cotton goods seem to have been imposed for the benefit of New England
manufacturers. These rates affect articles used by every person in the
United States. Most of these articles are manufactured from raw material
produced in America, and the cost of manufacturing the staple articles
is but slightly higher than in any of the important competing countries.
The average rate imposed by the Dingley Tariff, according to the Bureau
of Statistics, was 38 per cent on cotton cloth and similar rates on
other cotton goods. Since 1897 the "infant industries" have grown, and
some have in recent years declared dividends of 66 per cent per annum.
The Payne-Aldrich Bill increased the average rate on cotton goods from