The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-04-13
COKE ON THE TARIFF CUT
He HEARTILY ENDORSES THE
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.


Unless the Causes are Removed that
Pile UP the Surplus Great Finan-
cial Calamity May Be Expected
The Articles that Yield the Internal
Revenue Income Can Stand Taxa
ton.
WASHINGTON, April l2.-The motion to
refer the Presidents annual message was
taken up in the Senate this afternoon, and
Mr.. Coke addressed the Senate on it.
Mr.. Coke began by speaking of the sur
plus of S140, ,000,0 900 in the Treasury and
said that the causes which took that money
needlessly from the pockets of the people
and channels of trade, to the enfeebement
of every branch of industry, were continu-
ing, and produced more aggravated results
each successive year. 1t was easy to see
that unless the causes were
removed or greatly modified it
vas only question of time when
calamity, fatally involving all the indus
trial interests of the country, must follow,
In view of this emergency, so full of evil
portent to the country, the President had,
in wise and bold message, urgently recon-
mended such revision of tho tariff, and the
reduction of the duties on imports as would
reduce the revenues to the limit required
the President was simply voicing a demand
that came from the people of the whole
country.
THE INTERNAL REVENUE.
Speaking of the internal revenue, Mr.. Coke
said that distilled spirits, malt liquors and
tobacco, were luXuries, not necessaries, and
the revenues collected from them went
directly to the Treasury less the small per-
centage of 3 40 for the cost of collection;
.AslfI hat s,.N,
that extent a clear gain to the Treasury. 1t
adds nothing to the cost of food clothing,
shelter, or other item of living; while it
operated as measure of repression
upon excessive and injurious use of
the articles. Consumers did not
complain of that tax; and it was not
strange that the President should recon-
! mend its retention undimished, and that the
necessary reduction OF the revenue be made
by cutting down the tariff taxes If re-
duction should be made in this way, S. of
the tribute paid by the people TO the manu-
facturers would be cut Off for every 81 cut
| Off from the revenue
WOOL ON THE FREE LIST.
AS to the Presidents recommendation
| that wool be placed on the free list Mr..
| Coke stated that wool ought to go on the
| free list, just as all basis of manufacture
| and all machinery used in manufacturing
| free list it ought TO be done in the interest
of the consumer, not of the manufacturer.
| A duty of SO per cent would pay back to
the manufacturer the difference between
| English and American wages in woolen
manufactures. A duty of 20 per cent. would
be highly protective of the manufacturer
who used untaxed WOOL But, to allow
manufacturer of free, untaxed wool 30 or
| 40 or 80 per cent. protection for a manufac-
| fnFa1 orflpla VVnuld IA Ag ba
did not expect the passage of a bill that
| would meet his views, and so meant to ac-
cept what he could get in the way of tariff
reduction however far it might fall short
of what he desired) he might be- compelled
to vote for bill containing such an injus-
tice; but if so, it would be against his most
earnest protest, and after his best efforts to
reform it.
| SUGAR SHOULD BE TAXED.
And so, with reference to sugar. He re-
| garded sugar as the best revenue-paying
item on the tariff list and as one carrying
along with it less of incidental burden than
| any other and he thought it would there
fore be wise to leave the duty on sugar as it
was. But he would accept and support any
reduction of duty that might be found nee
| essary to the success of a bill to reduce the
tariff. He proposed in his action to subordi-
| nate everything to the one paramount and
least as far as it could be done) the mon
strous injustice of the existing tariff.
PLAIN ISSUE.
The issue between the Republican and
| Democratic parties, made before the coun-
| try by the Presidents message was: Should
the system of taxation be that which took
| from the people only enough of their earn
ings to support the government economi-
;cally administered; or should it continue TO
be the system that wrung from the people
Il one thousand millions annually more than
| went into the National Treasury That
was the issue, and no amount of misrepre-
sentation could conceal it, nor could the at
tention Of the people be diverted from it
| by the sectional "bloody shirt" canvass
already commenced by the Republican
party, ana to be vigorously prosecuted for
the express purpose Of binding the people
with pas ion, so that they might not see
| how and by whom they were being plum
dered His faith in the intelligence Of the
people and in their attachment to honest