The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1882-12-06

ssal approval a memben Il both
hoooes. reeret that By eaa0e d
con1ictinG vieWs - % the 6est meth
ads BY Viii. b that policy should
BE- maale operative, n00e Os jee oene-
ots have - yet been seaped. In teI-
Allment Il what deem my e0nstj.
tuition duty, but with little hope that
| / can make . valuable contribution
to this vexed question, shall pro-
coed 10 intimate briefly my own
views In relation tO It.:
TIM PRESIDENTS VIEWS ON THE
| pOu The showing OF our financial
| condition ut the el0se Of the la9t fiscal
year, I felt justslied 10 reo0snmseod-
Ing 10 C0nxssss the abolition Of In
teSsal revenue taxes, except those up.
ON tobacco In Its various forms, and
an distilled spirits aud ier,sented
liquors, and except he special tax
uvSOn the manufacturer and dealers
Ia such articles. ] venture now to
suggest that unless it shalt be
ascxrtainel that the probable expen-
slitures Of the government 1or the
coming year hae been undessstinlat.
esl, Ill the internal revenue tax
which relates to dlstilled spirits can
10 prudent'y abrogated. Sueh .
course, II accompanied by . simp!iii-
cation Of the machinery Ct collection
which will he eaay OF accomplish
nsemt, might reasonably be expected
10 result in diminishing the cast Of
such collec hon by at beast e, 500, OOO,
and Ia the retirement from odice OF
fts.sn l, :jOD 70 3,OOO penOns. The sys-
TEN Of excise duties hes never c0sll-
nsended itself ~ the favor Of the
American people aud has never been
resOrted to excerpt fSr supplying def
.cIencies In the treasury when " ree-
son of special exigeucies the duties
on imports have proved inadequate
for the needs AZ the government.
The sentiment Of the country doubt
lcxs cDnlm .uds that the present ex-
eise tax shall be abolished % sO0n -
such Q cs,urse can safely 10 puTsued.
It seems to me, however, that for W.
riOus reasons, no sweeping . measure
~ the total abolition IL internal taxes
would for the present le an unwise
step. Two Of these reasons arc DE-
serving Of special mention. First, 1t
is w ssD means clear that even II the
exlsting system az duties ON imports
IL continued without moditiea-
tiOn the duties will alone he
sufficient for oil the needs Of the
government. IL II estimated that
JlOO, OOO, 900 will be required for
pensions during the cosuing year, and
Il may well be doubted whether the
maximum annual demands for that
object has yet been reached. Cncer.
tainly upon this question would
alone justify, In my Judgment, the
retention for the present OF that por-
ton Of the system Of internal revenue
which Ii the Ieast Objectionable to
the people. Second, total abolition
Of excise taxes would almost newt
ably prove serious, II not IN ulsur-
usOuntable objection to = thorough
revision of the tariff, and to any con-
siderable reduction 90 import duties.
TIE TARIFF COMMISSION.
The present tariff system ID, IN
many respects, unjust. 1t makes u1l-
equal distributions, both Of its bur
deus and its benefits. This fact Was
practically recognized by = majority
Of each house IN Congress In the lsss-
sage II the act creating the tariff
commission. The report Of the com
mission will be placed before you 1t
the beginning Ut this session. and
will, ] trust, furnish you such tn3Or-
NATION ~ to the condition and pros
pect Of various commercial. agricuI-
iural, manufacturing, mining and
other interests III this country, and
contain such suggestiOns Tor STATUTE
ary revision as will practically aid
your action upon this important sub
ject.
REvENvE FROM CUSTOMS.
The revenue fren, customs for the
flsaal year ending June ~, 1871.
amounted to Sl37, OW, 'AkI. II l,as IN
the three succeeding years reached
first slSH, on, .nN. then Sl9s,iN
ON; and finally, as has
been already stated, $.S, WO, O0o.
The increase from this sOurre for
the fiscal year which will end June
m, 1xSS, will dOubtlpss be consider
ably In excess Of the sum last ',,ei,-
toned. II the tax on domestic sptr-
its Is tn b. retained, 1t b plain that
large reductions from customs rev.
| eaWe are entirely feasible. While
recommending this reduction I am
far from advising it. Abandonment
OF the policy Of 10 discriminating in
the adjustment Of details ~ to allt'rtt
aid aud protection to domestic lalHSr,
but the present System should he "a
revised ~ Ia esl,alize the public bur-
dens among all classes aud Otscules-
lions, and bring i into closer har-
miOny with the present needs Ut III
dustry. Without entering into min
ute details, which under present cir
cumatances II quite unnecessary, |
recommend an enlargement IL the
free Hat ~, ~ to include within 1t tile
numerous articles which yield ins.'n-
siderable revenue. A simplifIcattOn
d the complex and inconsistent
schedule Of duties upon certain mani
ufactures, particularly those Of cot
| ton, ir,n and steel and the sul,etam-
tial reduction Ut duties upon those
articles, and upon sugar, mOlasst.s,
silk aud WOODEN goods. II general
revision Ut tariff .l,all he found 10 be
inapraeticablc ut this session, ex-
press hope that ut least some Of the
more conspicuous inequalities II
the present law may be corrected
before your final adjournment. One
of them is specially referred to by
the secretary In recent decision Ut
the supreme court. The necessity
III amending the law by which au-
tiex on the standard Of color 10 adopt
ell ~ the test In sacchaSine strength
of sugars Is ton obvious to require
/, comment.
INDIAN ArFAIRS.
From the report of the Secretary Of
War 1t oplears that the only out
breaks Of Indians during the past
year occurred In Arizona and In the
southwestern part Of New Mexico.
They were promptly quelled and the
quiet which has prevailed In all other
lnsr.s Of the country has permitted
such an addition to be made to the
military force In the region endan-
geretl hy the Apaches that there is lit
tie reason to apprehend trouble In
the future. The report Of the se're-
tary, which relates to our sea