that 

 the administration of the law is apt to be in the hands of those who are 

 openly hostile to foreign importations, and therefore regard the im- 

 porter in an unfriendly spirit. The power given to the customs 

 agents is enormous, and it is not remarkable that it is abused. The 

 demand for samples, the appraisement of articles, the classification 

 of new or compound commodities, all offer room for controversy, 

 which is not always decided by an appeal to the courts of justice. 

 In special instances, where a section of the law has been framed in 

 behalf of a special interest, the attempt to enforce it becomes petty 

 tyranny of the most intolerable kind. 



In operation the law soon exhibited its failure as a revenue meas- 

 ure. Although duties were generally increased, the more important 

 articles taxed yielded a smaller revenue than under lower rates. 

 The aggregate collections under the bill did not meet the expectations 

 of its sponsors, and for two reasons: first, because the higher duties 

 discouraged imports; and secondly, the demand for imported articles 

 was steadily decreasing under the expanding ability of home manu- 

 factures to meet the needs of the market. No measure short of a 

 direct encouragement to importations can change this situation, or 

 prevent the further shrinkage in the use of foreign manufactures. 

 It follows that the tariff, unless radically altered, can no longer be de- 

 pended on for a return sufficient to defray one half of the rapidly 

 increasing expenditures of the national Government. By refusing 

 to impose moderate duties on articles of general consumption, revenue 

 is sacrificed; by insisting upon imposing protective duties where little 

 revenue can be had, the tariff is converted into a political weapon. 

 Its dangerous qualities are strengthened by turning these duties 

 against the products of certain countries, a policy specially fit to invite 

 reprisals. 



Even the framers of this latest tariff entertained the belief that 

 some provision should be made for breaking its full effect. The 



