Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1892-03-17
DEBATE ON THE TARIFF BILL
McMillin Opens the Fight In
Congress.
A FORClBLE, LOGICAL SPEECH
Pools and Combines Fostered
by the Tariff Tax.
The Prico of Wool is lower, Despite the
Mckinley Bill, and the Wages of Labor
Have Not Been Increased Ding
ley's Labored Defense.

---
WASHINGTON, March 9.-The tariff de-
bate OF the 5lst congress opened unosten-
tationsly in the House this afternoon. The
galleries were not crowded by the lobbyists
nor representatives of manufacturing in
terests who infested the halls of legislation
in the last Congress when the Mckinley
bill was called up. The bill upon which
the debate opened to-day was framed in
the interests of the people. No hired
lobbyists were there to-day to look after
the interests Of the people, but their repre-
sentatives. 267 strong, sat on the floor of
the House and not in the galleries.
M'MILLIS's GREAT SPEECH.
Probably no more forcible or more
logical presentation of the Democratic
position against the Mckinley act has been
made by any Democrat since the passage
of that act that MIR. McAlillin madeto-dav.
1t was an arraignment all along the line of
protection gone mad as crystallized in the
Mckinley law.
In commencing his speech Mr.. McMillin
struck the keynote of the Democratic
policy. He started by drawing vivid
picture of the result of the last Congress,
which had IN time Of profound peace i'm
posed the highest tariff taxes and made the
most eXtravagant appropriation in the his
tory of the country. The billion-dollar
Congress had appropriated over one-thrd
of all the money i'll existencein the United
States, with from one-third to one half of
all the money going each year through the
hands of the Federal taX-gatherer, besides
taxes Tor state, county and municipal pur-
poses, and the insdious indirect taxes col
lected by the protective manufacturers
through the agency of the Mckinley bill.
Mr.. McMillin laid down the conclusion
that with such state of affairs there could
be no permanent prosperity, and that the
only remedy lay III less taxes and the ap-
af
REVIEW OF TARIFF LEGISLATION.
He then went on to review the history
of the tariff legislation of the country, as
the rates were increased from time to time,
to appease the Unsuitable greed of the pro-
tective interests until the rates Of the Nc
kinley bill We're six times as high as they
were when their forefathers were fighting
for independence and freedom, three times
as high as they were in the war of 1912. when
the Capitol underwent its baptism of fire.
two and half times as great as were re-
quired to carry on the Mexican war, and 60
per cent higher thanwere required TO prose-
cute the great war of the rebellion to a sue
cessful termination.
In this gradual elevation of the rates of
tariff taxation he showed how the poor
man had been discrminated against and
how in the Mckinley bill, the rates had
been made lower On the luxuries and
higher on the necessaries of life lower on
silk and higher on woolens; lower on Jew
elry and higher on cutlery; lower on dia-
inonds and higher on table knives; lower
on champagne and higher on linens.
POOLS ANB COMBINES.
The result, he saidl had been the --.ss5.
tion of all sorts of lpools and CO,
He furnished an analysis of th Looks u
sugar which the Republicans ghost !!
plot as one of the Great blessiha 8 VIII
Mckinley tariff laNl which shoy say OF {
under the guise of saying S50,000,ue, tAir
people bounty oflSl2, 100000 hk womf
given to the sugar producers and rs rue
900 additional had been levied OF r. Q
necessaries of life. While eight-ninths.
the old sugar tax went directly into & Z,
treasury the articles upon which the Mh'i
Kinley law had raised the rates yielded
but one-fourth Of the laws exactions Il
the treasury and three-fourths to the
manufacturers, so that for the $50, 900, 900
which free sugar restored 20 the pockets of
the people in the neighborhood of $780,
GOO, 900 were removed.
He denounced this as a system of ''con-
scienceless favoritism for the few and mer-
ciless oppression of the many" He paid
his respects to reciprocity and the power 1t
conferred upon the President of levying
SO,0O0,000 Of taxes without conveningi
Congress. o practical abrogation, lie said
of the old doctrine of taxation wthou1
representation, for which the fathers .s,
the revolution fought. Hoaf'
Getting down at last to the bill foTorT n
removal of the duty on wool and the
pensatory duties on wooden goods, l-
Mc5iillin asked where the lnagnifl- =
price the farmers and wool-growers ws n IA
have realized under the Mex inley lawE N
DECLINE or WOOL VALUES. lSsa.
He showed that the result had beerfi iznd
general decline in the valuation of wo Rng
from : TO cents per pound, and that ~,
many of the classes Of woolcn good4 %.ns
consumers were now obliged 10 pay 1 {sYtX
cent taxes aj per cent on yarn, lGE m
cent on worstcd shawls and over ll7R pa
cent 10 323 per cent OH knit goods EN- So
the statistics of the last year he shewn II
that S6l.001,000 had been collected 'oa.
woolen goods on valuation of S2l ,OO00C
in other words that SID in taxes had been
levied on every Sl00 worth Of WOODEN
goods In conclusion nc csled attention
to the peoples virdict in the great popular
uprising in the elections of 1880, which
had relegated the leaders who conceived
and framed the Mckinley law to the rear
and had elected . Democratic majority Of
such overwhelming proportions that, if2
every Democrat below Mason and Dixon's
line was taken away the Democrats Of the
north would still be in majority.
Mr. Dingley's speech Vas labored ds
fence of the Mckinley bill devoid
interesting features. The debate will |
continued until March list. when it is
pected that vote will be taken ON I'll.
wool bill.