The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-12-20
The Tariff Bill Before the House.

The Tariff Bill Before the House.
The majority report of the ways and
means committee on the Wilson tariff
bill was presented TO the House yester-
day. 1t points out clearly the principle
'upon which the bill is based and calls at
tention to the bills leading features.
The power of taxation" it says, has
no lawful or constitutional exercise ex-
cept for providing revenue for the sup
port Of the government. Every depart
ure from this principle is a departure
from the fundamental principles of pcpu-
lar institutions, and inevitably works out
gross inequality in the citizenship Of the
country.
The Democratic party has always CON
tended that the country would enjoy
greater prosperity if tariff taxes were
levied for revenue instead of protection.
The Republican party has taken the OPP
posite view, and for the thirty years it
had control of the government it based
the tariff laws upon the idea that their
chief purpose is to afford protection to in
dustries The most prosperous period in
the history of this country, both for farm
ers and manufacturers, was that from
1850 to 1850, when there was tariff based
upon the tariff doctrine of the Democratic
party That fact is sufficient to Justify
that party in insisting upon its view of
tariff taxation.
There is no doubt that the protective
system has firm foothold. 1t could hardly
be otherwise. One industry after another
has been given protection at the expense
of the masses until vast interests, repre-
senting enormous wealth. have a common
purpose in having the tariff taxes so
levied as to unable them to become mo-
nopolists in their respective fields of
operation. They have grown rich, but
they have done so by making the con-
sumers poorer.
For instance, the protective system
does not benefit the producers of cotton
and wheat, and yet that system compels
the producers of those articles to pay
more for their agricultural implements,
their clothing, and their household goods,
than they would if the tariff doctrine of
the Democratic party prevailed. One
item in the Mckinley tariff may be men
toned to show how the protective system
works. That item is the tax on tin plate
1t is imposed by the Mckinley tariff with
the view of encouraging the manufacture
of tin plate in this country, although no
American tin is produced The effect of
the tax is to greatly increase the cost of
all articles manufactured from tin One
or two little tin plate factories have been
started and the whole people have been
compelled to contribute to their support.
When it is taken into account that hun
dreds of articles in common use are made
more costly by the protective system, it is
readily seen how that system euriches the
few while it makes the masses poorer.
The Wilson bill may not be in entire ac-
cord with the tariff doctrine of the Demo
cratic party, but if it is not it is because
of the difficulty of making a radical
change suddenly without injury to some
interests 1t is not the purpose of the
Democratic party to iniure any interest,
and, hence, it will reach the true basis of
tariff taxation by degrees in cases where
a great and sudden change would work
harm. The Mckinley tariff was not built
up in day 1t is the result of many
changes in the direction of greater pro
lection. 1t may require a number of
changes to get back to the true principle
of tariff taxation, but the Democratic
party will bring the country back to
that principle if the people will have pa
thence and continue to give that party its
confidence and support.