Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-10-05
THE MINORITY REPORT.
The Mills Bill Finely C0utrasted
with the Senate Substitute.

with the Senate Substitute.
The report of the minority makes a
document of twelve printed pages. It
begins with the statement that in the
preparation of substitute for the House
bill no member of the minority of the
Committee was consulted or informed as
to it's provisions until il was reported to
the full Committee on the 25th of Sep.
tember.
The report recites the work of the
Sub Committee in hearing the state
ments, arguments and appeals Of manu-
facturers and others, who demand that
the present high rate of tariff taxation
shall be maintained, and in most in
stances prompted not by revenue necessi--
ties, but alone for the purpose of increas-
ing their own profits at the expense of
&C, 900, 600 taxpayers. Continuing it
says: 1t is safe to say that all the inter-
ests benefited by the high protective
tariff have been fully heard and have
had much influence in shaping this SUBJ
stitute, while the great body Of the peo-
pie, the Taxpayers and victims of this
policy, have not appeared and have not
been heard.
1t is then said that the short time the
substitute has been in the hands of the
Minority, has made it difficult to ascer-
tain it's effect, but the essential difference
between the House bill and the Senate
substitute is apparent and radical. At
the outset, in the matter of revenue, the
one is framed in the interests of the pub
lie Treasury, the other in the interests of
private pockets. The one is framed in
the interests of the whole people, the
other in the interest of 300, 900 manufac-
turers. One is designed to reduce both
the Government revenue and taxation
that taxation especially which bears the
heaviest on the necessaries of life: the
other is intended to reduce the public
revenue, but to maintain private reve-
nues by increasing and retaining the
taxation on all the necessaries Of life.
The advocates of the substitute freely
propose to reduce the duties, or abolish
them on those things which yield only
a Government revenue, but refuse
to reduce or abolish the duties
on those things which produce private
revenue. But the minority think it safe
to say that the chief reductions in tariff
taxation, as provided by the substitute,
are confined to the articles of sugar and
rice, with jute and few other unim-
portant articles put upon the free list.
while there is an increase of duties inn
posed upon the multiform manufactures
Of cotton, wool, iron and steel, articles
that the whole people, and especially
the poor and most needy classes, are
compelled to use. The substitute re-
lieves the non-necessity tobacco in all it's
FORMS. except cigars, cheroots and cigar
cites, from internal taxation, and gives
free alcohol to the arts. Practically the
substitute offers to the people free
whiskey and free tocacco, leaving all the
expensive machinery for the collection
of the revenues and the enforcement of
the law in full force, while it increases
the taxation upon the actual and inde-
spensable necessaries of life.
| The report continues: The rods out of
| which the farmers wire fence is made
are not apparently changed in rate, but
by various changes in classi6cati n, act
ual and important additional burdens are
imposed. A reduction in dutiable value
from 31a to cents per pound weight, ac-
companied this and an additional size,
No. 6, added without an apparent change
OF rate, does adroitly increase the rate
paid on wire rods of this size, from 45
per cent. to about "a per cent. and is an
increase in wire rods of nearly 5000, 900
upon the basis of importations of 1887.
And there is added proviso by which
rods smaller than No. 6 are classified as.
wire, and thus effect third double in
crease of tax in one section, and this is
called part Of q system" and rightly so
called. Steel ingots, cogged ingots, bill
let's, bars, etc., now pay 45 per cent. duty
If valued at less than cents per pound
by this substitute, il valued at cent or
less they are dutiable ct 116 cent per
pound; and as some of the items were
ydued 7-10 Of cent per pound, accord
onssbs one q i cent s an inclssss iRo om a.sS g % f
over 70 per cent, and nearly 1 million
dollars tx ID raised by this one section.
Cotton ties also received their careful
cousldq dqrotien, and y ID not enough thai
p: ea 'zss|I t'ss'