TARIFF 



5705 



TARKINGTON 



The financial and economic crisis of 1894 to 

 1896 foreshadowed another change in the tariff. 

 Although the campaign of 1896 was fought 

 solely on the question of free silver, President 

 McKinley called a special session of Congress 

 to consider the tariff. In the resulting Dingley 

 Tariff Act of 1897, protective duties reached 

 their maximum, especially those on wool, silks, 

 linens and hides. During the Spanish-American 

 War a number of special duties, particularly 

 one of ten cents a pound on tea, were levied 

 for revenue purposes, but these were repealed 

 in 1901 and 1902. 



The industrial development of the. United 

 States since 1890 has been little short of mar- 

 velous. The Republicans, almost without ex- 

 ception, have attributed this growth to the 

 protective tariff. The Democrats, with equal 

 unanimity, have attributed it to the country's 

 enormous natural resources, and have pointed 

 to certain evils connected with industrial con- 

 trol which they claimed were caused by the 

 tariff laws. The need of some readjustment of 

 duties became clear about 1904. and after that 

 date both the great political parties declared 

 themselves in favor of tariff revision. The Re- 

 publicans, however, paid no attention to, the 

 tariff during Roosevelt's administration, and 

 when they did consider it, in the first year of 

 Taft's administration, passed the Payne- Aldrich 

 law'. There is still some dispute as to whether 

 this act raised or lowered the level of the duties 

 as levied under the Dingley tariffs. The changes 

 were so numerous and so complex that nobody 

 was quite sure what the effects of the law would 

 be. The President defended the law as the 

 best possible under the circumstances, but the 

 public expressed its disapproval by returning a 

 Democratic majority in the House of Repre- 

 sentatives a year later. 



In 1913, immediately after his inauguration, 

 President Wilson called a special session of 

 Congress to enact a new tariff law. The new 

 bill, known as the Simmons-Underwood Tariff 

 Act, provided many changes in the rates. The 

 duties on cotton and woolen goods were greatly 

 lowered, and raw wool was placed on the free 

 list. Sugar, until May 1, 1916, paid a slight 

 duty; thereafter it was entered free. Other ar- 

 ticles on the free list are many chemicals and 

 metals, lumber, coal, boots and shoes-, cemant, 

 asphalt, wood pulp, and original works of art. 

 About 300 rates remained unchanged, over 900 

 were reduced, and eighty-six were raised. Of 

 the eighty-six increases, over half were in the 

 chemical schedule, the remainder being on gold 



and silverware, precious stones, perfumes and 

 other luxuries. To compensate for the loss in 

 revenue which the reductions would cause, the 

 act provided an income tax. 



One of the greatest difficulties to be faced in 

 the preparation of a tariff for the United States 

 is the extent of the country's area and the va- 

 riety of its industries. Thus the clothing manu- 

 facturers of the East and middle West want free 

 wool, but the sheep rancher in the far West 

 demands protection. The sugar planter in the 

 South needs a bounty or an import duty to en- 

 able him to compete with the planters in Cuba 

 and the tropical regions, but the sugar refiner 

 and many other people ask for free sugar. Thus 

 a general tariff act always involves compromise, 

 lest the interests of one section or one class be 

 sacrificed to those of another. Occasionally the 

 interests of one section must yield for the good 

 of the whole. W.F.Z. 



Consult Dewey's Financial History of the United 

 Slates, in those chapters relating to the tariff ; 

 Taussig's Tariff History of the United States. 



Related Subjects. The following articles in 

 .these volumes will give further information on 

 the subject of the tariff, and will make clear 

 certain references in the above discussion: 



Democratic Party Protection 



Free Trade Reciprocity 



Nullification Republican Party 



Political Parties, sub- Tax and Taxes 

 title Political Par- 

 ties in the United 

 States 



TARKINGTON , tahr ' king tun, NEWTON 

 BOOTH (1869- ), an American novelist, born 

 in Indianapolis, Jnd. He was graduated from 

 Princeton University in 1893, and turned his 

 attention at once to literature. The Gentleman 

 from Indiana, 

 published in 1899, 

 made him well 

 known through- 

 out the United 

 States, and his 

 reputation was 

 increased by the 

 appearance of 

 Monsieur Beau- 

 caire, a charming 

 and artistic story 

 of France. This 

 last-named book has been dramatized, and was 

 played with much success by Richard Mans- 

 field. Tarkington's next novels, among which 

 are The Two Vanrevels, Cherry and The Con- 

 quest of Canaan, were not so popular, but his 



BOOTH TARKINGTON 



