Iron County register., 1888-04-26
Mr.. MILLS SPEAKS.

Mr.. MILLS SPEAKS.
Che Father of tho House Tariff Bin
Strongly Urges It's Adoption-Openine
of What Promises to BE the Most In
teresting Debate OF the Decade-The Is.
sue Defined.
WASHINGTON, April 1S-The great de-
bate on the sarif question was opened q
few minutes after yesterday, when Chair.
man Mills moved that the House consider
the Tariff bill The resolution was adops ed
without opposition Mr. Mills, who has
not entirely recovered from a recent attack
of illness, looked little paler than is his
won't, but had strength enough to make
grand speech one hour and forty minutes in
length
Mr.. Mills began his speech by saying that the
great increase of duties made during the wal
had been at the time they were made stated to
be only temporary. Yet quarter of centu-
ry later these duties were higher than they
were during the war. and they now average AZ, 10
per cent. on imports. The income tax had
been imposed to meet war expenses. 1t was
gone. 1t was tax on wealth, and the ST. GOO,-
w annually realized from that source was
swept away But the war tax on clothing, on
food, on implements of labor remained,
and the war was still being prose
cuted against the people-a fiscal war,
exhausting in it's demands, and every effort to
remove or lower that taxation had been re-
sisted or defeated. The Democrats had been
taunted with the charge that they had failed to
reduce taxation. This charge had been made
by the m norIty which had been guilty of pre-.
venting action on the many bills brought into
the House by the Committee on Ways and
Means. Mr.. Mills turned his attention to the
woolen manufacturers and argued that the
public at large was injured by the present tax
and nobody benefited.
High duties, said Mr.. Mills, prohibited and
mi m md
were feeding the people of Europe, and when we
put high duties on the goods they sent US in ex-
change for food it amounted to taxing
our own agricultural exports. A reduction of
turers and cramp labor. We always imported
more goods when prices were high. Under
lower duties we could export more goods, our
manufactures would run steadily and labor
would be constantly employed. Not more than
10 per cent of the goods consumed in the United
States would be imported il all the custom
houses were torn down and the Government
supported by direct taxes.
In 1883 the party in power took of the tax on
playing cards and put a tax of 20 per cent. on
the Bible. It did not lie with the Republican
party to accuse the Democratic party OF failure
to reduce taxation. Time and again they had
mustered the full strength of their party to
strike out the enacting clause of q tariff bill.
Twice they had succeeded, and twice they
had refused altogether to consider this sub
and limited importation, and this prohibited
and limited expectation. This was the greatest
evil resulting from the war tax. Our home
products were therefore thrown upon home
markets. and the prices in consequence went
down. The average rate of duty during the
last five years amounted to 44.51 per cent. And
during the last year the average was AZ. 10.
After this large increase had been made by
Congress-, Congress had imposed 81 ght direct
or internal-revenue tax upon domestic manu-
fn0 0rrf-a= n06 hot 1al I,,*1
Treasury in 1886 S127. 900. That was about
a tithe of the heavy burdens that were laid
upon imports 1t amounted to about per cent.
on the whole manufactured products of the
country in 1856. 1t was thought to be a reason
able tax to impose on manufacturers who were
receiving large bountieS from the Government,
In the enhancement on the prices of their prod
uctS, to pay 3 per cent. when they had increased
their bounties up to p per cent. But that tax
was gone. 1t could not live. 1t was tax on
wealth.
Congress had imposed a tax on incomes to
help carry on the war. and there were 400, 40
people in the United States in 1865 that had
S7O7,OOOUOO OF net income, upon which they
were assessed duty which brought into the
Treasury, in 1866, S22, O10.OOO. But that tax had
gone; it was tax on wealth. There had been
a tax on insurance companies; it was gone.
There had been a tax on express companies; il
was gone. There had been a tax on bank de-
posits and bank capital: it was gone. Three
hundred million dollars that had been paid by
the wealth of the country had been swept
away, and the burden OF taxation had been
made heavier, it had been loaded upon
the shoulders of those who had to support
themselves and the Government. Was a tax
of per cent. to be paid out of the pockets of
the manufacturers of blankets, weight more
enormous than the tax of "a per cent. paid
by the consumer on imported and do
mestic products? Was the tax of per
cent on incomes more oppressive than
the tax Of 100 per cent. on women's
and children's dress goods. Yet all these taxes
on wealth had gone, and the gentlemen of the
minority boasted that they had reduced taxes
to the amount of $500, 100000, while the Demo
cratic party had-reduced it only q bagatelle.
That was the splendid column those gentlemen
away and all the burdens were now cast
upon the shoulders of tine laboring man. In
1888 taxation had still further been reduced,
and this magnificent shaft, which the party
then in power had erected to commemorate it's
legislative wisdom and the beneficence of its
laws, was crowned with capstone-taking off
the internal-revenue tax on playing-cards and
putting tax of 20 per cent. on Bibles. Laugh
teri
Protectionists argued that manufactured
articles were cheaper here than in any other
country result of protection. 1t was not
so but, supposing it was, why, then. should
they resist so strenuously any effort to lower
duties if they were able to undersell European
manufacturers?
Did the manufacturers pay higher wages be.
cause protection enabled them to do ita con-
tinued Mr.. Mills. No; Jay Gould was
able to pay his bootblack $500, but he
did not do it. He paid the market
price; he paid his nickel, like little
man. Higher wages were made by
coal. steam and machinery, and higher wages
meant lower cost of production. This account
ed for the fact that free-trade England paid
higher wages than protection France and Ger
many, and yet controlled the worlds market. He
had requested the present Chief Of the Labor
Bureau to ascertain if there was any exception
to the rule that wages depended on the eff.
cheney of labor and the result OF highly-pai
efficient labor was the low cost of the product.
In answer he read tabulated statement pre-
pared by Mr.. Wright, giving the result of in.
quiry in q number of cases which appeared to
fully bear out the rule.
In conclusion Mr.. Mills said he hoped the bill
which had favor throughout the country would
receive a majority of the votes of the
House, though it was not all the COM
mittee could ask. It is a very moderate
bill, yet it would send comfort and
happiness into all the homes and bosoms
of the poor laborng people OF this coun
try, and he asked the House in behalf OF these
people to consider their claims and help reduce
the burdens that had been loaded upon them.
When Mr.. Mills sat down applause and cries
of Voter Voter came from the Democratic
side of the hall He was at once surrounded by
q crowd of Democratic members, who pressed
forward to shake his hand and tender their con-
gratulatlons.
-Life-Insurauce Agent-"Madan.
our company has never failed to pay
single claim. and when you consider
that one-sixth of our holders die every
vaar Won =" Madam-"So MANY