Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1848-01-26
AN EXTRACT FROM THE SPEECH OF
MIR. STEWART, OF Pa,
Delivered TN the II. of ReUresenfaf;,es In, N 1914


port oil the Secretary of The Treasury which has
been lauded here and elsewhere as .s,he grea,sst
production o' the age;" document which has been
printed IN the German, and in don't know how
many other languages, and has been proflseIy cir
cniated among the people and it is working in ev-
cry direction that effect for which it was intended
by misleading and deceving the people on the sub
Ject VI the tariff OF 1916. | will here say, in nv
place, that never did official paper emanate from
any civilized Government in the world which con
tanned so many talsehoods, q cannot use any mider
Term ialsehoods so numerous and So gross False
moods, not In hundreds or in thousands misstated
but alsehoods In millions and hundreds of millions
OF dollars That its statements are false am nra-
pared to prove from the Secretary's own reports
VIII show from his figures that he has ftien
hto mistakes, or mlsstaemens OF the truth i'm one
case OF elghty-two millions; in another instance of
one hundred and seventy-five millions; in another
'our hundred and one millions, and in another of
four hundred and twenty three millions. | do not
say, will not positively charge, that these mis-
statements Were made with design; with that ques-
tloh II belongs not 10 me TO mcdde but saw that
ms own hgures prove the fact to be So will rive
the oecretary's own figures, exposing their gross
their palpable misstatemenis, book and pare. and
pray gentlemen TO take them and show them to
MT. walker, and let him deny or explain them n
way II he can This wonderful o'.rt of financial
aolity' this greatest production age, is so re-
Piee win Inonstrous errors that a. . not wonderful
lhat the honorable Secretary should have tainted
las he is said to have done) under the amaznn task
OF producing them and endeavorinp to nut them
,orln as truth Sir, II is an easy thing to prove the
truth to be true but the task of working error into
ruth is too great for the sublime genius, the
herculean ability of Mr.. Walker himself; and saw
IL Is no Wonder he tainted under the attempt
Sir, the honorable Secretary has in his report
three great objects in view. The first is to prove
mat low duties always produce increased revenue;
the second is to prove that the reduction of duties
mas produced not only increase of imports but of
exports, and especially to the exports of hreadstus
ana provisions; and the third is To show that. by
reducing the duties and increasing imports he has
benefited the farming, mechanical, and manufac-
turing interests of the country. Yes to show that
importing foreign goods by millions on millions. and
sending money out of the country TO pay for them,
Is the way to help the interests of American la
Dor! Yet so says the Secretary
The first position this report attempts to ostab
!lsh is that his project of reducing duties has pro
duced an increase of eight millions of dollars in the
revenue 30 far is this from being true, or anv
tnlng like the truth, that will show that instead
OF bringing into the Treasury eight millions more.
1t has actually brought 81 POP 657 less than would
nave been received during the last year, had the
tariff of 1912 remained in operation a blunder of
the small amount OF fifteen millions of dollars in n
single year.
ii gentlemen will look at the first pages Of the
three last annual reports of the Secretary hey will
Ind that, by his own showing. the tariff Of 1912
produced, in 1915, S27 ,52S, Il2; in 1896, 500.
|l2,obl and in l647, under Mr. Walkers tariff
oil 1910 he received only al 1884, almost three
millions less than was received in 1886 and near
iy four millions less than in 1916. Now. sir. nv
looking at the late report of the Secretary it az
pears mat last year we imported about ten and a
nall millions more dutiable goods than in 1915.
Whlch, at 81 per cent, the average duties under
the tariff OF 1912, would yield $3,il6429. which.
with the excess received in 1915 over 1917 a.
,2SS, makes 81 ,202 ,657 more revenue which
would have been received if the tariff Of 1912 had
not been repealed This is mathemaiically true
and yet, in the face ofthese facts the President and
Secretary says the has been increased more
than eight millions of dollars
in his report OF last session he gives his own es
mates LOT me proceeds OF the present or last year
(lo4 at S27 S35, 73l YET it has actually Drodnced
but S5 l4I ,SC1 more than four millions less than
MS own Official estimate. Yet both he and the
'iodel resident say that the tariff has more than
reazf the most sanguine hopes of its friends! |
confess do not comprehend statements like these.
feInaps the Secretary may explain them.
NO" as 20 The modus operandi, the legerdemain,
the slight-oi-hand by which alsehoods are made to
appear true, the plan by which he attempts to make
IL our That he has received more revenue under the
tariff OF 1910 than received under that of 1912
How is this done? 1t is done by cutting I'D the
years. taking few months Of one year and four Or
flve months of anOther-five months under the ia
iii OF io4Z and seven under the tariff of lSl6-|
Every body knows the tariff OF $40 was passed in
July, and did not go into operation till December
during this time imports paying duties were almost
eptiteiy arrested The fact being that the duties
would IN few months be greatly reduced, a very
large amount of goods which would have come in
and paid duty according to then existing tariff of
lo42 were withheld till the duties come down.
!hey were piled up in warehouses or kept in bond
Till the tariff Of 1916 and low duties took effect
besides, goods which had paid heavy duties were
IeeXported, ard the duties withdrawn from the
Teasury During this period, ofcOurse little reye-
nue., III comparison, was coming in, though the
country was still nominaly under the tariff 1912
NOW these are the months which this very fair and
candid Secretary takes for his estimate of the pro
duce OF The tariff OF 1912. As soon as the reduced
tariff OF $40 went into operation all these goods
/ which had been held back waiting for the reduced
dutes, were at once poured in, and in pours reve-
nue. by millions The goods ndduies Withdrawn
from the tariff of 1912 now return under the tariff
OF 1916; and these are the months which this truth
seeking Secretary takes, as showing the COMPARE
! tive product OF this model tariff cODiras;ed with
! FIVE months of the tariff of Si2 giving little over
seven millions. when, for two years before the re-
venue had exceeded an average of twenty seven
millions! And this is put forth as fair compari-
son. This is no deception. On, no; this is fair
This is the way to bring truth to the people, He
might as well compare the strength Of giant and
that OF a child, by putting down what The giant
could lift when on his sick bed and in his last hours
and what the child could lift in the vigor Of health
and under sudden and violent excitement
/ Would this be very satisfactory way Of proving
/ that The child was stronger than the giant?
! The next thing the learned Secretary attempts TO
prove is that under low duties more revenue is al
ways obtained than under high duties To show
this he eelecfs rcars' incnrno nndnr h:.r