The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1888-10-09
THE BATTLE BEGUN IN THE SENATE.
Mr. Allison opens the Tariff Debate
In An Able Speech.
Democratic Reform Methods in the
Washington Postal Service.
How Chief Justice Fuller Entered
Upon His Duties.

Senator Allison.
| Senator Allison said that there were some
things which ought to be made clear in the
very beginning of the discussion. There
were a few salient points which ought to be
presented. One was that the Senate bill
proposed to reduce the revenue between $685..
100000 and $73,OO0000 This was the first
opportunity which the Senate had had to
consider the great question of the reduction
| OF the revenue sncesthe revenue bill of 1888
The first opportunity came to the committee
on finance on the 21st of July, this year, af.
| ter the usual time of adjournment in long
session. The House had occupied eight
months in the consideration of the question,
| but within little over sixty days the SEN
ate committee on finance had produced the
bill now up for consideration. The House
had spent eight months, not for the purpose
OF strengthening the industries of the count
ry, but Tor the purpose, or he ought to say
perhaps, with the effect of greatly disturbing
those interests. That was mild
phrase. 1t was an easy thing TO
tear down, but it was not SO easy TO
build up. He regarded a reduction of
| from $4,000 900 to S70,000,000 cf revenue as
being as great reduction as could safely be
made. aud he trusted that no amendment
mouiu NC auCp.ou. looking 10 a greater re-
duction. He calculated from the report of
| the Secretary of the Treasury, for the first
| quarter OF the present fiscal year, that there
| would be reduction of $4,000, 900 in the re-
celpts from imports this year. as compared
Win last year, and reduction Of $17,000,000
as compared with the Secretary's estimate.
Taking all the revenues of the government
for the first quarter of the current fiscal YEAR
they had fallen off five millions as compared
with the first quarter of last year. He made
faf mt FAw 4l,r
that the enormous surplus in the treasury
was not likely to be increased by anything
that was to occur during the present fiscal
year. BY the provisions of the Senate tariff
Dlll, there would be no surplus revenue un-
less the sinking fund for this year were left
entirely out of consideration. The Senate
Dill contemplated, and it might as we'll be
understood at the beginning, that for the
current fiscal year and for the fiscal years
tnat are TO follow, there was not likely to be
surplus Tor the sinking fund. There GER
tainly would not be surplus beyond the
amount necessary to redeem the Al per cent
ponds falling due on Oct 1st, 1891. Accord
ing to the report of the Secretary of the
treasury there was on the first of the pres
ent month surplus of $96000000 in the
treasury-no, not in the treasury, for S57, ,00O.-
600 OF 1t were in the national banks He did
not want to recur to the management of the
treasury as respects the accumulating sur
pius from year to year, but for the life of
that that surplus of 500, ,0000 was not used to
Tetlre the four and half per cent. bonds
that were presently to be paid off by the
government. There was not time in the
history OF the affair when the government
could not have purchased bonds SO to have
made two per cent interest on the money.
By what process of financiering was it that
the administration instead of paving off
these four and half per cent. bonds allowed
So.,ooo9oo OF surplus to remain with the
national banks without receiving any inter
est from it? Passing on to tie general
features OF the bill, he said that the Senate
Dill differed from the House bill in the fact
that 1t proposed to deal with all the sched-
ules OF the tariff, while the House bill did
not. The House bill did not deal with the
tobacco schedule, the silk schedule or the
wine and liquor schedule, and had dealt
but lightly with the sugar schedule. The
Senate bill had been made up ON the prin-
caIpie OF protecting American labor and
purpose. The Senate committee on finance
had sought to care for every industry in the
country.
