The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1882-06-13

more or less useful witnesses before a
properly constituted tariff commission
before commission capable of impartially
weighing testimony given by representa-
tives of special and specially protected
interests. of Judging fairly and intelligent
ly between the public interest and any pri-
vate interest But commission properly
constituted should be composed of broad
and philosophic men of varied information
and of wide judgment, free from the preju
dices of self interest and narrow train
ing. The President selected COM
mission precisely opposite in character. 1t
was expected that the majority of the com
mission would be protectionists- protec-
tionists who would be such on broader
grounds than the fact than one had grown
rich on protected sugar, another on pro-
| tected iron and another on protected wool.
In the hands of such men what becomes
of the interest of 1000, 900 of consumers?
Fairness would have given to the revenue
reformers-that is to the 5O,0O0,000 of
consumers-four members in commission
of nine, but three strong revenue reformers
armed with facts and with intelligence,
could have kept the other six members
busy in answering them. The advocates
| of tariff reform or of tariff for revenue
have no representative on the commission.
The country had a right to expect
and it demanded of the President the
| appointment of members to represent
the vast and varied interests which should
be considered as an advisory investigating
board worthy of the name. There is no
man on the commission who can uphold
| the decision of the United States Supreme
Court that taxation for any other purpose
than public revenue exclusively is uncon-
stitutional and inconsistent with the prin
ciples of free government. The commits
sion does not include any strong exponent
or even this constitutional doctrine
In 1869, pending an appropriation bill,
member of Congress from Pennsylvania
moved to strike out from the bill the salary
of a special commissioner who had been
appointed to investigate the working of
the tariff and taxation laws in this coun-
try, and thus to abolish the office of that
commissioner. On the day following,
James A Garfield, then member of the
House, said in note to the then special
commissioner of the revenue:
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,, Feb. "a, 80
What does this raid signify? This
only, they have created an Office by law
and appointed an officerwhose duty it is to
find facts and report conclusions on our in
dustrial and financial interests, but he must
find facts to satisfy these people,
and his conclusions must support their
theories or they will not tolerate him.
The spirit of the Spanish inquisition is in
this thing, the spirit that brings people to
the stake for opinion, the very devil of
partisanship. Very truly yours,
JAMES A. GARFIELD.
The country can judge whether or not
this spirit 50 denounced by General Gar
field is manifest in the selection of this
alleged commission, supposed to be APP
pointed for the purpose of giving congress
valuable and impartial counsel and full
information. The opinion of the demo
cratic senators concerning the commission
were made evident in caucus on Thursday.
Some individual opinions are given below.
In the opinion of Senator Pendleton the
commission, as organized, would de-
feat the avowed objects for which it was
created. The demand had been made for
a commission to reform the tariff but this
commission seems to be packed with re
gard to special interests and to secure the
continuance of high tariff. The result,
he thought, would be to delay any reform
of the present tariff system. In the first
place, this commission will have to study
the subject on which they are to report
and with which they are
not now familiar. Instead of being ready
to advise, they must become students. In
the next place, the senator thought that
the report of such commission would
carry no weight With because the country
would recognize the fact that, in its per
sonnel, it is unfit to perform Immediately
the work it is called upon to do, the men
who compose 1t not being equipped for
that work The ways and means commit
tee and the finance committee contain
many men who could at once report more
intelligently on the subject than these com
missioners. AS an evidence of the fact
that the commission was organized to take
care of certain interests, Mr.. Pendleton
noticed the appointment of certain gen
tlemen, one OF whom was placed on the
commission to represent the iron interest,
another appointed ostensibly as an agri-
culturist. but who is largely interested in
the tariff on wool, and another who
is representative of the woollen
interest. 1t was clearly commission
of men not experts on the general subject,
but largely interested in high tariff on
special classes of industries and as such
the report it would make would carry no
weight, if indeed il should ever report at
all.
Representative Hewitt, of New York, |
said that he had not been disappointed |
when he read the list of nominations He |
had opposed the tariff commission bill be-.
cause he thought his object was delay, |