The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-01-14
PRESIDENTIAL TAXATION.

The BLAINE reciprocity policy as offered
to all countries on this hemisphere except
Canada, is known in legislation as AID
RIcH's amendment to the MCKINLEY bill.
The proposed high tariff act as reported
from the committee on ways and means by
Major MCKINLEY, after it had been eau
cussed upon by the Republican party, had
none Of the reciprocity clauses in it. Mr..
BLAINE had the foresight to perceive that
this measure, which so largely increased
the tariff duties, would be the ruin of the
Republican organization. He wrote letters
to the Maine representatives declaring
that the MCKINLEY bill would not make a
market for single barrel of pork nor a
bushel of wheat raised in this country He
personally visited the Senate and House
committee rooms, and became SO angry
at one time that he smashed his hat as an
evidence of his displeasure. 1t was then
that his views were embodied in the AL
DRIcH amendment, and this was made part
OF the new tariff bill in both Houses of
Congress.
The ALDRIcH reciprocity amendment is a
curious feature in legislation-so curious
have not yet been entirely able to under
stand it At present there is no duty on
tea and coffee imported into this country,
and these articles have been free Of i'm
port tax for many years-aud so have
hides, and the MCKINLEY act provides that
certain grades of foreign sugar shall be
| free of duty, also. But the ALDRIcH
amendment, the BLAINE invention, provides
| that if certain countries refuse to meet
US half way in an arrangement for
reciprocal free trade the President shall
impose import taxes of ten cents pound
on tea, three cents a POUND on coffee, about
one and half cents pound on low grade
sugar, four cents gallon on molasses, and
one and half cents a pound on hides
respectively. AS they are to be levied OF
necessaries of life, the money would Of
course come out of the pockets of our OWL
people and be penalty on them as an ac'
of retaliation against foreign countries.
But this imposition of taxes, to the ex
tent of millions of dollars. is not the wors
OF the business. The taxes are to be i'm
posed, not by Congress, but by the Presi
dent at his discretion. Congress fixed {
date when the executive should make THU
assessment, and, as if to show that the
whole matter was within his op
ton, he has postponed for tire,
months beyond the period contemplated b.
the law the operation of the penalty, or
the pretence that the extension is neces
sary to give the countries involved re
sonabie notice, though more than yea
has elapsed since the measure was passed
In the Senate, EvARTs, great constitu
tional lawyer, and usually an authorit.
among the Republicans, declared that Con
gress has no power to hand over its taxip!
power to the President, it being higl
prerogative to be exercised by Congress
alone. But the Senate passed the ALDRICl
amendment in spite of the New Yorl
Senator's exposure of it its extraordinar,
and unconstitutional character, and tn
President through the Secretary of State
has given notice to Venezuela, Hondura
and other South American nations of hi
intention to levy the duties imposed b
the act. We shall see what the resul
will be of this novel system of taxation b
Presidential proclamation.