New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-09-15
THE MILLS BILL WHAT 1T IS.
MR.. THURMAN ASSERTS WHAT OFFICIAL
DOCUMENTS OF DEMOCRATS DlSPROVE


DOCTTNENTS OF DEMOCRATS DlSPROVE
7, & Of some importance TO convict the Demo-
cro tic candidate for the Vice-Presidcncy Of o
rious reinstatement. uttered in deliberate and
carefully ureuared address. But 1t is OF moro
imnortance 10 show what the Mills bill actually
Is, according 10 the testimony OF uiose VINO
framed it, Mr. Humans untrue statement
about It not only affects the estIma'e III winch
the public should hold him; IT shows aiso "iao
his party is attempting TO enact h"' .'ic "ue
meaning and effect OF which the party uoes ho'
dare 10 confess Therefore its candioa@ i'r
Vice-P President is put forward, being man OK
good rcpute, to repeat untruth ut'creo ~
Mr.. Mills. the chief iramer Of the measure, ID DIS
attempt to defend it in the House. Inc PROOF
of this charge shall be drawn exclusively from
the official documents prepared and printed ~
Democratic officer
Mr. Humans statement, In his carefully pre-
pared Newark address, was this: The presche
rate Of duty under the existing tariff Is A ana
q fraction per cent That is to say. upon every
article of dutabIe goods brought into the United
States tax is levied Of A. and fraction per
cent. Now, this Mills bill reduces the rate Of
taxation 10 AZ per cent or thercabonts. The re-
duction is less than per cent on the taxation
The proof that this statement is untrue VIII
he found in a document printed at the Govern
ment Printing Office, and prepared for the Com
mittce of WAYS and Means, OF which Mr.. Roger
o. Mills is chairman, by the clerk OF the commlt-
tee The document contains the Mills bill and an
official estimate Of the amount OF duV WHICH
would be collected under il, in tables on pages
Il TO 81 inclusive The compiler made some
blnnders in addition, and the fooungs are nos
precisely correct nor DO they precisely agree
with the reports Of commerce and naNgauoh'
but they will be exactly followed because the
errors are Insignificant in amount On page ~
is statement Of the total imports OF Guuhple
articles in 1884, which makes the amount si4v'-
945,27l IL, and the amount OF duties cohec'en
s211.811.63249 This shows that the duties
now are, as Mr.. Thurman stated, 47lO per cent
Of the value of the dutiable imports
The same table shows that the bill makes no
change in schedules f, II and l., on tobacco
liouor and silks. OF which the imports wcro
s524lO34s OIL in value, nor in various articles
of the other schedules Of which the imports were
sl4772sO68 81 The duties on these imports
were s75.7234s4 ~, and remain unchanged.
But the same tables show that duties would DO
reduced by the bill on other articles now paying
duty by 500, GAL Al, and that duties would
be removed entirely from other articles now pay
ing Sl9,173,55 "a, so that . the tota' du'y
remitted7 is expressly stated at s49,4s624O a.
Dcducting this from the amount now paid, there
would remain only 162,325,39l a. 1had
amount of duty would be only 3G.l0 per cent OF
the amount of dutiable imports already stated
Oh the same page. Instead Of AZ per cent, as
Mr. Thurman asserts the proposed duty would
be only SO per cent instead Of per cent as he
asserts. the reduction would be ! per cent OF
the entire value of all imports now dutable.
Obviously, the fraud here is in emitting thar
part Of the present dutiabe imports on which
it is proposed to collect duty, and reckoning
the rate only on these articles which would sun
be dutiable il the bill should pass. Mr.. Thurman
and Mr. Mills seem TO think that the voters or
this country are so stupid that trick even 80
shallow as this viii impose on them. The change
made by the bill can only be ascertained by
comparing the percentage OF the present and q
the proposed duties 10 the value Of imports now
paying duty To ignore the fact that the bill
would take off all duties from / SO articles or
classes, Of which the imports are S7O,443,073 s.,
or nearly sixth Of the entire imports now
dutiable is as impudent as il would be 10 say
that duties on imported goods would be increased
by abolishng all Of them excepting one of $50
per cent on snuff.
According to the official document already
quoted, the articles placed on the free list, ar
ranged according to schedules, were imported and
.,afd In follows