The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1885-12-23

given to a theoretical and historical discus
sion of the silver question. The secretary
argues that the continued coinage Of silver
dollars by arbitrary purchases of bullion
without reference to the public demand for
such dollars must eventually make the
United States a silver mono-metalic nation,
and put us out Of harmony with the CONNER
cial world, and tend to defeat international
bi-metalism. He opposes the project Tor
making a heavier dollar, since that would also
operate against international bi-metalism by
carrying us further away from the European
ratio, and because the adoption of a new
ratio would involve the coming OF more dol
lars, whereas we have more than enough al
ready. Stoppage Of the coinage, in the sec
retary's opinion, is the effectual and only
remedy for the evils existing and threatened.
On the subject Of reform in taxation the
secretary says:
"Beside the reforms which are desirable for
the effective administration Of any system OF
taxation levied through imported merchan-
disc, and are indispensable for the admins
tration of custom laws, which, like our own,
are a chaos rather than q system, I venture
to hope that in due season it will be the pleas
ure Of Congress to consider some other re-
forms, upon which, as is requisite, all parties
may agree and that are Of q different scope.
Like our currency laws, our tariff laws are q
legacy of war. If e1gencies excuse their
origin, their defects are unnecessary after
twenty years Of peace. They have been re-
tanned without sitting and discrimination, al-
though enacted without legislative debate, crit
icism or examination. A horizontal reduction
Of ten per cent. was made in 1872, but was
repealed in 1875 and rejected in 1884. They
require at our custom houses the employment
Of a force sufficient to examine, appraise, and
lew duties upon more than 4, 1852 different ar
ticles. Many rates Of duty begun In war
have been increased since, although the late
tariff commission declared them injurious to.
the interests supposed to be benefited, and
said that a reduction would be conducive to
the general prosperity They have beer re-
in the case of specific duties, has operated q
large increase Of rates. They have been re-
tanned at an average ad valorem rate for the
last year Of over forty-six per cent, which Is
but two and a half per cent. less than the
highest rate of the war period, and is nearly
four per cent. more THAI the rate before the
latest revision. The highest endurable rates
of duty, which were adopted 1924 to offset
internal taxes upon almost every taxable arti-
Gle, have in most cases been retained now
from fourteen to twenty years after such In
ternal tax has been removed. They q Y
been retained while purely revenue duties
upon articles not competing with anything
produced in the thirty-eight States have been
discarded. They have been retained upon
articles used as materials for our own manu-
features lin 1884 adding S3SO,0O0,Oo0 to their
cost which, if exported, compete in other
countries against similar manufactures from
untaxed materials. Some rates have been re-
tanned after running the industries they, were
meant to advantage. Other rates have been
retained after affecting a higher price for g
domestic product at home than it was sold
abroad for. The general high level Of rates
has been retained on the theory Of counter
vailing lower wages abroad, when, in fact,
the higher wages of American labor are at
once the secret and the security of our ca
per labor in any market. All changes have
left unchanged, or changed for the worse, by
new schemes Of classification n otherwise,
a complicated, cumbrous, intricate group Of
laws which are not capable of being admins
tered with impartiality to all our merchants.
As nothing in the ordinary course OF bust
ness is imported unless the price here Of tho
domestic, as well as the imported, article..is
higher by the amount Of the duty and the
cost of sea-transit than the price abroad, the.
preference of the taxpayer for duties upon
articles not produced in the United States IS
justified by the fact that such duties cost him
no more than the treasury of his country
gets. AS for duties affecting articles that are
also produced in the United States, the first.
to be safely discarded are those, upon mate
rails used by our own manufactures, which
now subject them to a hopeless competition at
home and abroad, with the manufacturing
nations, none of which taxes raw materials.
1t is not to be doubted that in any reform
which shall finally receive the approval of the
two houses of Congress, they will maturely
consider and favorably regard the interests
which can only gradually and carefully be
adjusted, without loss, to changes in the leg
islative conditions for their advancing pros
perity. With this view, I have invited in
some 1000 circular letters to our manufac-
tlrers and merchants, their enlightened CO.
operation in the improvement Of our fiscal
policy, and the replies received will hereaf-
ter be submitted to the consideration Of Con-
gress.
LIFE-SAv1NG SERVICE.
The usual beneicent results have attended
the operations Of this service during the year.
The number of stations IN commission at the
close Of the year was POS. h number OF
disasters to documented vessels reported b.y
the district officers to have occurred Within
their field of action is 256. The number Of
persons on board these vessels was 1905,
of whom 2,196 were saved and ten lost.
The value of the property involved Is
estimated at 81, 604, 455, Of which S3,o52,16O
was saved and $1,251, 695 lost. Thu number
of vessels totally lost was ffty-six. There
were beside 1l5 disasters 10 Smaller ciaIG,
such as sailboats, rowboats, etc., on which
were s2333 persons, 2332 of whom were saved
and one lost. The value of property involved
in these minor disasters was Ss9 925, OF which
43G. S23 was saved and So, 102 lost. -
PUBLIC BUILDINGS.
During the last year work has been in
progress upon forty-nine buildings, under the
direction of the supervising architect. Con-
gress at its last session authorized the erection
of, and made appropriation for, thirty-one
new buildings in various parts Of the coun-
try, making, practically eighty new build
ings, ranging in cost Of construction
from s25,0 QUO to 81, 800 900, upon which pre-
paratorv or active work of construction has
been prosecuted. The total expenditures
during the year upon new buildings, includ-
ing sites, aggregate 5 1,+Ss, 709. 81; sfor repairs
and preservation of public buildings, Sl75,-
O0. 80; for heating apparatus and repairs to
same, elevators, vaults, safes, locks, storage
of silver dollars, etc., sl99, $50. a..
TALL SHANTER, the six-foot Navajo Indian
chief who called on the President the other
day, is handsome, wears high-heeled boots
and clothing of the latest fashionable cut and
has his hair put up in a French twist, giving
him a rather eGeminate look