The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1890-10-24

Ihe Republican party has no quarrel
With the importers. They perform a
great and unQuestioned service to the
commerce of the country. But the
fact is not to be overlooked that
among them, in the Eastern capital
lists. is large company of foreigners,
not naturalized, who are here sim
ply as the representatives of foreign
manufacturers. and whose sole in.
terest here is to take as much Amer
lean gold away with them as they
can possibly get hold of. 1t is these
excellent persons who supplied the
material to Democratic Congressman
and Democratic newspapers for their
Misrepresentation of the Mckinley
Bill. 1t is they who have made the
false accusation that the new duties
will increase the cost to the American
consumer of almost every article in
general use. 1t is they who have
supplied the alleged facts in support
of this charge. Their motives and
those of their Democratic allies are
equally obyiousi
A REMARKABLE FREE-LIsT.
The Republican party has enacted
the Mckinley Bill after ten months
of profound investigation and elab-
crate debate. 1t undertakes to say
that wiser, braver, fairer revenue
bill has never been provided in all
the history of the Republic. 1t un-
dertakes to say that under the opera.
ton of this new tariff the American
people will pay smaller proportion
of the expenses of the Government
than ever before. This conclusion
will he forced upon any fair-minded
man who takes the trouble to exam.
inc its provisions.
In the first place. large part of
the internal revenue taxation on to.
bacco has been RENTED, land all those
annoying special licenses for the sale
of tobacco have been abolished. The
American farmer and retailer are as
free to-day to sell their tobacco as
their wheat.
In the next place. practically all
direct taxation, except The internal
revenue taxes on whiskey and tobac-
CO, have been remitted to the people,
This has been done by means of
remarkable enlargement of the free
list. 1t is practically true to say that
everything, the like of which is not
or cannot be largely produced in this
country, has been placed on the free
list. A duty on this class of articles
is revenue duty and is paid by the
consumer. In this respect it differs
entirely from protective Duty
which is often wholly, and always"
largely paid by the importer. By
its additions to the free-lisr, then, the
Republican party has left in the peo-
pies pockets sum which last year
amounted to more than $65, 900, ,OOO,'
and has opened our ports to mer-"
chandise-upon which the American
consumer has heretofore neen pay
ing a tax-Which was last year i'm.
ported to the value of 1866, ,4O6, 900.
This is nearly so per cent. of the total
importation, and is 10 per cent.
greater than the face importation
provided In the Mills bill. When it
is considered that among the foreign
products transferred by the Repub-
lican party from the dutiable list to
the free-list are such universally
used articles as sugar. molasses,
needles, dried currants, round or split
straw.matting, sisgal grass and ma.
nilla for the use in the manufacture
of binding Irvine, ,braids. seeds. hemp.
turDentine and jute. the importance
ofthis legislation may be appreciated.
FREE SUGAR.
For the reduction of the revenues
the Mills bill relied chiefly on free
wool, the Mckinley bill on free su.
gar. This circumstance admirably
illustrates the difference in spirit and
purpose between the two measures.
We consume 60O.00O,O0O pounds of
wool annually and we can produce
the whole of it. We do not need to
go abroad for a single fibre. We
consume 1.423, 900 tons of sugar, and
we can produce only 226.O0 tons. not
20 per cent of our demand. Now,
the Republican policy is to protect
wool, which we can and do produce.
so as to hold our market for our own
producers, and to encourage WOOL
growing and wool-manufacturing ::
and, on the other hand, freely admit
sugar, which we are not largely pro.
ducing. so as to put it into the coffee.
cups of our people at the lowest pos
sible price. The Democratic policy
is to admit wCoI free. thus drawing
the semi-savage wO0l-groWers of Asia