The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1883-02-17
FREE QUIXIxE.


eAOn VI tlIlS question IL seems to
me that no argument whatever Is
necessary to demonstrate the i'm
portanee of retaining these articles
upon the free list. No bill was
passed by the Forty-sixth Con.
gress that met with such unani.
nous praise and commendation ON
the part of the great body of the
American people as the bill putting
the salts and sulphates of quinine
and cinchonidia on the free list.
There are two questions that
suggest themselves to us in this
connection: One is, has the pass.
age of that bill stopped or retarded
in any manner the manufacture OF
these salts in this country; and
the next is, has the passage of that
bill cheapened these salts and sui.
pilates to the people of this coun-
try. The answers to these ques.
tons are very simple. So far
from retarding the manufacture,
have in my hand tables showing
that since the passage of that act
on June 80, 1879, which was the
date of the passage of the bill, up
to the present time, there has been
not only no decrease in the manu-,
facture but there has been an in,
crease, two establishments having
sprung into existence since that
time, while the prices have stead
lily declined.
In the year 1878 taxed quinine
sold for 1882 an ounce, and in
1881 free quinine sold for $2.47J
per ounce, showing the immense
saving of s1.OS3 per ounce under
the operations of the free-quinine
bill. Or take it in this way: the
average price of quinine from Jan
uary, 1, 1877, to July, 1870, was
$3.64s per ounce, and during the
two and half years from July
1870, to December, 1851, the aver
age price of free quinine was s2.St
per ounce, or a reduction of 7Sl
cents per ounce.
Now, l have tried every imagin
able way to find out exactly what
amount of quinine was consumed
in the United States, and the very
best approximate estimate that
have been able to reach is that il
amounts to somo 100000 o.
ounces per annum. The saving
therefore, which resulted from the
passage of this free-quinine bill ID
over 81, 800, 600 a year to the peo
pie of this country; and taking Il
for the three years since the pass
age of this bill, the saving to the
American people has been Ovel
s4,5OO,OOO.
| ask the honorable chairman Of
the Committee on Ways ant
Means If in the literature of pcti
tions that have crowded his com
mittee room-that audience cham
Der of protectiOn--a single, SOLITARY
consumer of quinine, white OF
black, male or female, including
Indians not taxed ".Ilaughterl has
ever asked that august body to rc
store 1 cent Of duty on that drug
| guarantee that there is not one
and l defy the gentleman from
Pennsylvania to exhibit single
instance whero any cry has cvel
come up for the reimposition %
the tax on quimnc, unless it came
from the jobber, manufacturer, OF
dealer in some form, who is inter
estod in keeping this tax upon thu
people.
In all this bad bill of lao pages
which is cumulative in its wicked
ness and progressive in its devil
ment, the proposition to restore
the duty on quinine is the climac
teric and ultima Thule of its mean
ness. No bill has ever emanate'
from the Committee on Ways ant
Means, q committee whose nam'
should be changed by resolution o
this House to that of the "friend
of the poor" no proposition ha
ever emanated from that commit
tee which compares with this eth
er in its aggregated or segregated
iniquity. Laughter and applause
BY the way, got circular'let
ter this morning from Rosengartel
& Sons, telling me of the outrage
ous injustice being done to the in
dustry they are following. The,
threatened us in 1879, when tn
: bill was passed taking the tax OF
this drug, with the stoppage o
their factory. But they are rum
ing still, and two additional factO
ries have been started since tn
removal of the duty. Now, MI
Chairman, the case before tn
House stands thus: Powers I