Show THE PEOPLE TWICE ROBBED in the aratt mattar r of hat flat trimmin m who should get the ur funded duties how tho the protective tariff works loss tc tho the people is ii illustrated by the hat trimmings caso case finally decided tho the lay law imposed a certain duty on hat trimmings and tho the custom house officials appointed in tho the protectionist interest labored tc bring them under a schedule that would greatly increase the duty tile the importers protested and went to the courts to get the excess of duty refunded to them meanwhile they soll tile trimmings tc the public at prices tb that it covered the increase of cost caused by the improper ruling of the custom house officials tho the courts faid eaid the importers were right and the excess of duty must bo be kcf refunded by b y alio t lie government the treasury department under president harrison han bisou continued to look at the matter from tho the protected manufacturers point oan of view and kept tile import import ers waiting by prolonging legal proceedings ce some 1 basteen has been refunded but there remains M tr tc refund ex cx secretary foster says cp it 5 oo oooo whatever cuin is repaid to the he complaining importers will of course come out of tho the pockets of the taxpaying spaying ta consumers who lorig long ago paid this excess of duties when they bought their hats bats the injustice to the consumers consumer is man idest it would have been avoided if it were tho the policy of tho the customs officials to give the consumer the benefit of the lower rate of duty whenever there is fuestion iu estion Ozi as to which of two duties the law means to pi in such has not been the policy of the customs administration tra tion because tho the tariff I 1 lias aas been worked in the interest of protected manufacturers and for the latter a high rate fixed by executive esc cativo order is as good as a like rato rate made by congress protectionists projectionists in tile tho customs service or officials in that service appointed at the tha instance ot of pro are hardly safo safe custodians of tho the public interests as respects rates of duty that is to say the interests of the consuming masses of the people it may ba asked whether the millions of dollars of tariff tax to bo be refunded under tinder tho the courts decision ought to go to the importer or to tho the foreia foreigner ler who sold him tho the hat trimmings if as our republican publican friends think the foreigner pays tho the tariff tax tas the money ought clearly to go to the foreigner it is money paid by y him improperly into our treasury and the american importer has no title to it the republican idea is that the foreigner knocks the amount of tile the tax tas off his wholesale price so that foreign goods are sold hero here as aa low as abroad this beim being t the tha case it is hard to see where tho tha protection comes in or Y why by the manufacturer wants a tariff but tho the fact everybody knows knowe is the other way iray the tariff is to put prices up tip and it does it and when tho the importer gets the excess excer of duties on hat trimmings refunded to win leini there is nothing said of liis his bending sending thomash tho cash over to europe baltimore sun |