Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-12-06
Prospective Policy of the Forthcoming &
Message.


Prospective Policy of the Forthcoming
Message.
WASHINGTON, December 5th-The Presi-
dents message will be sent to Congress to-
morrow, with the undertaking that it will
be read before the Houses adjourn in re-
spect to the memory of President Arthur
The only points of the message that are
awaited with great curiosity are those rela-
tive to the tariff, the silver dollar and the
national banks, and Democrats who have
talked with Cleveland on those subjects be-
lieve that he will substantially repeat the
recommendations made in his message at
the first session. On the question of the
tariff the message will probably be more
emphatic in advocating reduction of the
duties on imports than in his message of a
year ago.
In conversation with friend last week,
the President said that the general condi-
ton of business throughout the country in
dicated large increase in the surplus dur
ing the year, and that there were
only two ways to reduce it-one was
by making very large appropriations
for all public works, such as
the Improvement of rivers and harbors, the
construction of public buildings, coast de-
fenses, and the rapid building of the new
navy. The other was to reduce taxes either
by lowering the duties on imports or abol-
ishing, in whole or in part, internal taxa
ton. He did not think the temper of the
people wonld warrant removal of the taxes
on spirits and tobacco, and at the same time
retaining the duties on clothing, woolens,
blankets, cotton goods and sugar. If the
duty on sugar should lie removed, how
ever, it was feared that Spain might lessen
her export duty on that product from Cuba,
and that Spreckels would put up the prices
of Hawaiian sugar, so that we would be de-
prived of revenue, and the consumers be
compelled to pay as much for that arti-
Gle of food as they now pay. The
President, however, was inclined to favor
free sugar. He advises the extension of
the free list, and-asa compromise between
Morrison's and RandalPs schemes OF tariff
reyision-that will give free raw material
and grant sufficient protection upon manu-
factured goods to cover the difference be-
tween American and foreign labor. 1t is
not positively known whether the Presi-
dent desires action by Congress on the
tariff question at the present session of
Congress.
An ardent revenue reformer told him
ten DAYS ago that whatever was to be done
with the tariff must be done quickly. II, !"
said this Senator, we delay action on the
tariff until the Fiftieth Congress, it will be
July or August OF 1888 before our work
will be finished. In November we must vote
for President. We will not have time to
educate the people on the subject, nor to
prove the wisdom of our action. If, as now
seems probable, there should be Labor
ticket in the field, the first thing we know
the workingmen will leave us on the
ground that we have legislated in oppOsi-
ton to their interests. 1t is essential that
we should reform the tariff at once on the
basis of Morrison's bill. The President" !"
continued the Senator, seemed to approve
of my suggestion, but since then l am in
formed he has decided that it would be
inexpedient to attempt TO revise the tariff
in the short time intervening before the 4th
of March.