The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1886-04-12

The Treasury receipts for the hb0al year
1885 were $Sl3,690, 70g IS, The increased
receipts from customs and internal taxes
the principal sources OF revenue for the
months OF the, fiscal year Of 1885 already
past over the receipts Of the same months
last year Justify the estimate that the re.
ceipts for the present fiscal year will ex.
ceed $235, 100000. Nor may our annual
treasury receipts be expected again to
fall below that sum without reduced taxa.
ton, inAsmuCh as these receipts result
chiefly from taxes on articles Of necessity
and comfort, to be- consumed In continual.
ly increasing quantities with our ever
growing population, The expenditures
for the fiscal year 1885 including pensions
and the legal requirements Of the public
debt were $SO5, ,SSO,97O 81.
REASONS FOR REDUCTION.
Neither the actual needs Of an economi-
cal administration Of the government nor
the ptarlotic expectations OF the people
Justify any increase Of this enormous an.
nual expenditure and we may safely esti.
mate the annual surplus to exceed $780,.
100000. The reductions TO result from
the proposed bill are within this estimated
surplus, and little exceeds $24, 900 900 on
the basis Of last years importstions. Ref.
erenCs Is made 10 Secretary Mannlng's
views as expressed In his first annual re-
port touching the Ill effects Of the main
tenance Of war duties, pointing out In.
equalities in the present law and iavoring
the admission free Of duty OF raw mater.
ials, OF which the report says:
These views Of Secretary Manning as to
the existing condition Of the customs
service and tariff taxation are not partisan
but are In word with the views pressed
on Congress by his predecessors, Secre.
taries Folger and McCulloch, II is the
purpose Of the bill reported 10 correct
some OF the ClassihCations, rid the custom
laws OF the complications Of what the Sec.
retary complains, and go change these
laws for the better that they will be Capa.
BILE Of being administered with impair.
tiality TO all our merchants. The
duties intended to be removed by the
bill are chiefly those which tax
articles used by our own manufacturers
which now subject them to hopeless
competition at home and abroad with the
manufacturing nations, none Of which
taxes such materials that our own manu-.
facturers may successfully compete, both
at home and abroad, with manufacturing
nations which do not tax such materials,
thus securing market for tho product oi
hands now idle for want OF work to do.
Some OF the materials upon which great
industries are built such as wood, salt
hemp and wool, are placed on the free
list. 1T
TAx on WOOD.
In the past twenty years we hRye OBJ.
tanned from tax on imported wood an
amount estimated at less than S2O,OVO,0OO.
In q much shorter period we have given
more than 95,0O0,0OO acres Of land In
bounty to encourage the planting Of other
trees.
The tax on imported salt Is remitted to
those who catch and trade in fab, and 10
those whopaCk meats for the foreign mar.
ket. II Is believed that this tax should
be remitted to all. After q century OF
failure 10 work hemp into q
profitable crop or successful In.
duBtry through protective taxation
further efforts should be abandoned. For
nearly o century, with only one interval,
hemp has been protected and yet It's pro.
duction has decreased because It's culture
under production was Improbable, while
the consumption Of articles manufactured
from this and kindred hbreB has enor.
mously increased until now the annual
taxes on imported hemp, MANILA and sim.
liar fbres is several times greater than the
annual value OF all the hemp raised in the
United States.
When at the beginnings revenue was
found necessary TO our national existence,
wool with everything imported was taxed.
From then until now some qualities OF
wool have paid the same rate Of duty.
TRRE WOOL.
For many years past the rate on i'm.
ported wool has been more than double
that imposed on other products Of the
pasture field and farms. These other
lower tax protected products have out run
or kept far In advance Of the wondrous
growth Of our population. Wool protect.
ed double as much has fallen further be.
hind. Wool finds its market OF home and
It's price Ia increased by q tax, part Of the
burden Of which must be borne by the
grower Of other farm products whose
surplus In the foreign snarket fixes bis
price at home and 10 the increase OF
which his wool.growing neighbor contrib.
utes nothing. The price of wool has been
downward for many years. II declined
when the tax was highest and protection
greatest, From the statements of the Ohio
and other wool growers associations Il
appears that the market price OF wool Ia
not thfee.iourths oil the actual cost oi pro.
duction that with the existing protective
rate OF ten cents on the pound tie price 10
still ten cents below the price at which Il
can be prohtably grown In the great wool
growing States Of Ohio and PennSylyania,
II appears that the attempt 10 make wool
growing profitable by the rise Of the tax.
| lug powefAhas not been successful, while
the tax has been the great national hin.
dtance 10 the woolen manufacturing In.
duBLfy % we'll as o most grievous burden
on ail buyers Of oil wooleh clottiing. II
has been shown by statements Of wool
growers that the wool duty imposed by
General Gafheld's associates and school d
economists did not promote The growth Of
sheep huBbandfy and II iB proposed 10 re.
move II, For the last year this duty Oh
imported wool was sS,10l,2g5 90.
TAX on wooLES GOODS.
The specific duty imposed on woOlen
goods, says General Gataeld, treating Of
the Tariff Commissions scheme, equal 10
the duty put upon the wool which entered
Into the manufacture. WA eil 800, 600,
This with the SS1g4,295 90 equivalent
duty ID 10 be removed and q duty Of ia5
percent I'D valofem on wooden gu6da 10 q
! protection 10 the manufacturers against
J foreign competition remains, and will
. yield the needed revenue, In some
; oi the schedules wherein rates are pro.
. posed 10 be reduced, especially Woolen
. and hAx, hemp, jute OF llnene, the lnduO.
tries ate leit With substantially the same