Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-05-12
WASHINGTON.
scott's Able Defense of
the Mills Bill.
BOND ACcEPTANCEs TO DATE.
Inc Surplus, Like Banquo's Ghos c.
Will Not Down-Depart-
ment Notes.
Associated Press DisDatchesto to the HrsAID.I

|
hour for the daily meeting Of the
House shall hereafter be II O'Clock.
and after the general debate or, the
Tariff bill shall have closed, the House
shall adjourn each day at S Pm.
Adopted. The House then went into
committee of the whole on the Tariff
bill, and was addressed by Scott, Of
Pennsylvania.
Scott began his speech with de-
tense OF the science OF political econo-
my and the correctness Of its conclu-
sions. He asked whether this great
country Of sixty millions, strong with
inventive genius, keen with labor.
more skilled than any other people
on the globe, should decline to
compete for supremacy in the
marts of mankind and continue
forever to trade among ourselves
under the insane delusion that We
were growing rich by the process.
Our friends, the enemy, said Yes, let
as build a Chinese wall around this
young and vigorous people whose
eager enterprise already chafes under
the bounds of nature, and if we can
not make it wholly impervious let us
make it as nearly so as we cam
They were Bourbon-Bourbons all
and Of the densest kind. Their faces
were turned backward, not forward.
They were looking through the dismal
shades Of the dead past-not through
the glowing ray Of the living present.
The bill was framed in the interest
OF the whole people. Itwas intended
in the first instance to stay the mount
ing surplus in the Treasury; threaten
ing; overwhelming and possibly inn
mediate disaster, even now vividly
impending; and, second, to relieve Is
far as prudence would permit at this
time the overburdened industries Of
the country from excessive taxation.
the proceeds of which do not pass
into ihe Treasury, ,but go directly
to support grasping monopolies,
which were for the most part COM
bined IN utterly indefensible and
atrociousNy oppressive action.
A bill had been introduced by 4
member OF the House (Randall) and
referred to the committee, which pro-
vided a large reduction of internal
taxes and dealt very curiously indeed
with customs duties; but taking the
iron and steel schedule as fair index
OF the genius proposed in the bill, and
with which the member introdHciHs
| it was supposed to be most famflf1f.
and the passage of judgment on the
whole from this, it was safe to say
that it was not in line with revenue
reform, not in the interest of the con-
sumner, nor middleman, nor manu-
facturer, but, in fact, increased the
burdens on every avocation, every in
dustry-the iron works as we'll as the
farmer. Taking it item by item, it
gave the astounding result that for
every dollar OF reduction of duties In
the iron schedule, 1925 was added to the
burdens OF the public, already too
onerous to be borne. Instead Of re.
ducing taxes, this bill actually pro-
posed to increase them.
A majority of the Committee ON
Ways and Means had sought first to
relieve the manufacturing industries
by placing on the free list as far as
possible such articles as were essen
TALLY necessary to them to enable
them to compete not only in their own
home markets but in the markets of
the world. Second, in the revision and
readjustment Of the various schedules
under the tariff to leave ample duties
on all mef chandise that could possibly
be imported from abroad in competi-
ton with home products, and to pro-
tect home manufacturers and the
labor employed by them.
Protection, so called, would add not
a penny to the wage workers pay; or
give one days additional labor in the
year, but it would rob him of an un-
due proportion of his earning to pur-
chase the necessaries of life and keep
him tremblingly dependent; since the
recent history Ct this country showed
that the tendency of protected indus
tries was towards combination in the
form of trusts, under which produc-
ton was arbitrarily suspended, rais-
ing prices to consumers and throwing
the workingman out Of his job. A
monopoly more terrible, more danger
Gus to the liberties Of the country,
more oppressive to the laborer cannot
be imagined.
Continuing his speech, Mr.. Scott
said: Upon no class OF people does
the present fiscal burdens bear 30
heavily as upon the farming class.
One Of the strong arguments the pro-
tectionists made to the farmer was the
home market that protection was al
legged to insure for his produce. It
was fallacy and fraud, and intelli-
gent farmers would not longer be de-
ceived by it.
He called attention to natural gas,
and said manufacturers who were so
fortunately situated required nothing
more to enable them to take the start
of this majestic world and bear the
palm alone; put free raw material and
open markets around the globe, with
no unnecessary restriction here on
there in cheap food and cheap cloth
ing.
Another yexed question is wool.
This bill put wool op the free list, not
only in the interest Of the wool manu-
facturer, but of sheep husbandry
itself. To enable the manufacturer Of
this country to compete in the home
market and to export the surplus
abroad, he must be able to purchase
his wool as favorably, not only as to
price, but as to the selection Of qualities
and kinds, as does his foreign COM
petitor. Immediately wool was free,
our manufacturers would begin to
draw upon the markets Of the world
( for raw material to meet the Ameri-
can demand. The result would be-
an advance in wool in the foreip