The record-union., 1892-03-10
TARIFF DUTIES.
The House Takes Up Consideration
of the Revenue Bills.
REPRESENTATIVE MMILLIN OPENS
THE DEBATE.
He Declares That the Tariff Act of the
Last Congress Imposes the Highest
Tariff Taxes Ever Levied in This
Countrywide Democrats Resolved
to Have Reduction in the Rate of
Taxation
Special TO the REcoRD-U UNION.

opened IN the House to-day, with McMil-
In of Tennessee leading the tariff reform
forces and Dingley of Maine defending
the Mckinley law. TO Representative
Bloant of Georgia, parliamentarian of
twenty years Congressional experience
was awarded the honor of presiding over
the proceedings OF the Committee of the
Whole.
In the days of long political wrangle
that are to follow in the Committee of the
Whole Speaker Crisp will find the respite
he has so much desired. To-day he occu-
pied seat in the gallery, and was as in
terested an auditor as any OF the other
1900 visitors who bent eagerly forward to
catch every word of the partisan orations.
The press and diplomatic galleries were
crowded, but the crowning indication of
the importance of the discussion was the
deep attention the members themselves
gave to the speakers.
During McMillin's speech Burrows of
Michigan and few Of his leading Re-
publican colleagues vacated their seats
and gathered on the Democratic side 10
be near tie Tennessee gentleman as he
arraigned their party from Democratic
the Springer wool bill and various meas
ures-reported from the Ways and Means
Committee to reduce the duties on I'M
ports.
When Dingley, although not a member
of the Ways and Means Committee,
opened the discussion on behalf of the
Republican side. no less was the flatter-
ing attention paid him by his Democratic
opponents.
Senator Carlisle, under whose leader
ship as Speaker in past Democratic
Houses the tariff debate was revived,
found the occasion of such charm that ne
lett his seat in the upper body and was an
attentive listener to the eloquent argu-
ment Of Representative McMillin. No
less vigilant was the attention with which
ex-Speaker Reed noted every argument,
not only OF his friend, but of his political
opponent as we'll, now and then there
being a twinkle in his eye as he meditated
on and stored away in his memory re-
sponse to be made to the Democratic argu-
ments when his day should come
Both speakers were frequently ap-
plauded by their party colleagues, and as
each resumed his seat he was the recipi-
ent of warm congratulations and mann
moth bouquet.
The morning hour having expired, the
House went into Committee of the Whole
on revenue bills, Blount of Georgia pre-
siding.
Representative McMillin, in the speech
opening the debate on the tariff in behalf
of the majority of the Committee on Ways
and Means, referred in the beginning OF
his remarks to the work of the last Con-
gress. He declared it imposed the high
est tariff taxes ever levied in this coun-
try, and made the most eXtravagant ap-
preparations ever made in a time OF peace.
This Congress, he said, was sent here TO
anr hnt Ia inn M tn
and by spending less money.
Continuing, he said: '"Ihe tariff law
now has been in operation for one year
and five months. Where are the bene-
fetal effects that were to follow from it
Where is that magnificent price the
farmer and the wool-grower are to realize
from it? Where are the increased wages
the laboring man was to get? / say the
farmer realizes from 2 TO ) per cent. less
on the pound from his wool than he did
before, and | challenge any representa-
tive here to point to single line of manu-
factures in which lahorers' wages have
been increased by that law"
McNillin said the bill was passed under
the pretense of desire To benefit the
laboring man, but what benefit has it
been TO him? He then took up WOO,
and said 1.-The whole matter may be
summed up in the fact that after TWENTY
five years of experiment with the high
rates of duty on wool the result has been
reduction of one-half in the number of
sheep in the States east of the Mississippi
and Missouri Rivers and reduction of
about one-half in the prices of wool. Nor
have the results been encouraging to wool
manufacturers. They have been re-
stricted as 10 the quality of the wool they
could afford TO buy by reason of the
tariff; they have been restricted in mar
kets substantially to their own country:
H. 4
substitute for woolen goods, and the
sheep huSbandmen have derived no sub
stantial benefit"
The speaker declared: Snow that
more than two-thirds of the expenses in
Cured during the late war have been
paid, every legitimate excuse for an in
crease in rates has disappeared. But not
only has there been no reduction in tariff
rates, but they have been vastly in
creased"
Touching on sugar, McMillin said:
''The authors of the bill take much credit
to themselves for having placed sugar on
the free list. They did, it is true, place
some and most of the grades of sugar on
the free list, but the finer grades are still
taxed heavily Tor the benefit OF the
manufacturer, and he is left with more
protection by that bill than by the rates
imposed in the Mills bill. True, fifty
odd million dollars were taken off the
sugar tax, but this was no tree-Will offer
ing, for the same measure provided for
the payment of S12,000,G0 to the pro-
ducers of sugars as bounties. Again.
while fifty odd million dollars of the tax
was taken Of sugar, an increase in duties
amounting TO about s65, 100000 was put
on other things, and generally on the
necessaries OF life. They removed
sugar tax, which yielded eight-ninths of
its benefits TO the treasury and but one
to the manufacturer, only TO place many
millions more than the sugar tax on
other things, where but one-fourth of the
laws exactions went into the treasury
and three-fourths went into private cot
seen the tax is still burden of SIS, ,OGG, ,O00
indirectly to the people, and instead
of their getting S60,000,G00 relief by this
change OF taxes they have hardly OBJ
tanned Sl0,0C0,000 of net benefit. The
whole bill is characterized by conscience
less favoritism for a few and merciless
oppression to the many. In the consid-
Grafton OF the bill the manufacturer alone
was favored, but the consumer was
never considered. The eXigencies of the
preceding campaign had required vast
amount OF meney to carry the elections.
1t was raised by louSing the apprehen-
sions of some and promising a benefit TO
others. The promises of that campaign
We're put into a statutory form. Every
class except those who need it most has
been benefited by various laws
passed by orr opponents on the subject of
taxation since 1861
In regard TO reciprocity the speaker
said; 81 am astounded that in free re-