OCR Text |
Show IT IS NOT IMPORTANT. Directly after the conclusion of the peaco negotiations at Portsmouth, It was announced that the Czar, out of the gratitude of his heart because of the favorable termination of that business, bus-iness, had ordered the cessation of the enforcement of certain discriminating duties which were, being exacted upon products of tho United States, when imported im-ported into Russia. Tho Imposition of these hostile import im-port rates dates back to the beginning of the year 1901, when, In retaliation of the countervailing duty imposed upon sugar of Russian origin In accordance with section 6 of the Dingley tariff, the Russian Minister of Finance ordered the application of the penal tariff rates to imports of manufactures of cast iron, of hand tools, machinery, and numerous nu-merous other articles classed under tho general head of manufactures of Iron and steel. These articles, which were subject until then to the same conventional conven-tional rates as were paid by like articles ar-ticles coming from Germany .and other European countries, became subject to rates from 30 to 60 per cent higher. In May of the same year an order of the Russian Minister of Finance raised the rates on whlto rosin, pine1 pitch and brewers' pitch by 20 per cent, and that on velocipedes by 30 per cent, which higher rates have prevailed since. In order to show the effect upon American exports to Russia, caused by these hostile tariff rates, the Department Depart-ment of Commerce and Labor has complied com-plied a leaflet, which proves that the discriminating rates have made hardly any difference; that neither In the Russian Rus-sian nor in the American returns Is any perceptible difference to .be traced in the aggregate trade of the two countries. coun-tries. The fact seems to be that the exports ex-ports from this country to Russia are so largely made up of raw cotton, that other articles of sale or purchase cut Inappreciable figures. Thus, of tho total to-tal exports from this country to Russia In 1903 ($32,531,G00), $24,33S,000 was of raw cotton. And as to tho very articles discriminated against, an analysis shows that the imports of these have increased, on tho whole, since the discriminating dis-criminating duties were laid, this increase in-crease being stated in detail, the aggregate ag-gregate of figures of imports Into Russia Rus-sia from the United States of the articles ar-ticles subject to discriminating duties showing an Increase from $601,553 In 1900 to 5951,106 In 1905. All of which is a conspicuous proof of the fact which we see exemplified from time to time of the general fact that things do not always work out ns planned. So that, while the release of the enforcement en-forcement of these discriminating duties du-ties may fairly be taken as an evidence of the Czar's gratitude and good will, the act Is not commercially Important. |