The Globe-republican., 1890-04-23
THE TARIFF BILL.
Ar. Mckinley Introduces the Long
Expected Measure.
Points In the Report Of tho Majority Of the
Ways and Means COmmittee-Mr Car
Isle Submits . Report of tho
Minority.
The MSjority Report.

hpTll I'LL iCpOh eaAS
tho 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 state.
ment Of the financial situation and estimates
that tn surplus at the end of the present
fiscal year will be $92 ,OOOOOl. and deducting
the sum required to make payments on the
sinking fund the net surplus OF receipts over
expenditures will be 4367s.s,s. The esti-
mated surplus of the next fiscal year will be
SlS.Sy, u, which, with the amount OF cash
now on hand and available (reaching 80. 10.
(" }, will justify a reduction of the revenue
in the sum contemplated by the bill reported
-$sl, 8 s, and probably more from customs
and l0,3-7,s7o from internal revenue, or a
total of S7i, s64,4 ,4l4.
The report says: "The exact effect upon
the revenues OF the Government of the pro-
posed bill is difficult of ascertainment That
there will be a substantial reduction, as we
will show, admits OF no doubt. Ii IS not De-
1ieved that the increase OF duties upon wOOls
and wooden goods and upon glassware VIII
have the effect of increasing the revenue
That would, of course, follow il the importa-
tions of the last fiscal year were hereafter to
be maintained, which. however, is altogether
improbable. The result will be that impor-
tations 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 l, 1871 and upon linen fabrics
the effect will be to reduce rather than
.enlarge the revenues. because importation
will fall OFT 1t was the aim of the committee
to tix the duties upon that class of manufact-
'ured goods and farm products which can DE
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
dueers the home market. The general pol
dcr of the bill is to foster and promote Amer
lcan products and dversihcatiOn OF the
American industry We have not been so
much concerned about the'prices of the arti-
cles we consume as we have been to encOur-
age a system of home production that shall
give fair remuneration to domestic pro-
duccrs 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 he displayed, and then prices would
again advance and the country be left at the
m"rcy of foreign syndcatcs and manufact-
urers. One OF the chief complaints now
pr valent 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 us must
b, lirve that even further agricultural de-
press on is desirable, for no other cOnse-
quence can result from their economic
theories.
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 p'O-
duce all the wool it consumes. and with ade-
Quate defensive legislation it will do So The
annual consumption is 6r.0OJ,OO0 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
tho addition of 10 per cent, or lOG,0W,0O
pounds to the present number. The bill
seeks to stop the frauds which have been SO
practced in the past by import
ing woods eady for the loom under the new
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 wOOlen
goods to p Otect manufacturers. 1t says:
~The necessity OF this increase is apparent
in view of the facts already stated that dur
dng the last fisc Al year there were imports OF
manufacturers of wool of the foreign value
of $50 .6si ,4s2, as shown by the undervalued
invoices and the real value in our market of
nearly $3.50 ,oO-fully one fourth of our en-
tire home cOnsumptiOn-equivale to an
import of at least 100. 90 pounds of wool
in the form of manufactured goods" The
existing law gives, it is said. a protection of
IS to - per cent. the bill gives a range of
from 80 10 so per cent.
On sugar the report says: "Sugar up to and
ancluding No. l6, Dutch standard of color,
and molasses is to be placed on the free list,
with a duty of four-tenths of cent per
pound on refined sugar above No. ;6 and a
bounty Of cents per pound be paid from the
treasury for period of fifteen years on all
sugar polarized at least 81 per cent. made in
Ahis country from cane, bects or sorghum.
Seven -eighths of our sugar consumed in the
United States is now imported from foreign
countries. In 1859 the duties collected on
Imported sugar and mOlasses amounted to
s., 1850. 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 $A, O 80, or about
81 for each man, woman and child in
ahe 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
prUper encouragement we shall eventually
be able 70 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 bounty Of
: cents per pound, involving the annual ex
penditure of about 500. o, on the present
production OF the country. This encourage
ment sh uld be given. When it is consider
ed that this increased duty in cost falls upon
che prime article OF food-sugar-Iustte as
veil 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 q
bounty rather than by an import duty
coming to ag' icultural products the COM
-snittee 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 doubt, Every remedy within
the scope of practical legislation known to
your committee has been recommended in
rthe proposed measure to meet the urgent
requirements of the situation
The report further says: "a critical exam.
Snation OF the subject will show that agri
culture is suffering chiefly from a most dam
aging foreign competition i'm cur home mar
ket. he increase in importation of agr-
cultural produ, Is since l>50 has been
-cuormo $, amounting from $40 900. 90 to more
+