The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-04-13

taxation must De long maintained, and
in submitting the proposed bill affecting
the cost of shelter or part OF the food,
and Of all the clothing of the people. il
has been the effort of your committee to
adopt such rates of taxation as will be
permanent, and as will only need to be
! disturbed By unforeseen national
emergency. and at the same time TO
exempt the necessary articles from tax
alton, and thereby promote do
nestle industries. All Congress can
do in the absence OF the general revision
/ OF the tariff, with new and simple CLASH
fcations, is TO provide for each cause of
complaint as il arises. In the bill
proposed the most pressing and promi-
nent of grievances are dealt with. In
order TO relieve both merchants and
customs officers from annoying exac-
tons and unnecessary labor, it is pro-
posed TO abolish all oaths and fees an
to substitute in lieu therefor. as in other
commercial countries, the declaration
of the importer but preserving the same
penalties as are now imposed by law for
false statements. A limitation of $500
has been imposed upon the value of
wearing apparel and other property
that may be brought in free OF duty by
passengers, excepting tourists, arriving
in the United States from
abroad. This provision, taken in
connection with the proposed
sections making it a crime either to
give or receive any money for the pas
sage of baggage through the custom
house, will. it IS believed, bring to an end
the great abuse in regard 10 excessive
amounts of baggage brought IN free in
competition with merchandise OF i'm
pOrters who have to pay duties.
MINORITY REPORT.
The report of the Republican minor
ity wkah has been prepared by Repre-
sentative Mckinney, of Ohio. begins
with the statement that the substitute
agreed upon by the majority is new
creation and embodies little matter that
was included in the original bill as
introduced by the chairman. After re-
citing in detail various articles which il
is proposed to place upon the free list
and reductions TO be made in manufaC-
tured goods. the minority report says:
Nothing is more unsound and fallaciOus
than to assume that a reduction OF duties
is demanded when average Gd rdiOrem
rates show low percentage. In times o.
business depression and low prices al
corresponding VIII
duties show increased percentages over
the period of high prices because given
specific duty is a larger percentage of
low value, than 1t is of high one.
There is no attempt in this bill
TO equalize duties upon imported
goods or any Just principle, or
10 make equitable reductions through
out the. tariff list Of thirty-one or more
articles duiable at from 10 to $50 per
cent. not one is dealt with in this bill,
while the other articles upon which is
imposed duty from 10 to 20 per cent.
are cut down or transferred to the free
list. The free list IS peculiarly an assault
upon the agricultural interests of the
country seeking out from 4 90 articles in
tariff the leading products to be driven
out by reunions and competitions from
abroad. The metal, glass, pottery.
sugar, rice and other important interests
affected by the original bill ware
given due notice OF the changes pro-
posed and had ample opportunity TO
make a successful defense through
their well organized associations. la
this connection the report says: 1.-The
wool growers of the country were led TO
bell. We from the bill before the commit
tee, that no adverse action would be
had touching their interests. They
were therefore not before the committee
in any official way, and those who were
heard, spoke of the restoration of the
duty of 1867 without dreaming that the
inadequate protection they now enjoyed
was to be swept from them and their
vast interests left TO tie mercy of com
petition with wool growers in Australia,
New Zealand and South American
States, where the principal cost of pro-
duction is the herdiDg required by shep-
herds, where labor is cheap, and feeding, !
either in winter or summer. does not |
enter the cost of sheep-husbandry. The !
decay of sheep-husbandry in the |
United States would be a national |
calamity. 1t would place our manufac- |
tureTs at the mercy of foreign pro- |
ducers. This is an industry which can
not be built up in a day. it has required !
years of care and cost 10 reach its pres /
ent development, and sound policy de- |
mands its continuance and encourage !
ment."
The minority endeayored to meet the |
reasonable ex: ectations OF this large /
class of their fellow citizens. and |
restore the duty OF 1867 on wool, but |
were prevented by the votes of the ma
jority, and from the same cause are /
unable TO maintain even the existing i
rates. We could not believe that the ma
jority would take from the dutiable list,
wool, which has been kept there since /
1924 aGd which even the free-trade law /
OF Robert J. Walker, framed in 1876. |
had not made free, but the majority OF /
the committee has done il so far as il |
can. and nothing is left for this great /
interest, which enriches every State in /
the Cnisn but TO appeal to Congress
and 10 the country 70 repudiate the
work Of the committee. Flax growers
and spinners of America protest against
the unjust and unreasonable action of
the committee in taking fax from the
dutiable list, ana at a convention held
at Chicago, IN February, 1886. declared
that q reduction of duty on foreign
fibres would be disastrous to the domes-
tic industry. The committee have ac-
cepted and adopted the Secretary's
polite creed that the first duties TO be
safely discarded are those upon ma
terials used by our manufacturers, and
its free list-cards, salt, lumber. hemp.
and all fibres. The second step will be
to discard ali duties upon imported ar
ticleS COmDetlug with Our OWn and I