The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-12-22


the minority of the members of THE
mitted to the House this afternoon.
The portion of the report discussing
the bill generally was prepared by
Reed. The other members in the min
ority-Burrows, Payne, Dalzell, Hop
ldins and Gear-prepared the portions
dealing with the special features. The
report says:
The most surprising thing about this
bill is the fact of the proposition to
raise the revenue of 1898, which is
only $4,000 600 above the expenses. This
fact, and the fact that by this bill the
larger part of the burden of location
is transferred from foreigners and
brought to our own citizens, should
always be kept in mind. Had the COM
mittee followed the uncompromisilSg
declaration of the party and abolished
protection, giving us a. tariff for rev.
enue only, our task in commenting on
the results of the committees efforts
would have been much more simple.
| So far, however, have the committee
departed from the demands of their
national convention, we are much
tempted to borrow a phrase from their
own platform and designate the bill
as '-cowardly makeshift'' were it not
that its results are already too serious
for mere epithets.
/ The committee presented another
tinkering tariff bill, the like of which
| has disturbed business so many times
/ the last thirty years. Had the bill
| been for revenue only the people of
the country might have seen at a
glance whether they desired one policy
or the other, and the question might
! have been settled once and for all,
and the country attained that respon-
| sibility on which our prosperity so
much depends.
Going into the details of the bin the
minority says: although lumber
passes through the same plant as
boards, the workmen who manage the
saws are unprotected, while the work
men who run the planes are shielded
I by protective tariff taxes. The new
plan also involves the methods of en-
conraging manufactures by giving
them what is called free raw mater
ials,' so that what goes into the mill
pays no taxes, and what goes into
consumption pays all the taxes. 1t
unfortunately happens, also, that free
raw material is another mans. finished
product. This bill pretends to be
revenue tariff and does not raise the
revenue; pretends to give protection,
to the manufacturer, for you we fur
nish free coal, iron ore, wool and the
markets of the world Ins7ead
| it furnishes q new crop of enainies
the men who dig in the mines
and raise sheep-for it really Gre
ates what its enemies falsely
charge against Republican protec-
tion-a privileged. class. against which
the mines and field will both array
themselves and the privileged class
does not care to be privileged. What
exact effect the proposed duties would
have only on the general rate of the
wages of the country can only be de-
| termined by an actual test, but it IS
not difficult to see it will be very de-
pressing.
''Ad valorem duty. if prices could be
exactly determined, would be the fair
est; but unfortunately price is very
much a matter of opinion, and mas
much as the duty depends upon thh
price. cheat on the price is a. cheat
on the duty, and not only is the gov
eminent cheated but the manufacturer
is cheated out of the protection prom
ised him. How the great deficit in our
resources as a nation is to be filled,
no one knows unless the president, an
ticipating in his message to Congress,
the report of the committee on WAYS
! and means, shall afford to the com
Against the consideration of such a
bill, creating a deficit and leaving it
unaccounted for, the minority vainly
protested when the bill was laid be-
fore the committee. We make the
same protest to the House and to the
country. The bill ought not to be re-
ported without the internal revenue
bill. which is to make up the deficiency.
| When the scheme of raising taxes by
| the methods used in time of war is
presented in addition to those now i'm
posed, there may be such a. further re-
vulsion of feeling as will accomplish
| to defeat this bill There is no need
for us to present this to the country;
| it is presenting itself In a hundred
representative cities where the num-
Der Of employed exceeds two millions
and a half Of people, fully one-third
are without employment These are
engaged in the protected industries.
We will not strive in any way to in
crease the turmoil which this bill has
already created. The end can be put
to all this by the defeat of this bill.
and to accomplish this every energy
should be bent.
The report characterizes the wooden
schedule as destructive of the WOOL
growing industry, the seventh in the
value of its product among the bran
ches of agriculture. At the prices now
prevailing in foreign markets, our far
mers cannot produce wool without an
! absolute loss. During the past year
the threat of free wool has deprecated
the value of sheep and wool in the
United States fully S50,00000O. Over
$500, 100000 are invested and $50
operatives employed in the manufac-
ture of wooIens, and this industry is
offered us as a sacrifice on the altar
of tariff reform.
Attention is directed to the effect of
placing iron ore on the free list. The
result of this will be a loss Of oyer
$50. 900 in revenue, and to admit to com
petition with American ores, foreign
ores produced at from one-fourth to
one-tenth of the cost of producing
American ores.
Significance is attached to the fact
that while the hoop and band iron
and steel bear 80 per cent. duty. iron or
steel ties for baling cotton are on the
free list. The cotton schedules show
the same Inconsistency and lack os
knowledge on the part of the trainers
of the bill that they have marked the
preparation of the other schedules.
The removal of duty from bituminous
coal is considered an amazing PROPOSE
ton, for the reason that coal has little
value except what 1t gets from labor