Mr. Allison went on to criticise the diver
gent action OF the minority of the committee.
pointing. particularly to the fact that Mr..
beck mad been left in solitude. none of his
views having received the imprimatur of the
other minority members, and that Mr.. Nc
Pherson had contented himself with in
dorsing the House bill in respect to articles
placed upon the free list, but desiring some
notifications in the dutiable list. The Sem
ators from Tennessee, North Carolina and
Indiana Harris, Vance and Voorhees, had
Deen aDle, he said, to agree in their views,
ana therefore they had made a separate and
independent report, not valuable, it was
true, but containing good deal of valuable
misinformation. The reductions of revenue
by the House bill had been calculated at
SIl,OOO 600. Those by the Senate bill would
amount to about 100000 The latter COM
putation had been made upon the idea that
wnere rates OF duty were increased, there
would be corresponding (or at least a
partial reduction of importations, and that
thus the revenue would be reduced.
referring to the question of tobacco,
Senator Allison said he had not been
very vigorous and urgent in removing
the tax on that article, but he supposed
there was practically an universal sentim ent
IN favor Of taking off the tax. He had
yielded and the committee on finance had
yielded to that sentiment. The only differ
ence between the House bill and the Senate
qlll In regard to tobacco was that the Senate
Dill made reduction of $3.50 thousand on
manufactured cigars and took off the tax of
a. dollar on retail dealers in tobacco He
then discussed the question of obolishing the
TAX tax on alcohol for use in the arts, and argued
tnat there was no practical difficulty in pre-
venting frauds in connection with that mat
Ter. The House bill reduced the sugar duty
Is per cent, and the Senate bill so per cent.
Even with the latter reduction, the duty on
sugar would remain IA per cent ad valorem.
Sugar was as essential In every household as
bread, and if there was any article which
should have low rate of duty it was sugar
He argued that the effect of the House bill
In regard to the sugar schedule would be to
legislate six millions year into the pockets
OF the sugar trusts or II per cent. on their
capital, and take that amount out of the
pockets OF the people, and yet the Republi-
can party is denounced and this substitute
denounced as faVOring truSts
In comparing the two bills Senator Alli-
son said the Senate bill was clear and dis
tlnct measure Of protection to American in
dustries, while the House bill was long
step In the direction Of what is commonly
known as free trade. In conclusion, he said
~ was the purpose Of the Senators on his
SIDE OF the chamber to proceed as fast as
possible with the discussion of the bill.
{, Senator Vance, one of the minority men,
bers of the finance committee,
next addressed the Senate. The House bill,
he said made total reduction of SIS, 900
but how had the favored classes responded
to that fair proposition? Every Republican
member Of the House had voted against it,
imons vote of the Republican Senators on
the tnance committee, and how, he asked,
did the Senate substitute divide the reduc-
tlon ofldutles asibetween the government and
tne people on the one side, and the favored
classes on the other? 1t took off the tax on
tobacco ($25, 100000 and the tax on alcohol
used in the arts ($7, 7,000,000), and reduced the
duty on sugar, nearly all of which taxes,
amounting in all to $4,000, 600, were pure
revenue. In other words, the Senate bill
took 50 from the government for every 81
that 1t took from the manufacturers. Sena-
tor Vance proceeded to discuss, in detail.
the provisions of both bills in the various
schedules, arguing that the House bill had
in view the interests of the people and of
the government, and that the SEN
ate bill was in the interest of
the manufacturers and favored classes. The
Democratic party, he said, had for the
duce the taxes to the requirements of the
government and had been, at every step.
thwarted by the Republican party. The
entire body of the Republican members of
the House have resisted at every step every
bill the Democrats have tried to pass for
several years and were able with the help of
q handful of Democrats to defeat every such
bill. And those Democrats who aided the
Republicans to defeat tariff reduction were
to the skies and made patriots
and moral heroes. For ten years past, no |
Republicans in the House of Representa- |
tlyes, certainly no considerable number of
republicans, have so much as proposed a
Dlll to reduce the taxes. The House bill is |
framed not only to reduce thetreasury but to |
felleve the people, while the Senate bill is
framed SO as to relieve the treasury and to
IN Increase the burdens of the people and after
al tnat Is the difference between the bills.
senator Hiscock then obtained the floor
and the bill went over until tomorrow. After |
The Washington Post office.