Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1870-07-28
Ferty-secenA Cengfsss, second
Session.

4l4s
Congress has received 50 much and
30 often such deserved censure for its
garruilousness, waste Of time, and
demagoguery, that the people have
got the impression that very little
valuable public, legislation has been
adopted during the long session which
ended at noon to-day. Yet q glance
over the sessions work will show
this belief to be unfounded. In real
ity, it is . long time since 80 many
important measureshave beenp
and SO much general business trans
acted in a single session. Legislation
cannot be judged by its quantity and
bulk, for a single important bill may
require more time in its CESSATION
and birth than fifty minor measures
combined. Looking at the results OF
the session with this fact in view,
Congress has no reason to be ashamed
of the fruits of its seven months
labor, and the Republican party ought
not to fear the verdict of the people
upon the acts of their representa-
tives in the National Legislature.
l cannot, in the space of this letter,
90 into the details of the work done
during the session, but / desire to
mention the leading measures which
have been placed upon the Statute
book, and which must make in great
part the platform upon which our
party will go before the people at the
coming Fall elections.
FUNDING THE DEBT.
A carefully matured Funding bill
has been passed, after a very full con-
sideration, which, if it goes into full
effect, will save s26, OOO,O 600 annually
of the interest on the publicdebt, and
consequently lessen taxation by that
amount.
REDUCTION OF TAXATION.
The whole Internal Revenue sys-
tenn has been changed and simplified,
and q reduction has been made in in
ternal taxes amounting to the enor-
NOUS sum of sixty millions annually.
All vexatious special taxeshave been
abolished, and nothing remains but
the tax on distilled spirits, malt Ii
quors, tobacco and cigars, the stamp
tax and the tax on incomes. The
latter has been considerably anchor
ated, and was saved from merited
destruction only by the stupidity OF
certain country Congressman who
imagine that the tax is popular with
farmers and mechanics, who pay no
part Of it.
REVISION OF THE TARIFF.
Important changes, chiefly in the
interests Of Protection, have been
made in the Tariff laws. A large
number of articles used as raw mate
rial for American manufactures have
been placed upon the free list, togeth-
er with many unimportant articles
which only numbered the schedules
without producing revenue enough
to pay for its collection. The Tariff
on tea, coffee and sugar has been re-
duced SO per cent, which lessons at
once the daily household expenses OF
the people, a matter of especial con-
sequence to the poor and to all in
moderate circumstances. The whole
reduction in the Tariff is estimated at
$40, 600, 600, which, with the amount
taken from Internal Revenue, makes
the total reduction in taxation effect
ed by the legislation of the present
session ninety millions Of dollars.
ECONOMY IN APPROPRIATIONS.
Since the beginning Of the war
there has been no such trenchant and
at the same time sensible reduction
in the expenditures Of the Govern
ment as during the session Of Con-
gress just ended.
Every item of appropriation has
been rigidly scanned, and the esti-
mates of the Departments reduced
nearly twelve millions; and these re-
auctions have been made SO judi
ciously as in no way to embarass the
operations Of the Government. It
should be remembered, however,
that to the House belongs the credit
Of this good work, for the Senate
loaded mostof the appropriation bills
with very extravagant amendments,
which only the firmness of the House
induced them to abandon.
BANKING AND CURRENCY.
BY the new Currency bill the needs
of the West and South for banking
facilities will be met, and bank cur
rency to the amount of seventy-nine
millions distributed in those sections.