Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1893-04-13
MAKERS OF THE TARIFF.
LEstle Light on the Old Jobbins
Methods of the Rep ublicans.

Methods of the Republicans.
Theoretically congress made the
tariffs. But it has been a good many
years since congress did nything more
than to ratify what men not in con-
gress wanted the tariff to be. Con-
gressr quit making it's own tariffs in
1857, and it has jobbed the business
out pretty nearly ever since. It did
undertake the work in 1872, when it
passed what was known as the little
tariff bill; but it did it so bunglingly
that it actually reduced the taxes, aud
the other fellows took it. out of the
hands Of congress and restored the
rates in 1875. and have been running
the business ever since. To be sure, in
1882 congress felt that something must
be done to appease the people. who
had begun to growl a litt5e;. and SO,
not being competent to do the job
themselves, they let President Arthur
appoint a commission to fix up the
schedules for them.
This commission was almost wholly
composed of men who had been max
ing tariffs for congress, but they
Thoughts the taxes could be cut down %
per cent. without hurting anybody,
and so reported. But the other fellows
rallied to the defense of their job, and
when the commissions. bill came out
of all the committees it had to go
through, including the final conference
committee, the rates We're higher than
ever.
Then, came the bill that William Nc
Kinley is popularity supposed to have
made. It bears his name; and he had
to stand all the kicking.it caused, and
he was plucky enough. to. take it all and
not complain "a bit, although he knew
that he was as innocent of its provi-
sions, as was Ben Harrison. Every body
who. knows enough to read now knows
that it wasn't Mckinley or his commit
tee, who made his bill,. but it was, the
same old job LIT of fellows who have
been making tariffs for the repu blican
party for over thirty years who made it.
Mr. Glassman told the commutee just
what the tariff should be on glassware,
and the committee wrote it out and put
it in the bill And. ME-. Wool came and
told them how much Ae wanted the tax
to be on wool; aad his relative. Me.
Woolens, followed ON his heels and. said
what he wanted cloth to be- taxed. And
so the procession went on down
Through al the. schedules, anG ii amy
body wanted anything taxed all heaad
10 do was to teJL the committee how
much it should BE and it was Gone. And
about all that she COMMITTEES did was
to say that n o. p, which means all
other articles not otherwise provided
for should pay an aid valorem tax OF
forty FIVE per cent. That IS the way in
which these tariff bills have been made
since the blessed year of our Lord 1851
1t took the people of the country .
long time to find this out 1t was no.
done openly until within recent years
Men used to think that it would lool
bad il people interested in having heavy
taxes laid on foreign goods should be
known to be deciding how much those
taxes should be; even the manufacture
ers felt shame-faced about it. But .
vice becomes virtue if you look at il
too long, and of late years the commit
tees have given notice when they woulG
sit, and have asked all who wanted the
taxes fixed to come and tell them what
they wanted Then the people came 4