The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1888-05-22
RANDALL SPEAKS
In Opposition to the Pending
Tariff Bill.
The Question Discussed at Length by the
Great Statesman-Speeches by Messrs.
Mckinley and Breckinridce.

WASHINGTON, May 16.-The house was called
to order by McMilin, of Tennessee, as speaker,
pro tenn, and the chaplain being absent and
the reading of the journal being dispensed
with, the house Immediately went into COM
mittee of the whole (Nlr. Springer, OF Illinois,
in the chair) on the tariff bill.
Mr. Anderson, of Iowa, denounced the pro-
tectiye system and its horrible progeny, tho
innumerable modern monsters known as
"trusts," sired by greed and damned by con-
trivance, which eliminated from American
commerce the vital principle of competition.
[Applause.l
Mr.. Cheadle, of Indiana, confined himself to
the discussion OF the question whether protcc-
ton protected and maintained the affirmative
of the proposition
The floor was then accorded to Mr.. Randall,
of Pennsylvania. He opened his speech by re-
ferring to the presidents recent message, in
which the executive advised congress that the
surplus in the treasury by the 30th of June, at
the end of the current fiscalyear, would be ex-
pected to reach the sum of S140000000, in
Guiding prior accumulations or more closely
stated, the sum of $4,000, GOO apart from prior
accumulatons over and above all authorized
expenditures, including the sinking fund for
the current year. He then quoted from
THE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE,
decr'Gg his position on the tariff and
internal revenue question, and said
that from the utterances of the president,
he understood the executive tie be adverse to
any reduction of the internal taxes, as that
mode of taxation afforded, in the opinion of
the president, ''no just complaint, and that
nothing is so well able to bear the burden
without hardship to any portion of the people,"
The president further said that the tariff law
was a vicious and illogical source of inequit-
able tax, and ought to be revised and modified,
and the president had urged upon congress an
immediate expression on this matter, to the
exclusion of all others. The president had
asserted in substance, that the reduction neces-
sary should be made by additions to tho free
list, and by the lowering of the rates Of duty.
In the presence Of such language, emanating
from the executive authorized by direction
of the constitution to communicate and from
time to time give to congress information on
the state of the union, and recommend such
measures as he should judge necessary, it
was imperatively required of the representa-.
tiyes of the people to give fair intelligent and
prompt attention to the suggestions made.
He had done so. He had introduced and had
referred to the committee on ways and means
bill to reduce and equallZe duties on imports,
andto
and some provisions of that bill showed that
the remedies he would apply were at variance
with those recommended by the president.
The president sought to prevent continue
ton OF surplus revenue by resorting to changes
in customs duties only. The remedy he IRAN
dalD proposed was through the repeal of the
internal revenue taxes as we'll as by n full re-
vision of the tariff, as promised to the people
by the democratic convention of 1884 The
reduction provided for in this bill aggregated
had always been the last to be levied, and first
to be repealed when no longer necessary.
Mr.. Jefferson had given the death blow to
excise taxes, the most vicious of all taxes,
and among other things he received the thanks
of the legislature of his native state for so
doing, and was for having the internal taxes
abolished. The first tax also to be repealed
after the war of 1912 had been the excise tax
which was recommended by Madison, and was
the first law exacted under the administration
of Monroe
The democratic convention of 1884 declared
that the internal revenue was a war tax, and
this declaration, taken in connection with
other declarations of the platform, clearly es-
tablished the fact that the opinion of the con-
vention was that some of the
INTERNAL REVENUE TAXES SHOULD FIRST GO,
and that they should all go when sufficient
sum was realized from customhouse taxes to
meet the expenses of the government
economically administered. The country
was practically i'll such "a condition now, and
true response to those declarations warranted
the repeal of internal revenue taxes to the ex-
tent proposed by his bill. He favored now, as
he had always done, total repeal of internal
revenue taxes. Applause.
In the bill which lie introduced he proposed
to sweep all these taxes from the statute books
except a tax OF fifty cents on whisky, and he
would transfer the collections of that tax to
the customs officers il that was found to be
practicable.
If this internal revenue system was abolish
ed today, we would haveI no surplus revenue
to scare the country, while the administration
Of public affairs would be rendered purer and
better. HIS bill proposed a revision of the
tariff on a principle believed to be in harmony
with the authorized declarations of the demo-
cratic party in their last convention. These
declarations clearly recognized the fact that
difference existed in the cost of the production
Of commodities in this and other countries on
account of
A. HIGHER RATE OF WAGES
in the United States and declared fo- duty
ample to cover that difference. There was a
cardinal principle which must cover every in
telligentsrevision of the tariff. Labor in this
country received a much larger share of what
was annually produced than in any other coun-
try, and this advantage to labor could only be
maintained by giving to industries protection
equal to that difference While dollar might
buy more in another country than here days
labor here would obtain more Of the comforts
OF life than anywhere else. Under free trade
this advantage to labor disappeared. 1t was
impossible it should be othesWise, If the tariff
itself did not give higher wages to the laborer,
it did preserve flom foreign Competition indus
tries from which the iaborer receives his wages.
He wished to refer to few fundamental
propositions which have been maintained
throughout this debate, and which appeared
toexercise controlling infuenceover the opin-
ions Of men. /. That duties were always add
ed to the price to the consumer. On articles not
produced in this country, this doubtless was
true as general rule and measurably true on
articles in part produced in this country, but
not in sufficient quantities to supply the home
market. But on all commodities produced in
sufficient quantities to supply the home mar
ket, different principle controlled. In these
things competition determined the price and
foreign producers came into this market where
prices were fixed and the duties were what he
paid for the privilege Of coming into the mar
ket. Another erroneous proposition was that
duties on articles produced in this country
were tax or bounty which the consumer paid
to the manufacturer, by means Of which the
manufacturer derived large profits. IL this
were true, it was not easy to see what iustifca-
ton there was for tie committee bill. any more
than for the present tariff law. But that it
was erroneous seemed apparent on closer ex-
animation Of the laws OF trade.
Mr.. RANDALL's BILL.
Mr.. Randall entered into an explanation Of