Waterbury evening Democrat., 1893-11-28
TALKING OF THE BILL.
Democratic Tariff Trainers Are
Enthusiastic Over It.
TOM REEDS SHARP CRITICISM.
Republicans Unite In DenOunOinE the New
Tariff Measure as Almost Wholly Had.
Governor Mckinley Says Business Inter
ests Are Ignored.


bill is naturally the general topic in official
circles today. The Democratic members Of
the ways and means committee point out
its benefits with enthusiasm, and the Re
publicans criticiSe it freely.
En- Speaker Reed, a member of the ways
and means committee, said: OF course it
is very easy for the gentlemen who pre-
pared this bill to present their views, since
they have been busily engaged in the work
for a number of weeks, while the first sight
that the minority had of the bill WAS at IL
o'clock yesterday. Like any other tariff
bill which covers so many different objects
and takes up so much space, all any one
/ could do who has but seen it is to make
some obvious comments on certain por-
lions OF it. In the first place, the country
ought to UNDERSTAND that there has been a
certain degree of unfairueSs about the
| preparation Of this bill-uufairnesS to the
country rather than arising
from the composition of the committee.
The Democracy have taken the lions
share of the committee. They have done
this for purpose for while the northern
. Democrats are represented upon the COM
mittee, they are represented in such way
that the south holds a strange and very I'M
| fortunate predOmination. As their indus
trial status is very much different from the
average of the whole country, it necesSari-
ly follows, and absolutely in fact has fol-
lowed. that the bill is about rs bad as
could be reasonably imagined This may
not be true with regard TO every item, but
/ it is certainly true with regard TO the most
important matters in the bill
FAvors the South.
In the first place, one OF the most strik-
ing things objected to is the frequent I'M
necessary changes from specific duties To
adj valurem duties, Probably any one who
has actual business in the II ited States
can see, even if the adj valorem duties were
calculated upon the same basis as the Spe-
citic duties, that in actual practice, owing
TO the way in which undervaluations and
apprai>ements are made it would be a re
duction Of at least 10 per cent in the tariff
on this basis.
In the cotton schedule specific rates
have been retained undoubtedly because
the south WAS more or less interested i'll
cotton manufactures, and the desire to
protect their own local interests has caused
them TO adopt the system which they have
rejected elsewhere to the disadvantage of
their neiShbors
In the cotton schedule the lowering of
rates on fine goods is likely to work very
much disaster TO mills that are engaged in
the production of such work aud also in
cotton yarn mills.
In wool the schedule rates are not only
too low generally, but they are so uneven
i'll their reduction that the lowering of
wages will not by any possibility save
some industries, 50 that the wurkinGmen
in some parts of this induSt'A will not
have the comparative good tur,~Lc 10 only
have their wages reduced, but arr quite
likely To lose them altogether. This is true
TO some extent, as it seems, in the cotton
schedule.
Coal has been placed upon the free list
for the advantage of Nova Scotia mines,
NV
who have been interested in the tariff, and
West Virginia IS likely thereby, according
to the Democratic governor Of the state, to
suffer irreparable damage and be arrested
in its development,
Iron ore is quite free. which will cause
a lowering of wages in the iron mines and
will repreSS the extension Of the fields If
effort which had already got to be very
large and which were tending to the re
duction of prices,
New England seems to have been very
severely treated in many ways. Our fisher
men ON the coast of Maine have been es-
pecially considered to their very great dis
advantage in the putting of fresh fish on
the free list, without even the saving
clause for immediate consumption
Il think it will be found that it is as un-
satisfactory As could we'll lie imagined.
What they nave in store for us in the rev
euue bill, il seems, We are not TO know, SO
that we cannot judge their scheme As
whole; but, Judging from the sample which
has been presented, ii is an unfortunate
one for the country. Ii would seem i'm
possible that such a bill could become \
law"
From = Democratic View.
The following statement explaining the
Z provisions OF the new tariff bill was made
by Hon Clifton r. Breckinridge of Arkan-
saS, one Of the ways and means committee
The new tariff bill. il is proposed, shall
so into effect on the LIST day of March next.
II Is in most schedules II very substantial
reduction from the present law. The gen
cral average cannot be precisely stated IN
Ill the elaborate tables which are being pre-
pared are completed Some $4,000 600 of
Questionable taxes are taken of and of
this amount about $1,000, 900 pertains to
raw materials placed on the free list.
The revenue deficiency caused by tie
recent panic and present depression is a
temporary deficiency, and it will doubtless
be provided for by temporary eNpedient.
We cannot geperalze upon this, and some
provision is contemplated to meet such
emergencies as they arise.
But, takinU matters at normal state,
it may be sad that We must provide for
SO, 600 600, or a possibly less sum, in ways
not expressed in the new tariff. This will
follow very Soon-in time TO be Incorporate
ell with the present bill. But as this is not
expected to ne of a char 2cter to materially
affect manufacturing or trade, and the PEG
Pile were extremely anxious to know what
we proposed doing in regard to the tariff,
we concluded TO make the new bill public
as soon as ii was finally completed.
Mr.. Benton Mcmillan of Tennessee, one
of the most prominent members of the
committee, summarized the bill by saying,
1T may be generally stated that the bill
heavily reduces WOODEN goods, iron and
steel products, cotton goods, chemicals and
many other things essential to the pros
, perity Of the people, and 1t will when tried,
if it becomes n law, prove great benefit
10 the country"
Mckinley on Wilson's Bill.
CLEVELAND, Nov. 3S-Governor McKin-
ley, ON arriving here, WAS asked his opinion
of the Wilson tariff bill He said that he
had not read the abstract of the measure
and had on.y glanced through Mr.. Viii
sons review of it. He said that it was
such measure as he had expected, yet a
little more sweeping than he had antici-
pated 1t was, however, in line with the