Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-11-20
PROTECTION NOT IN 1T.
The Line on Which the New Tariff Bill
Has Been Drawn.
Great Enlargement Of the Free List
and Cuts In Every Direction to
Encourage Importations.

The rough draft Of the tariff bill which
has been submitted to all the democratic
members of the committee for their revision,
does not contain a feature intended for
protection. The famous Morrison horizon
tai bill made cut of 20 per cent The
average cut in this bill is about 40 per
cent, though it has not yet been accurately
ascertained. The bill will probably be
changed a great deal from it's present form
before 1t is reported to the House: but the
changes in the main will be in the nature
of still further reductions.
Great Enlargement of the Free List.
The main features of the bill are the
great enlargement of the free list and the
reduction Of all protective duties to point
where it is supposed there will be the great
est encouragement for importat ations at
rate to produce the largest revenue. The
purpose has been to avoid everything ex-
cept revenue duties, and in many cases
the reductions are below a revenue point.
All those duties which are prohibitive, or
nearly SO, are heavily reduced SO as to en-
courage importations, and there is hardly
an item in the tariff schedules that has not
been cut below water mark. Nearly every
thing which is known technically as raw
material Is placed on the free list. and to
avoid protection the duty on manufactured
articles made of these raw materials is
made to suffer a corresponding reduction,
and in few cases is the present parity be-
tween the cost of raw materials and the
manufactured articles maintained.
The Chicago Platform.
The declaration of the Chicago platform
that protection is unconstitutional appears
not to have been lost sight of for an in
slant by those who have been at work on
the bill.
The treatment of steel rails is a fair ex-
ample of the policy followed in the construc-
uon OF this bill. Iron ore and coal being
placed on Ethe free list, the duty on steel
rails Is reduced from $3.50 to about 25 per
cent This2is probably one of the heaviest
cuts, but throughout the bill the correspond
Ing changes in the schedule approximate it,
History sOf the Income Tax.
The ways and means committee are asking
Tor a history of the income tax in the United
states and treasury officers have been look
ing the thing up 1t was during the extra
session of Congress in 1861 that Thad Stew
ems, chairman of the committee of ways and
means. reported the first income tax bill
AS amended and passed 1t taxed all incomes
over SSoo three per cent, unless derived from
United States bonds, which were taxed l l-2
per cent. Incomes of citizens of United
states residing abroad We're taxed IL per
cent.
Owing to the late time OF its taking effect.
the income tax brought into the treasury
but small sum prior to the year 1854 when
there was collected under the head of in
come tax little over $l5,UODOE BY the
act or March 3, 1861, the income tax law
was amended so as to increase the per
cent tax TO . per cent, and the ) per cent
tax on incomes over $4,000 was changed 10
10 per cent tax upon the excess over
5000 incoma The most of the tax for the
year fSE,, however, was collected under the
original law and brought into the treasury
the sum of s2l.OOUO for the fiscal year
lS6i-'6,J
The following year, 1S65-66. the war hay-
ing ceased and the country being in a high
state of development in all it's resources
the income tax rose to a point the highest
ever reached in the history of the tax The
returns for the fiscal year ended June 30
1896, showed total revenue from the in
come tax of $6O,5iI .Si2. A. This was but
little diminished in the following yea 1866
81, when the net revenue from the income
tax footed up $51,O4O.G4O.67.
The income tax was further amended
March ,. 1867, so as to increase the exemp-
ton then standing at $500 dt having in the
meantime been modified from $500 TO ST. 800
At the same time all discrimination as to
taxing large incomes higher rate was abol-
ished and the tax fixed at five per cent on
all incomes in excess of $1,000. Under this
| modified tax there was collected i'm the yea:
lStS the large sum of 81, OF 6l0. 1s; in 1850
&i.02j. 06SS6. and in the fiscal year ended
June 30. 1870, S27, 7,115,Oi6.11. On that day
the income tax ceased in the United States
| The entire amount realized from IL in ten
years was nearly S65OOO.OOO. 1t reached
about 10000 persons out of population OF
40 OOOWO