Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1890-04-24
TIE TARIFF.
Tho Bill Finally Reported to the
House.
Points in the Report of the Majority of the
Ways and Means Communicable. Car
Isle Submits q Report of the
Minority.


Ways and Means Committee-AIr. Car
Isle submits q Report of the
Minority
The Majority Report.
WASHINGTON, April lin reporting
the Tariff bill to the House yesterday.
Mr.. Mckinley, of Ohio, set forth the
views of the majority substantially as
follows:
The majority report begins with a state
ment OF the financial situation and estimates
that the surplus at the end of the present
fiscal year will be $92, 600 COD, and deducting
the sum required to make payments on the
sinking fund the net surplus OF receipts over
expenditures will be 4361s,s's. The esti-
mated surplus of the next fiscal year will be
H3, sly ,52k, which, with the amount OF cash
now on hand and available Preaching $780, UOs
bOD), will justify a reduction of the revenue
In the sum contemplated by the bill reported
-$6o,S3 ,96, and probably more from customs
and $10,3E7, s7s from internal revenue, or
total Of $7l, 264 ,4A
The report says: "The exact effect upon
the revenues Of the Government Of the pro-
posed bill Is difficult of ascertafnment. That
there will be a substantial reduction, we
will show, admits of no doubt. 1t is not be-
lieved that the increase of duties upon woods
and wooden goods and upon glassware will
have the effect OF increasing the revenue.
That would, of course, follow il the importa-
lions of the last fiscal year were hereafter to
be maintained, which. however, Is altogether
improbable. The result will be that impor-
tatfOos will be decreased and, therefore, the
amount Of revenue collected from these
sources will be diminished. In every case OF
increased duty except that imposed upon tin
plate (Which does not go into effect until
July !, 1917 and upon linen fabrics
the effect will be to reduce rather than
enlarge the revenues, because importation
will fall of. 1t was the aim of the committee
to nx the duties upon that class OF manufact-
ured goods and farm products which can be
supplied at home, so as to discourage the
use OF like foreign goods and products, and
secure to our own people and our own pro
ducers the home market. The general pol
icy OF the bill Is to foster and promote Amer
American industry. We have not been so
much concerned about the prices of the arti-
cles we consume we have been to encour-
age a system of home production that shall
give fair remuneration to domestic pro-
ducers and fair wages to American work
men, and by increasing production and
home consumption insure fair prices to con-
sumers"
The committee admit that free trade or
revenue duties would temporarily diminish
prices, but argue that it would be at the
expense of the domestic products which
would be displayed, and then prices would
again advance and the country be left at the
mercy of foreign syndicates and manufact-
urers. One of the chief complaints now
prevalent among our farmers is that they
can get no prices for the crops cOmmensur-
ate to the labor and capital invested in their
production. Those who differ from must
believe that even further agricultural de-
preston is desirable, for no other conse
quence can result from their economic
theories. They advocate cheap prices as the
chief object of the Industrial policy they
commend to the country. This means per-
manently low prices for American agricult
ural products as well as for manufactured
G fra la6 m n
the people of the United States.
In the case OF wool the report recites fig
ures as an evidence of the alarming decline
in production and says that an advance OF
duties has been recommended The COM
mittee believes the United States should pr O.
duce all the wool it consumes, and with ade-
quate defensive legislation it will do so. The
annual consumption is 6n,OOD,0OO pounds,
and with the protection offered by the bill
the farmers of the United states will, at an
early day, be able to supply this demand by
the addition of LOO per cent, or 100, 00O, 900
pounds to the present number. The bill
seeks to stop the frauds which have been SO
shamelessly practiced in the past by import
ing woods eady for The loom under the new
names and forms to avoid legal duties. The
report gives the increase of the duty on
wool and the construction given to the
worSted clause of the existing law as a
reason for increasing the duties on wooden
goods to p Otect manufacturers. 1t says
The necessity of this increase is apparent
in view of the facts already stated that dur
ing the last fiscal year there were imports of
manufacturers of wool of the foreign value
of $50, SO ,4S2, shown by the undervalued
invoices and the real value in our market of
nearly $780, ,,0;0-fully one fourth of our en-
tire home consumption-equival to an
import of at least 10000 pounds of wool
in the form of manufactured goods" The
existing law gives, it is said, a protection of
35 to As per cent. the bill gives range OF
from 80 10 so per cent.
On sugar the report says: "Sugar up to and
including No. 16, Dutch standard of color,
and molasses is to be placed on the free list,
with duty of four enths of l cent per
pound on refined sugar above No. 16 and a
bounty of cents per pound be paid from the
treasury for period of fifteen years on all
sugar polarized at least IS per cent. made in
this country from cane, beets or sorghum.
Seven -eighths of our sugar consumed in the
United States is now imported from foreign
countries. In 1889 the duties collected on
imported sugar and mOlasses amounted to
S5H,s75, $40. Add to this the increase of price
of domestic sugar arising from the duty and
it is clear that the duty on sugar and mo-
laSSeS made the cost of sugar and
molasses consumed by the people of
this country at least $4, 900, or about
81 for each man, woman and child in
the United States. more than it would
have been if no such duties had been levied
and the domestic product had remained the
same Even on the assumption that with
proper encouragement shall eventually
be able to produce all. or nearly all, the SUI
gar required for the consumption of our peO-
ple-an assumption which your committee
believes to be sustained by many facts. not
withstanding the slow progress thus far
made in sugar culture in this cOuntry-th 8
encouragement can be given much more
econom cally and effectually by a bounty of
2cents per pound, involving the annual ex-
penditure of about s. o o, o. the present
production of the country. This encourage
ment should be given. When it is consider
ed that this increased duty in cost falls upon
the prime article of food-sugar-justice as
well as good policy requires that unnecessa-
~ burdens in the way of direct tax should
be removed, and that the encouragement re-
quired to induce the production of sugar in
the United States should be given through a
bounty rather than - an imrrort duty
Coming TO ag, icultural products the COM
mittee says it has given months to the in
vestigation of existing conditions of agri-
cultural products, etc. 1t says: "There is
widespread depression in this industry to-
day beyond a doubt Every remedy within
the scope of practical legislation known to
your committee has been recommended in
the proposed measure to meet the urgent
requirements of the situation"
1he report further says: "a critical exam
ination of the subject will show that agri
culture is suffering chiefly from most dam
aging foreign competition in our home mar
ket. he increase in Importation of agri-
hao