The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1888-01-12
aharmnn,a 6naeef, .

WASHINGTON, d. c., January A.
Nothing of Importance transpired. in
the house to-day. The time of the
senate was principally taken up with
the speech of Senator Sherman upon
the Presidents message, and answers
from Voorhees, and other democratic
senators.
Mr.. Sherman spoke as follows: The
FOrty-ninth congress had lived its two
years and died. MIR. Cleveland was
then President of the United States.
The house of representatives contained
They alone had the initiative-the con-
stitutional power to introduce bill to
reduce taxes. Why had not that been
done? The only answer was that a
&C ntroling majority of the democratic
party would not allow bill to be re-
ported unless it contained provisions,
which, in the opinion of q majority of
the members of the house, would greatly
injure or destroy domestic production,
creating real distress, and reduce the
wages even without reduction of
taxes. The surplus revenue might
have been applied for great national
objects but for the vetoes of the Pres
ident, for the failure of the secretary
of the treasury to exercise plainly dis
cretionary power conferred upon
him by law, and for the fail
ure of the democratic house
of representatives to make appropria
tions for some of the highest nationa
objects demanded by the people. Had
these several appropriations, sanctioned
by the senate, been made by the house
and approved by the President, and
had the residue of the surplu been ap-
Piled to the purchase of the public
debt, the condition of the treasury which
now so alarms the President, would
not have existed, the public debt would
nave been greatly reduced, and i'm
provements of vital Importance to
American commerce would be in
| course of construction. The President
had cast doubt upon the power of the
secretary of the treasury to enter the
market and purchase bonds. He spoke
OF 1t as ''pretense" or a ''supposi-
tlon." But the second section of the
sundry civil bill of March 1st 1881
power at any time to apply the surplus
or so much of it as he might consider
proper to the purchase or redemption
| OF United States bonds-huch bonds to
be cancelled and not to constitute a
part of the sinking fund. That law
had been passed at his tMr. Sherman's
request, while he was secretary of the
treasury, to meet every difficulty, and
to operate at any time
Under it the secretary of
the treasury could have, and ought to
have, applied the surplus, from time to
time. to the purchase or redemption of
United States bonds.
Mr.. Sherman argued that the revenue
| should be reduced. He then proceed
ed to criticise the President for dis
missing with single sentence the SUBJ
| % inf
taxes, and continued: 1t might be
that there was no complaint
of consumers; but could that be said
of the producers of these articles?
They were all the products of the
farm. Their chief cost was in the leaf
tobacco, the corn, the rye. the wheat
and barley. Did not the farmers COM
plain of the tax? If the President
thought they did not he was greatly
| distlllers and brewers might
not Complain because the nee
eSsary requirements of collection
laws gave them a close monopoly; but
the farmers who had to sell to licensed
dealers alone did complain. The tax
on whisky might land to a certain ex-
tent did, restrain the use of whisky as
a beverage, and in that way the tax
did good. but the taxes on beer and
tobacco did not. The traditions and
policy of the American people
were against internal taxation. They
were necessity during the war; but
now if continued they should be re
duced and the tax on tobacco especial
~ should be RENTED. Though not 8
necessity, as bread and meat. the USE
of tobacco was so general that its tar
was burden to the farmer and to the
consumer. The special taxel
on rectifers, special dealers
etc., yielding annually SIS 200, 600
ought to be repealed, and their imposi
ton left to the states; and the tax OF
spirits and beer might be SO modified
that the states could make taxes OF
the consumption of these articles /;
bountiful source of revenue and
proper means of relief from the bur
: dens OF local taxation. If the objec
sought was only TO avoid the accumuIa
, ton of surplus, the easy, natural ant
logical course was to repeal or Target
to reduce internal revenue. But tn
President proposed to continue thes
I, taxes without diminution so that b
might strike more effective blow q
: the taxes now resting upon foreig
productions.
The AnEls' MOVs1neafs.