The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-02-02
CREAM OF THE PRESS,
COMMENTS or TIE LEADING JOUR-
NAILS ON LEADING TOPICS.
An Example of Russian Despotism-The
Only Practical Means Of Tariff Reform.
The surplus still Growing Public Mat
tiers in Secret SessiOn-&c.

Only tracticaI means Oh i"fih "''"''
The Surplus stiII Growing Public Mat
ters In Secret Session-&c.
The Tr1June, describing the suicide OF
n Russian officer to avoid carrying out
the order to kill the Car, says:
lone of the details of this extraordi-
nary occurrence is characteristic OF Rus
sian methods of administration. Wheh
the diving officers confession had Deen
recorded in writing. every one VINO nad
heard il was Immediately arrested. Inc
surgeons in consultation over the SICK
mans symptoms and the hospital nurses
who were smoothing his pillow were
converted into enemies Of the Gar by
the mere possession of the secret that an
army officer was Nihilist and had con-
federates in the service. They were i'm
prisoned for the crime of listening 10
diving mans whispers; and the surgeons
were not released until they had bound
themselves not to repeat the startling
tale. Could there he a more striking
illustration Of despotic government and
its morbid terrors than this hospital
scene ,"
There is but one practicable measure.
If the protective principle is to be pre-
served, no reduction of taxation can be
made certain, except by an enlargement
of the free list, by placing thereon the
raw materials of industry. This Will, OF
course require corresponding reduction
in the manufactured articles made in
whole or in part out of the materials that
are made free from taxation.
How much reduction upon those
commodities vii lower the revenues can
not be ascertained in any way except 10y
experiment.
ii is said that the duties on sugar will
not be cut more than twenty per cent
That was the amount proposed by the
Morrison bill Of 1894 IL is not enough
The tax should be cut down one -halh
II is very high, and there is no excuse
for maintaining it, Besides, thro wing
off one half would probably effect re-
duction in the revenues of at least 500
900 600. II will all he needed in order To
max the saving to the people as great as
it ought to be.-N. J. STIR.
Again the record Of a month shows
the collection of nearly Sl5,0O0,OOO in ex-
cess of the needs Of the Government.
A million dollars a day were taken
from the people by taxation during tie
month of January, one half Of which was
unnecessary.
At the rate of collection during the last
two months the surplus for year would
be over S17j,OOO,0OO.
And vet no bill for the reduction of
taxation is promised under two weeks
two months and a half after the meeting
of Congress.
This is the result prophesied in THE
WorM when il urged an extra session of
Congress early in the autumn. The de-
Law may be inevitable, but it is unforiu-
nate.
The surplus already accumulated IS
pretty certain to be squandered. There
should be short, sharp, and decisive work
in stopping the infiow-Netc York Wortd.
Certain representatives, and organs of
! the tariff pools or rings have underworld
to divert attention from the combine
tions which derive from tariff duties
alone their power to rob the people by
killing competition in the home market.
Their influence was exerted in the
House of Representatives few days ago
to procure a modification Of the resOlu
ton providing for an investigation of
| Trusts. The object of the resolution as
| IL was introduced, and as explained by
| its author, protectiOnist. was ito ascer-
tain, l. possible, what effect these COM
binations or Trusts have had upon the
prices Of necessaries of life whether or
not by reason Of the tariff they are en-
abled to place greater prices upon them. y
Of course it was Mr. Randall who at
once urged that the scope of the inquiry
should be so extended that it would in
clude the Standard Oil Trust and the
Whisky Trust. Il desire" he added,
"to embrace also gas companies" He
also assured the House that the recent
advance in the price of sugar had been
caused not by the formation of the Sugar
Trust, but by the operation of the Law OF
supply and demand-N L. Times
| That the Senate, out of an aristocratic
feeling, cherishes the obsolete and mis-
chievous custom of dealing with public
| matters III secret scssiO1 IS very true
The Senate has become too largely a
mere club of millionaires and corporation
agents Its pride is to carry on public
affairs in secret, to exclude and drive out
the people from an important part OF its
deliberations npon the peoples business.
Too many Senators act as though they
were the masters and not the servants of
the people
There is a general belief that in this
extraditon treaty with Great Britain,
arranged by Mr.. Bayari, too much has
been weakly surrendered TO the demands
or to the intrigues of the British Govern
ment. This belief may be mistaken
but why not publish the treaty ~ J..
| Herdd.
Let Us take another object of compari-
son. The Established Church of En-
gland and Wales is generally supposed
TO be the richest ecclesiastical body in
the world. Yet according to lVhitdkG's
Almanac, the net amount annually re-
ceiyed by all the Anglican clergy il said