The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1867-06-20

/ currency, depressing uncertainty. and
general dizziness of trade is ascribed
to insuHcien MT protection, and the
business of the country is therefore to
be whipped into activity by such ad
/ ditional duties as will certainly make
smuggling brisk, at least.
The manner of arranging the de-
tails OF these enactments Is, if posi-
BILE, worse than their matter. In the
House it seems to be chiefly done, OF,
at least, most Enthusiastically. That
body, having gone into Committee Of
the Whole-thIs Understanding con-
dition being tolerably well described
if we say tnat 1t is the result OF a
successful motion to suspend the rules
and let dignity be biowed-the House
is happy and natural, quite itself and
Richard like. The tariff bill is
taken up. the previous under
standing being that it is not to
be revised, and is certainly never
to be lowered, but that the bill
Of the last session is to be altered. The
Der moves the addition of twenty
to, and is directly Offset by the mo-
ton of another to add forty cents to
that. Forty cents pound are pro,
posed on zan.e. What zaffre?'
asked one OF his neighbor. Z" Never
heard of it; look IN the Cyclopedla
after we rise. Dc you know anything
about camatile. and pierre acidy"
y No, its all right, and here's some
thing we do. understand, twenty
cents a pound, and twenty-five per
cent. on all books in the English lam
guage, bound, stitched, or on sheets,
and printed since the year 1910" And
SO the items OF the bill are rapidly
passed over, any member moving any
increase he pieases on anything he
pleases, the increase being always in
stantly agreed to ;sand the next num-
Der OF the admiring Tribune contains
reward of merit IN the shape of a
remark that :. Congress was very in
dustrious yesterday" Now, to most
people this may seem a mere waste OF
time on the part of Congress. Why
not prepare two wheels, 10 imitation
OF Mr.. Crosby's, celebrated scheme,
one OF whlc4A $500 ~o..~.. p.4u.ou
slips bearing the names OF all the
articles usually named in tariff bills,
and the other containing slips
expressing the figures of increase
both specific and ad Uatorem-and
ranging from one to five hundred per
cent, aud depute couple OF pages to
draw theretrom? On nickel the pro-
posed duty was forty cents per pound
on zinc, in sheets, four cents Why
thus, and why not reversed: why one
figure more than another, particu-
larry as there Is said to be but one
nickel factory In the country? The
whole matter seems as accidental and
lacking in definite reason as the de-
termination OF the amount OF. stamps
which various documents must bear
a check for million Of dollars, for
instance, being taxed but the same
two cents which one for a dollar is,
while promissory note pays five
cents for each one hundred dollars,
or fraction thereof.
These things seem as have been
stated, but they are not SO; on the
contrary, there is power that ar
ranges the apparently accidental pro-
visions OF the tariff. Senator Fessen-
den not long ago remarked that it
would never answer to allow manufac-
turers to regulate the tariff. yet they
do'regulate 1t. The fact is-and on
this fact we rest this article--that the
tariff, as finally adopted, instead of
being the concurrent opinion of mem
bers Of Congress, who have practically |
studied the subject with the best light |
attainable, is simply the soork of man
ufdcturers, a0ho haze compromised |
among themselves the claims of their
conflicting Interests, and who carry their
end partly by persuasion, partly by |
bribery. Virtually, Congress says 10 |
the manufacturers as class: Regu- |
late your own affairs, gentlemen; ar
range it among yourselves; and when
YOU are agreed, report it to US, and |
we'll pass it. Thus, the duty on wool,
for example, is the result of com
promise between the wooden manufac-
turers of the East, who do not want a
high tariff, and the wool growers of |
the West, who do want it; and in
general, each particular faction Sc
cures its desired advance upon Its own
interest by simply asserting to a like |
advance upon everything else, about |
which it is of course indifferent.-N. |
Y. Gazette.