St. Paul daily globe., 1886-02-19
THE MoRRIsoN TARIFF BILL.


Editor Globe:
VIII you explain the provisions OF Mr.. Mon
R1soS's new tariff bin9 State the probability
of its passing congress, and, If passed, will
It be q victory for the revenue reforners1
A REvENUE-REFORM REPUBLIcAS.
winona, Feb. II.
MIR. MoRRIsoN's new tariff bill, like ev-
erythng that comes from his hand, is
bungling attempt TO do the right thing. At
the same time it is such an improvement on
his horizontal plan of last year that we
feel disposed to give him more praise than
he probably deserves. 1t at least
shows that Mr.. MORRISON has been
brought TO a realizing sense of
his folly of last session when he attempted
to make what he called a horizontal reduc-
ton in the tariff, but what in reality was
nothing more than horizontal preservation
of all the tariff iniquities. His present
scheme has at least the merit of being in ac-
cord with the true idea of genuine tariff
reform inasmuch as it recognizes the
principle that readjustment of the tariff
is essential to its reform.
The bill recently introduced by Mr.. NOR
/ RIsoN provides for an aggregate reduction
of $40. 900, 600, of which one-half Is
! to be taken from the revenue tax on
sugar The free list is to be SO enlarged
/ as TO make reduction of another S5, 000,-
/ 600. which is done by adding TO the free
! list such articles as lumber, timber. un-
manufactured wood, laths, shingles, salt
| hemp, jute. iron. sulphur. lead and copper
ores. and coal. And the reduction made on
other articles besides sugar will aggregate,
as is estimated. something like $4,000, 600.
The tax on pig iron is reduced from s6.T2
to $500 per ton, and on steel rails from
SIT to $3.50, a small reduction TO be
sure, leaving the protective features in
this schedule practically undsturbed.
| The reduction i'm the wool schedule
! is so slight that it will i'm no
way disturb the wOol-growing industry.
Taking it altogether Mr.. MoRRIsoN's new
bill is rather lame effort at revenue re-
! form. but it comes so much nearer an ap-
proaeh to it than anything that has yet been
suggested that revenue refOrmers will un-
doubtedly give the bill hearty support il
| is possible that the committee on ways and
means will make some valuable amend
ments to the bill and it will come before
congress in a better shape than it now pre-
sents and will be relieved of many of the
| evidences of crudeness which it now bears.
But whether it is amended or not, it will
pass the Democratic house. 1t is
a disappointment in many respects,
! but 1t is movement forward,
and that is the direction revenue
reformers want TO go. if 1t is only a step
or two at time. They have been stand
ing still and sliding backward long enough.
Therefore, it may be set down as an abso-
Lutte certainty that the new MORRISON bill
will pass the house in some shape. But it
is not so certain that it will pass the senate
i'm any sort of shape. The Republican
majority in the senate will retard its pro-
gress in every conceivable way, and while a
few of the Republican senators will be dis
posed to favor its passage they will be
curbed and bulldozed by their colleagues into
submission and the bill will not be per-
mitted to pass the senate. But whatever
may be the final action of congress in rela-
tion to the matter, the MORRISON bill. in
whatever shape it passes the house, will be
accepted as the Interpretation of the Ma
tiOnal Democratic platform, and when the
Democrats and Republicans go before the
people in the next national election, there
will be no mistaking the tariff issue be-
tween the two parties.