The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1881-12-27
Tuesday. December ~, 1881.
THE TARIFF COMMISSION.


Senator Beck is reported to have taken
strong ground against the proposed tariff
commission, and, as Senator Beck is a
stanch and able advocate ofreyenue reform,
some OF our preeipitate contemporaries seem
to fancy that commission ought to be OPP
posed, upon the ground that thes response
biiity OF tariff legislation as we'll as of all
other legislation is imposed by the Consti-
tuition upon Congress, and that Congress
cannot properly delegate that response
bi1lty
This is perfectly true but it is scarcely pert
inent to the question under discussion The
responsibility for legislation of all kinds is
with Congress, but it will scarcely be pre-
tended that there is anything unconstitu-
al in members of Congress enlightening
their minds from any accessible sources of
| information upon any subject which is be-
fore Congress or is likely to come before
Congress. Our present tariff has two as
poets, that of revenue and that of protec-
ton. In the Worzdss opinion, and in the
opinion of the Democratic party as expires
ought to have only one aspect. It ought
| to be a tariff for revenue only But as q
| matter of fact no considerable change can
be made in the tariff without affecting
both our relations with other countries and
our own industries, cur commerce and our
manufactures. Whit be pretended that
Congress is now in a position to make such
changes with knowledge of what the re-
rults of these changes will be? Suppose a
bill for the reduction by 20 per cent. of the
duty on pig-iron were to come up in con-
gress tomorrow, how many members of
either house are there who would be pre-
pared to vote upon 1t intelligently-tha is
to say, with an intelligent appreciation of
the effect which such a reduction would
have upon the customs receipts and of the !
effect which such a reduction would have
upon the American production of pig-iron
Is there cine member of either house? Two
Of the best informed men upon the sub
ject in the Senate are Senator Bayard and /
Senator Morrill,. They differ as widely as
possible concerning the principle upon
which the tariff should be levied Senator
Bayard is the most &C ,nspicuous advocate in
the Senate of q tariff for revenue only.
Senator Morrill, is th e most conspicuous adj
vocate in that body of tariff for protection.
Certainly neither of them is in doubt about
the principle OF tb tariff or even open tol
conviction co ncering it. What both OF
them are in doubt about is the point at
which custor ms taxes cease to be produc-
tive and become protective. Certainly
Senator Beck will not maintain either
that members of Congress can ascertain this
fact by their unaided labors, or that it is not
OF the utmost Importance 10 them to ascer-
tain this fact. 1t is true that there are many
glaring and outrageous anomalies in the |
tariff which cannot be defended upon the
principle of revenue, or upon any principle t
of protection which stops short of prohibi-
ion Their e is no need of colle citing any
Information as to these things as g prelim-
nary to ex punging them from the statute
'ook. IL. would not be very difficult to
make list of these to which ali persons
rho were not directly interested in the
lonopolie 8 secured by them would agree,
nd whic b could be Professionally urged
pom COM gress until congress is unable to
ssist the pressure Warner Miller's wood
ulp mon opoly is one Of these swindles.
he duty on salt is another. The duty on
upper . third. In regard to Warren
illexSs swindle. he has himself given the !
ny bes reason why il should be repealed