National Affairs: Thief Catch Thief

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Others suggested that inasmuch as a tariff law is in the remaking the injustice should be properly righted. If it is not practical to appraise tourists' imports at wholesale, a lower rate of duty or a greater individual exemption might be allowed. The tariff bill as it stands increases the tourist's duty-free allowance from $100 to $200 (the National Association of Merchant Tailors of America is opposing this increase) but the change merely compensates for the decreased purchasing power of the dollar which has taken place since the $100 allowance was established several decades ago. To put the tourist on equal terms with the commercial importer would require about a $300 exemption and a special reduction of about 33⅓% in duties applying to tourist-imported goods (retail value). Wise men sniffed at the possibility of these terms being adopted. "The tourists," said they, "have no lobby."