Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1888-02-09
SENATOR SHERMAN'S
Short and Smashing Speech Replying to
and Ripping Up hF. Kalna, Of
Hest Virginia.
lin full nom The Congressman Record

liltil It II dblC lloA 10 llltiht lIbCldlildsloil
of the fact, which should have been made
ten years ago, that the ranks OF the Dem
ocratic party are closed. 1t may be that
we shall now have distinct. affirmative
issue presented by the Democratic party.
hope to God We shall. They have had
possession of the legislative powers of the
government in the main. certainly they
have had control of the House of Repre-
sentatiyes, for ten out of the past twelve
years, and they have also had possession
Of the powers of the Senate for two years.
yet there is not single affirmative pro
position or measure which they have sub
mitted to the Judgment of the American
people. If there is, want to know what
it is.
On the tariff question congratulate my
friend that he is able to say, and hope he
will make it good, that the Democratic
party has closed its ranks. Ii il has. then
we shall have fair and manly contest on
a great question of public policy upon
which more than any other rests the
greatness and power of our country.
| should like to take part in such a con-
test. but do not believe it will be pre-
Sented to us. Let the ranks be closed and
make your proposition. that you have had
the power to make for ten ont Of twelve
years. to reduce taxation in any form and
send it to us as the Democratic position.
and yOu will find the old ranks unbroken
Oh this side of the Chamber willing and
ready if we disagree to present the issue
that you give to us to the people Of the
United States.
For gentlemen to come here and aSSail
us because from time to time we have eX-
pressed views that appear to be different,
when we were performing the responsible
duty of government that they have had
the power to perform for ten years, seems
to me to be rather small hole to creep
out of a great responsibility. 1t is true
that in the discussion of the tariff queS-
ton in thirty years ! may have changed
my mind. If | had not changed my mind
as circumstances and conditions changed.
| would be unworthy to hold seat here
Applause in the galleries.
TIE PRESIDING OFFICER The Senator
from Ohio will suspend for moment
1t is the duty Of the Chair to caution the
galleries that marks of approval or diSap-
probation are forbidden by the rules of
the Senate and silence will be enforced
even if ii is necessary to clear the CALLER
les.
Mr.. SHERMAN-Nr. President, | have
been called upon to debate and vote on
the question of the tariff under conditions
as Strikingly changed as men can find in
the history of any country. Before the
war we had an oyertlOwing Treasury at
one time and great dread about the sur
plus revenue. We reduced taxes in 1857
by one fell stroke; and reYulsion occur
red after the passage of that law, not per
kapS caused by the law, but by financial
panic the revenues fell off do not know
how much. At any rate, when we came
back here in December, 1851. we actually
had to receive for our pay Treasury notes
after the panic in the summer and fall of
1857. Ibelieve my friend from Texas Mr..
Reagan was then a member of the other
house, and he will remember that remark
able fact.
| have seen these changes frequently
occurring. When the war commenced we
had fortunately secured at the close of the
previous administration what was called
the Morrill, tariff bill, bill which was de
bated at great length in both houses of
Congress, but was only passed in the Sen
ate by reason of the absence of Senators
who had gone South III an attempt to Sc
cede from the Union. 1t became the law
in March, 1861. and it was a great piece
of good fortune to this country that that
law had been passed. because it gave us
the foundation of a revenue system. and
it was Immediately put i'll force, and had
a great and powerful influence in enabling
us to carry on our financial operations
But the very moment when. during the
war. we collected the duties imposed by
that tariff, we levied enormous taxes on
home production, yielding us at one time
over 0O,O00,GO year of internal reye-
nue..
Then after the war was over we com
menced the reduction of those taxes. not
so much of the tariff duties as internal
taxation. 1t was on the bills proposing
to reduce taxes to take off the stamp duty
on deeds and cOnveyances and all that
sort of thing, to take off the taxes on do
nestle manufactures, to sweep away the
mass OF internal revenue taxation levied
during the war that uttered the language
in 1867. quoted by the Senator from West
Virginia. and every word OF it was true,
and is now heartily approved by ME.
Such was the general policy, | believe,
of both political parties at that time The
party lines were not drawn on these tax
alton questions at the close of the war:
and during the war no party lines were
drawn at all on these questions, If | re-
member correctly. Then it was the gen
eral desire TO leave the tariff alone. with
only slight reductions, SO as to enable us
to sweep away the whole mass of internal
revenue duties as rapidly as possible: and
we did it. 1t WAS on bill of that char
acter in 1867 that ! made the remark that
of all the taxes which were most willingly
paid by the people Of the United States
were the taxes on tobacco, beer and spir-
its: and so they were; SO they are to-day.
But only within two or three years has
there come complaint to us, and mainly
from the Southern States, of the tax Oh
tobacco. The Senator from North Caro-
lima MI Vance represents that feeling,
and so does his colleague Mr.. Ransom
and so do the other Senators from South
ern States: so do the Senators from the
States of Ohio and Indiana that is to
say, the growers of tobacco begin TO feel
that while they have willingly paid that
tax and the farmers have been compelled
to buy of licensed dealers and nobody else
while they have willingly borne that
tax as long as it was necessary for the
support of the government, yet now the |
farmers do complain of it.
They say it does affect their production. |
This complaint has only come to us with /
in two or three years, and when it came !
10 us. especially from the South. | felt we
ought to heed it. do heed it, do regard |
it, and have so far modified my views as
to be willing to repeal the tobacco tax,
leaving the beer and whisky tax still stand |
to enable us to meet the great expendi- !
lures still occurring in consequence of the |
war
Am right i'll this? IwOnder that Sen |
ators on the other side of the Chamber DO |
not heed that voice, too. II is general al |
over the Southern States, and l yield to |
that opinion SO generally expressed III
Virginia. West Virginia, Tennessee, Ken
tucky, and North Carolina for the repeal
of the tobacco tax, | see that there is Il |
demand made, especially by the farmers
of that region, for the farmers Of Ohio
care less about it: and when ! yield TO
that demand only do what the Senator's
from those States ought to do yield to
the public viii when it comes to us III an
,u4ban+in form from U;.gai ;nHSSpS of OIir