Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1893-12-28
1T Is WRITTEN BY REED
THE MINORITY REPORT on THE
TARIFF BILL PRESENTED.
The ES-Spcnl>cr Devotcs His Atten-
tion to the Tariff and Tells Why
1t IN His Opinion That the Wilson
Bill Is Not II Good One.


Washington. Dec. 22-The report of
the minority members of the ways and
means committee ON the tariff bill has
been submitted to the house. The first
part of the report discussing the bill
generally. was prepared by ex-Spcaker
Reed. The other members of the minor
lty, McssrS. Burrows, Payne. Dalzell
Hopkins and Gear. prepared the portion
OF the report dealing with special feat
ureS. The report says in part:
The most surprising feature about this
bill. which we will treat of in detail
somewhat later, is the fact that this
proposition to raise revenue will lower
the revenue of this country $74.O00.OOO
below the revenue of 1898. which was
only S2.UOO.OGO above our expenses. This
fact and the other fact that by this bill
the larger part of the burden OF taxation
Is transferred from foreigners and
bro, ght to our own citizens should al
ways be kept in mind during the discus
sion.
Had the committee, in making what
the chairman on the floor of the house
has called "a political BILL" followed the
plain, uncompromising declaration of the
party which they represent and abol-
ished protection, giving us Il tariff for
revenue only, our task in commenting
upon the result of the committees eff
forts would have been much more simple.
The bill would then have been a straight
forward. manly attempt to carry out
pledges, and have placed in issue two
great principles and have led to Il clear
and comprehensive discussion.
SO far however, have the committee
departed from the demands of their ma
t"nal convention that we should have
been much tempted to borrow phrase
from their own pllrfor,a and designate
III" bill as a ''cowNrdly makeshft." w
it not thai the results have been already
too serious for mere epithets.
Such 4 phrase. even thus sanctioned,
would be out of place in discussion
which involves so much of Importance to
all classes of citizens. 1t still, however,
remains Il fact that the bill presented
can in no way be justified by people who
claim to have obtained possession of all
branches of the government upon a dis.
tinct promise, which they now as dis
linctly rrpudiatr.
If it should be said that these pledges,
s"lemnly made on 4 yea and nay vote.
after full discussion, were not intended
for action, then the breaking of the
pledges has tLa additional disadvantages
of reconciliation. If subsequent events,
and they have been numerous enough and
weighty enough to startlc tn. country.
have convinced the committee that the
Democratic platform is as utterly wrong
and indefcnsible rs history will know it
to be. then it is a great misfortune to
this country that the committee lid not
have the courage to openly abandon The
false doctrine ard lcav" to-
disturbed so that It might convalcScc
from the shock of its great niSt.,;.
But the committee. instead of proceed
ing in its great work Of ubolishing pro-
lection and preserving the people from
the load Of taxation which they have al
ways averred was the result of protec-
ton. has presented bill which is only
another tariff tinicrins bill, the like of
which has disturbed the conditions of
business so many times the last thirty
years.
1t Il great misfortune that such is the
case. for had the bill for revenue only,
in the only sense possible for that term,
beer presented, the people of this country
they desired the one policy or the other.
and the question might have been. settled
once for all and the country might have
attained to that repose, stability and GER
tainty which our business prosperity SO
much needs.
This other and frcshcr plan has all the
faults which the trainers Of this bill
charged upon the old. and very few of
its virtues. 1t is open to all the derisivc
and harsh cpithets with which the pros
ent system used to be overwhelmed. II
taxes the people with a tariff tax; it
creates, or rather proposes TO maint lin,
what they used to ell privilege classes.
and is defined by its authors b.; arGu-
nents and cNprcsSnls strangely like
those which tEry uscl SO freely to dc.
n. unce. n manufacturer is told that the
duty will protect him, and his claims are
listened to on that basis and are argued
for him on that basis just as in the
brave days of old.
These so-called free raw materials, free
wool, free coal and free iron, are not put
on the free list with any reference. direct
or indirect. to raising revenue. They are
placed there to encourage manufacturers
who are to be compensated for any loss
in this market by the markets of the
world, where they will have the chance
to struggle with the cheaper labor of the
old world with whatever energy they
may have left after the struggle at home
with that same cheaper labor. let into
our markets by a lower tariff which does
not give us the compensation even of a
larger revenue.
All the objections so often urged by the
dominant party against the existing sys-'
TEN, we repeat. lie against this bill. The
difference is only one of degree. If the
present system be robbery as these
men have itc1ated and reiterated. the
proposed system is precisely the same.
1t is true that the consumer will no
longer pay tribute to the Western farmer
for the wool of the sheep. but the New
England and other manufacturers are
still authorized to lay tribute upon the
citizens of the United States. who must
pay, so these mon have always said, 30.
40 and As per cent to the manufacturer
on every yard of woolenS and worsteds.
while the country will only receive. by