The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-03-20

its burthens; and year by year, by a sort
OF sliding scale, come down and let bust
ness adjust itself gradually. The Mills bill
sought 10 do that, as a beginning in a
small way, and democrats passed it. The
senate, ignoring and repudiating every
pledge, admission and necessity, defying
the concessions Of public opinion, formu-
lated a monstrosity IN the name of an
amendment and passed it, with provisions
not only defeating the very ends and OBJ
ject of bill to revise the tariff, but that
magnited and increased all the evils and
burthens already existing; and it was
sent TO the house for It's concurrence. \
hypocrisy so flauntingly bold and aggres-
sive; a pretepse so viliainous and meanly
tyrannical as the passage of this bill as a
reform OF the tariff; an abuse OF power
amounting to official perjury--so brutally
exercised in the robbery of the laboring
and producing classes OF the whole coun-
try, for the exclusive benefit OF less than
one-seventeenth OF the industries carried
on, has no parallel in the history of legis-
lation. Its counterpart is found only in
the history OF the worst OF despotic gov
ernments, where legislation was unknown
When carefully examined the manner
in which it pretends to reform, and TO give
relief, should excite only contempt and
profound indignation in every right
minded person. The first section is an
instance sufficient to illustrate the idea
suggested here, and the same thing in vari-
Gus shapes and bearings abounds through
out the bill The first section puts timber
and lumber and wood in many forms, with
salt. on the free list; provided, the coun-
tries from which it is brought do not levy
any tariff on the same thing. In that case
the tariff now in force remains. These
woods we import from the British posses
sions, from Mexico. and the Central and
South American states most largely, and,
as everybody knows, the countries we i'm
port from do levy tariff on them. There
fore, our tariff remains in force. and il is no
revision Of the tariff at ALL If the law had
read, "Be it enacted, that on all imports
into this country from any other
country that robs Its people by
means of a tariff tax, the people of the
United States shall be robbed in like
manner by means of a tariff tax, as fol-
lows, and then fixed the per cent. for
all imports from such countries, the law
would have been the same in effect that
this bill makes it. The speciousness, the
subtletv, the covert character OF the
language, the design to cover up and hide
from the plain people and the common I'M
derstanding, the hypocritial -pretense OF
reforming and relieving where the design
and intention is not to reform or relieve,
is so Internally low and mean that as the
act OF senators of so great a country as
this language is not equal to a proper
characterization of it.
In like manner and with like spirit,
in other sections, it proceeds to enor-
mously increase instead of decrease the
tariff on many prime necessaries that
enter into general use needed by every
body, and to make the tariff law many fold
more OF vicious class law than it is now.
Add the hypocrisy that it is sent to the
house as an amendment" to the house
bill, and in view of it all, it looks as if It's
supporters were so far beneath honest
contempt that contempt would not reach
them if hurled at them. They deserve
universal execration and ostracism.
What a sad commentary it is upon
either the ignorance, stupidity or indiffer-
ence-which ever 1t may be-of the
American people that they can be i'm
posed upon by or will submit 10 such
misgovernment.