Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-12-25
WASHINGTON NEWS.

Senate Committee Still Investigating Shex-
man-Reprosentative Belford, of Colo
rado, Gives His Views ut Length on the
Tariff Question Thinks the Duty Should
be Taken Off Sugar and Placed ON Tea
and COffse-Postofice Department FL
nances.
CONTINGENT FUND INVESTIGATION.
WASHINGTON, Dec. A.-The senate con-
tingent fund investigation committee had be-
fore them to-day Moulton and Balemon, gen.
tlemen who managed Secretary Sherman s
campaign affairs prior to the Chicago conyen-
ton. The members of the committee are very
reticent, and nothing can be learned concern
ing the testimony.
THE TARIFF.
The opinion prevails among members of con-
gress that the bill for the creation of tariff
commission, now pending in the senate, will
not be favorably received in the, house. In
reference to the general snbject. Judge Bel
ford, of Colorado, who has given the revenue
question some consideration, said: "Last year
General Hancock, doubtless others confer
ing with leading Democrats, said that
if we intended to remain honest and pay
our debt we must raise revenue in
some way or other. He said further that
some parties were agreed that the best way
to raise revenue is largely by the tariff.
think that the first bill introduced into the
first congress of the United States was by Ma
dlson, and provided that certain duties should
be imposed on sugar, tea, coffee, mOlasses and
rum, to the end that the country might have
revenue with which to pay the national
debt. In the discussion which this bill oc-
casiohed was the formation of onr tariff doc
trine of Madison, and placed coffee and tea on
the free list, on the ground that,
not being produced in this country, they could
not come in competition with our products.
Sugars and liquors of all kinds are still subject
to import duties. A few years ago the cry of
free breakfast table removed the duty from
tea and coffee. Experience has shown that
the removal of these duties did not produce
the results that were anticipated, which were
the cheapening of these necessaries to the con-
sumers. When we removed the import duties
the countries producing tea and coffee levied
an export duty equivalent to the reduction of
duties made by the United States.
81 know that it is unpopular to advocate
duties on tea aud coffee, and that when we
consider that about 80 percent. ad valorem is
collected on imported sugars, it would seem
that it would be policy to reduce the duties on
sugar, even if we had to reimpose duties on
tea and coffee. We import annually, accord
ing to the last official returns, 450, 900, 900
pounds of coffee, the value of which is $780,
600, 900, and about 75,000,000 pounds of tea,
valued at $19,0O0000. Here we have an ag-
gregate value of $50, 900, on which there
importations inn Of sugar sugar are are about about
1,S00, 600 pounds, valued in round figures
at $50, ,000, 900, which, it will be noticed, is
equal to the aggregate value of annual impOr-
tations of tea and coffee. Now every intelli-
gent honsekeeper knows that she uses at least
three pounds of sugar for one of tea and coffee,
and if we are to have free breakfast table,
why should not the duties be removed entirely
from sugar, or distributed so that some of the
tea and coffee? We now collect about
$45, 100000 of revenue on sSO,0OO,O 600
worth of sugar imported, and it
seems to me that sugar and molasses stand in
dependent on the tarifflist, having no relation
with any other articles, and that the duties on
these should be revised and reduced, particu-
larly as this can be done without affecting any
other interest
81 am protectionist, and believe that the
prosperity of the country is largely due to the
tariff, but / can't overlook the fact that our
receipts from taxes and duties are increasing,
while our national debt is decreasing. The
question is, shall congress primarily do this,
or shall we have commission? We have
men In congress who are competent to Go this
work, men of large experience, who are not
given over to any special hobby. A commits
sion would doubtless be composed of college
professors and scientific experts, and men
identified with several branches of industry.
Believing as l do, that the present tariff
should be revised and corrected, l fear the
proposition for a commission is simply de-
sign to prevent any revision whatever. If
congress can not, with all the light that we
have on this subject, and with the exhaustive
reports that have been recently obtained
expected that any advantage will follow from
q commission