Mexico weekly ledger., 1880-05-06
THE TARIFF
And the Vote Referring the Townshend Bill
to the Committee on Ways
and Means.

The hope, heretofore expressed in
the LEDGER, that some sort of ac-
ceptable proposition amendatory of
the tariff would be submitted to the
House, has not yet been realized.
The parties responsible for this ne
elect are the majority Of the commit
tee Oh Ways and Means, to which
the Townshend bill was referred, and
since the failure of the motion to dis
charge them from further considera-
alton of it and pat it upon its pas
sage, there is little prospect of salt
and paper materials being placed
upon the free list.
AS a whole, the present tariff was
never worthy of adoption. Most of
its provisions were inaugurated over
twenty years ago, and have been nee
essarily necessarily tinkered ever
since by the Republican party. 1t is
a complicated continuance, embraces
too many articles, and is detrimental
to numerous public and private inter
csts, and needs farther radical manip-
ulation.
At the same time it is patent to
every observant, intelligent and I'M
biased mar mind, that the tariff ought
not to be rashly remodeled. Its vast.
comprehensiveness alone is enough to
forbid such a venture, To this con-
sideration must be added the init
ate relation it Sustains to taxation.
While the bonds immediately matur-
ing remain unpaid, OF unrenewed,
it cannot be wise to reduce the reve-
nue., and as long as our system Of in
ternal excise bears SO heavily upon
agriculture, it cannot be expedient to
throw more of the burden of sustain
ing the expenses and credit of gov
eminent upon our farmers. Neither
should those interests that have been
uniuly fostered by protection meet
with less sympathy in Il re-arrange-
ment Of imposts than those that have
been injured by it. All industries
should be ~impartially dealt with.
This is what the Democratic party Is
pledged to accomplish as soon as the
necessary power is conferred upon it.
There are, however, anomalies in
the present tariff that ought and, per-
haps with judicious management, can
be reached, even in the present I'M
satisfactory relative condition of par
ties in congress.
Among them are the articles, that
have been enumerated, salt and paper
materials, and others, not neces-
sary to be particularly referred to, in
regard to which the LEDGER has
advocated immediate congressional
action. The duty on salt is a heavy
burden on agriculture, and that on
paper materials, while yielding lit
lie Or no revenue, operates injuriously
upon every newspaper in the country.
Still, the LEDGER has never thought
of pushing its pecuniary interests be-
yond reason by b~erating congressman
pledged to tariff reform because upon
every occasion they did not take what
at tits distance from Washington,
amid partial and imperfect reports of
Legislative contentious, seemed to be
the most direct steps for its attain
ment, and it is to be regretted that
some of our esteemed contemporaries
have not been equally self-possessed
and forbearing.
What has been said brings us to the
Townshend bill to the committee Oh
Ways and Means, which seems to he
the chief ground of complaint against
congressman.
Reference to the debate in the
House in regard to this matter will
show that the Townshend bill con-
templated extensive changes in The
tariff, and was sent to the committee
on the Revision of the Laws in viola
ton OF rules governing references,
and that as soon as that was under
stood there was developed ~resolute
contention in regard to it. Its orpo-
nents fillibustered for three days Oh
the pretense of a falsified record, and
until it was ascertained that a major
ity of the House would sustain its
rules. Then even Mr.. Blackburn
yielded, saying: "Ihe only point for
which he had struggled was TO protect
the integrity of the journal. If that
were secured, he had no further fight
to make" Mr.. T%ownshend added,
"He thought that proposition a good
one. The measures embraced in his
bill would soon be before the House,"
Finally, the House discharged the
committee On Revision of Laws from
the consideration of the bill, and re-
ferred it to the committee on WAYS
and Means by a vote Of 142 to 80.
The vote in the affirmative included
the following Democrats and Green
hackers: Messrs. Batchman. Heltz-
hoover, Bicknell, Bouch, Buckner,
Clymer, Cotforth, DeLaMatw. Ewing,
FELTON,, Ford, Gibson, Henry, Jones,
Kenna, Klotz, Laid, Martin, McLane,
McMahon, Morse, Marsh, New,
O'Reilly, Robertson, Ross, Russell,
Ryan, Smith, Talbot, Warner, Wise,
Wood and Wright.
Subsequently, however, and upon
Mr.. Townshend's motion to recall the
bill from the committee on Ways and
AFoono and p1aro If ,,por &c .-