The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-03-02
TARIFF REDUCTION.
Measure Striking All Northern Mnd
Western Interests.


mony the administration tariff bill was made
public at 1890 o'clock this morning As antci-
pated, the Republican members of the commit
tee on ways and means had no suggestions to
offer to the arbitrary majority, who have framed
the bill without consulting their minority col
leagues and the committee was in session but
a few minutes Chairman Mills expected the
minority to have considerable to say about the
bill, and to make requests concerning the pro-
cedure to be taken in it's consideration in COM
mittee and reporting it to the House, and was
surprised when he was informed that having
composed the bill without suggestions from the
minority, the majority ought to be able to pro-
ceed with it's directions as consideration, etc.
There was no discussion of the measure at all
by members of the committee, aud their meet
ing of but a few minutes duration.
Members of the House supplied with
copies of the bill as they arrived at the Capitol,
and at their leisure glanced over its provisions.
Very few have far digested the bill sufi-
GENTLY to warrant them in giving deli berate
opinion but the best-informed members on the
subject of tariff declare that it has not o eh ost
of chance of passage. In reality. it appears
that there will be less following for the ad-
rninistration bill. than there for the Morri-
son horizontal bill. consideration of which, it
will be remembered, refused by the House
by very decided vote. The sharp reduction of
the duty on iron will keep the Randall follow
ing solid in Pennsylvania, while the cuts on
sugar, rice, and few ARTICLES produced by the
South. will enable Randall to have increased
following from Louisiana, Georgia, the VirRinias
and Carolinas. Free wool settles the Demo-
cratic support in Ohio and drives all members
from that State into che line of opposition to
the bill, while the Pacific slope is made solid in
opposition by not only free wool. but material
reductions on almost every article produced on
the Pacific coast If Randall was enabled to
command over forty votes in opposition to the
Morrison bill, he will be able TO vote q
third more men on his side OF the House. if one
can estimate this early upon expressions being
given. The majority members of the COM
mittee ways and means. as was true in
the last two Congresses, claim to have enough
votes in the House to secure the passage of their
bill, but acknowledge that they must have some
support from the Republican side and that they
look for 1t from the prairie States. The Nor
rison bill had about half dozen Republican
votes. The absence of internal revenue reduc-
ton will take strength from the bill in the
South. whore free tobacco and free fruit brandy
is an issue of great popularity.
Generally speaking, the bill does not indieat
anything to what will be done in the way OF
tariff reform, if, indeed, tariff is reformed by
this Congress 1t is only good to show the
platform of the administration and what the
majority would do if it strong enough.
Tonight the Jour nal correspondent met General
Browne, of Indiana. who is one of the leading
members of the House committee ways aud
means. and who voices his side of the House
very generally the subject aLd when
asked him what he thought of the tariff bill be
a1xv e%z Eo-. Al
noses of the minority this morning, for the first
time. can give opinion of its merits l
have not read it, and have but given it hurried
glance That. however, satisfies me that in its
secret and mysterious preparation the Demo
cratic majority has had an eye to partisan as
welTA economical phases of the tariff question.
The industries of the Southern Democratic
sections have Jared we'll The sugar OF Louis
ia ma, the rice of South Carolina. and the cotton
of the South are safely protected; bageing for
cotton, and steel and iron cotton ties and
hoops are to 60 to the cotton planter free
of duty. On the other hand, the produ ctions Of
the Republican North are favored with place
on the free list. Among these l notice SALT
lumber, wool. fax, tow, beeswax, meats. poul-
try and copper ores; even milk. bsans egg yolks
grease and soft soap had to suffer the common
fate The fear of losing West Virginia and the
section around Birmingham accounts for the
tenderness with which coal and iron ores have
been treated. The sectional and partisan char
acter of this Democratic revenue reform leeisla-
tion will be still more slarinely manifest when
internal revision is proposed Another seri-
objection to the till is that ii makes all, or
nearly all. the duties it imposes ad valorem
rather than specific. This makes frauds by un-
dervaluations easy. How much the proposed
measure will reduce the revenue am not psr-
mitted TO know and il viii take much labor aud
time to ind out 1t is en- ough to say that this
bill should not and will not pass It's promo
ters, in my opinion, do not expect it to pass"
Representative Cheadle said: ''The bill is
not a surprise here, where it's main features
have been predicted with remarkable accuracy
for weeks. 1t is Cleveland, Carlisle and tho
whisky POOLS bill. and should be entitled An
act to destroy American industries and produce
national bankruptcy The threat TO place wool
the free list comes just in time to cause q
decline in prices. which must result in loss to
all wool-growers. The proposition to put salt
lumber and marble on the free list means pros
tration TO these great interests, while the reduc-
tion railroad iron would destroy all our steel
rail mills. and for whose benefit The railroad
magnates alone. Yesterdays debate disclosed
the fact that there is no surplus. 1t is loaned
without interest to special banks-ffty-nine mill
ion dollars-to be loaned to the people for inter-
est to-day. The administration tariff bill shows
that in order TO benefit the railroad macnates
the tariff would be reduced until the great iron
aud steel industries would be DESTROYED. This
is the feast OF economic government to which
the Nation is invited Every interest in which
the great West Ia interested is to ha stricken
down. This bill can never become . Law. Its
oriRlnatoTs do not believe in honorIng labor
securing it's rewards They used to be slave
owners. all five of them. To-day the great
Democrat. Randall. who was Union soldier.
said at my desk: I cannot support that bill.
J. too. shall do all can 10 defeat It, The he.
publican party will oppose and win suggest