Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-01-06
Sherman Argues from a Protective
Standpoint in Answer to Presi-
dent CIevsIand's Message.
He Woufd Repeal the Tobacco Tax,
Modify the Whisky Tax and Reduce
the Duty on Sugar by Une- Half.
Tho Duty on Imported Articles not Added
TO the Price of Similar Articles of
Home Production.
SHERMAN ON THE MESSAGE.


sage. Mr.. Sherman thought the Presi-
dent exaggerated the danger of the sur
plus and called attention to the TACT that
President Jefferson and President Jack
son had recommended, in preference to
reducing the import duties, the spplics-
ton of the money for public Improvement
or distribution smong the states. The
Republican administration had used
it TO p3y the public debt or reduced it by
the reduction or repeal OF taxes. The
LAST time the Republicans were in power
in the House they had reduced both the
internal taxes and the customs duties.
Now the Democratic party should do its
duty. II the President regarded this
growing surplus as danger, why had he
not brought his influence to bear upon
Congress to provide for a reduction OF
taxation? The House of Representatives
contained large majority OF his political
friends. They alone had the initiative
constitutional power to introduce bill
to reduce taxes. But the controlling
majority of the Democratic psrty would
not allow bill to be reported unless 1t
contained provisions, which, in the opln-
iop of minority of the members of the
House, would greatly injure or
DESTROY DOMESTIC PRODUCTION,
creating real distress and reduce wages
II it had been the desire to reduce the
taxes without reducing American pro.
duction the task was easy, tut the
enormous powers OF the Speaker of the
House were used to prevent even the
presentation of such bill, and in thi;
the Speaker had, it was understood. tine
hesrty sympathy and support of the Presi
dent and the Secretary Of the Treasury
Even without the reduction Of taxation
the surplus revenue might be applied fol
great pstional objects but for the vetoes
OF the President, for the failure of the
Secretary Of the Treasury to exercise the
plain discretionary powers conferred
upon him by law and fer the
failure of the Democratic House
of Representatives to make appro
priations for some OF the highest national
objects demanded by tia people. The
President had cast doubt upon the power
OF the Secretary of the Treasury to entel
the market and
PURCHASE BONDS.
The second section of the sundry civil
! dill of March 3, 1881, gave the Secretary
of the Treasury power st any time to ep
ply the surplus or so much OF it as he
might consider proper to the purchase OF
redemption of United States bonds
| such bonds to be cancelled ant
not to constitute part of ths
sinking fund. That law had beer
passed at mis- (Mr. Shermsn's) reques
while he was Secretary Of the Treasury
| to me$ every difficulty, and to operate a
any time. The country had two. distinc
systems of taxation, first, upon American
production of spirits, tobacco and beer
and the other upon imported goods, the
products of foreign nations. The first O
| these, the President said, there seemed
| to be DO Just complaint of, such as tsXs-
| ton by the consumers. It might be sale
| that there was no complaint CT the con
sumers. Did not the farmers complain o.
the tax? II the President thought they
| did not he WAS
| GREATLY MISTAKEN.
Tobacco manufacturers, distillers anG
brewers might not complain, because th'
necessary requirements OF the collection
laws give them close monopoly, but tint
| farmers who had to sell licensed dealers
alone did complain. The tax on whisk!
might restrain the use of whisky as .
beverage and in that way the tex die
good, but the taxes on beer and tobacco
| did not. The tax on tobacco especially
should be RENTED. Though not nj ces
sity Ike bread and meat, the use O.
tobacco was so general that iii
| tax was burden to the farnle
and to the consumer. The special tax or
rectifcers and special dealers who 81
stills yield annually $52, 0e0. 600 ought Il
be repealed and their imposition left *
the states. The tax on spirits aud beeI
might be so modified that the states
| could make taxes on the consumption o
| the articles q bounteous source OF rev
enue and s proper means of relief from
| the burdens Of local taxation. II the OBJ
! iect sought was only to avoid the accumu
lation of surplus the easy, natural ant
logical course was to repeal or largely re
duce the internal revenue. But the
| President proposed to continue these
taxes
WITHOUT DIMINUTION
so that he might strike q more effective
blow at the taxes now resting upon for
eign productions. Last year the tota
| value of foreign importstions was $685..
| OQO, coo, S235, 900, 600 of the amount being
free OF duty so that as to over one-.Dird
of all the articles of foreign production
consumed in this country, there was ab
solutely free trade. They were mainly
such articles as by reason OF climate
could not be produced here and did
not come into competition with domestic
industry. With that kind of free trade
he was in hearty sympathy. 1t was ex'
actly opposite to the policy proposed by
the President and by the school to which
the President belonged. They sought to
place taxes upon articles now free, such
as tea and coffee, in order that greater
reduction might be made on articles this;
did not come in competition
WITH HOME INDUSTRY.
Articles of voluntary use, luxury or sp'
petite, not in common use among the
people and which are almost exclusively
used by the wealthy, should receive the
highest rate collectsble without excluding
them or enticing smuggling. Taxes
should be assessed upon those best able
to pay. This was the policy OF the
present tariff, and it had operated even
better than hsd been hoped. These
duties had imposed chiefly the burden OF
taxation upon articles OF volun-
tary luxury, and had still IN
cited American artists and mechanics
to compete In those branches of industry
with the skilled artists of Europe and
Asia. In this way remarkable progress
had been made IN those expensive pro-
auctions, and porcelain tableware, 0rna-