Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1893-12-22
RlDDLED THE BILL
PUNCHES II FULL or HOLES
u VIII Dsrssass sAs sesvsnue sra.
Oo0o 600 a.a psssrsy shs Hsoa. wool
and Coal Indnssr>s&

tne fcPuptc14 minority % Tue ways ana
means committes - expressed By 81.
Speaker kssd starts out - follows;
The most surpsising thing about this
bill b The fact that this proposition 10
raise revenue will lower the revenue of
this country e7i.0oo.oo0 below the rsve-
noe Of isa2 which was only saooo0oo
above our sxpsnse& Had the commit
toe. In making what the chairman on
tho door Of the house has called '.polit-
ical hill.' followed the plain. uncom.
promising declaration of the party
which they represent and sbolished pro-
lection. giving us tariff for revenue
only. our task in commenting upon tho
result OF the committee's efforts would
have been more simple. The bill would
then have been straightforward. manly
attempt to carry out pledges and would
have placed in Issue two great principles
and would have led to clear and com
prehensible discussion.
Party Pledges Repudiated.
The minority further says: The bill
presented can In no way he justified by
people who claim 10 have obtained pos
session OF all branches Of the govern
meut upon distinct promise, which
they DOW repudiate. After these CON-
ments the report at length proceeds 10
dissect the bill. declaring that all the
objections % often urged by the domi-
nant party lie against this bill. Ii is
bill, tho minority assert. that preteuds
TO be arevenue tariff and does not raise
revenue. 1t intends to give protection.
but destroys il In every indirect way.
IL would OF course. the minority declare.
be utterly impossible to follow into de
tails the reasons which have induced
the changes made by the bill. They
seem to be the result Of information OBJ
tanned in secret. and in no wise commu-
nicated to the republicans on the CON-
mittee. All the public hearings and
public testimony have been set aside,
and the bill has been framed on inform
alton OF witnesses who have not been
cross examined and whose testimony
has not visited the light OF day.
Decreases the Revenue.
One objection Of the bill is that it de-
creases the revenue according 10 the cal.
culations usually made by the treasury
department. as compared with 1890,
about s74.000.000. This large deficit,
coming as IL docs upon a depleted treas
ury, is rather appalling in a bill for
revenue only. How this great hole in
our resources as q nation 10 10 be filed
no one knows At this date not even
the committee knows itself unless the
president. anticipating in his message to
congress the report Of the com mittee on
ways and means shall afford TO the CON-
mittee itself its wished-for clue. Against
the consideration OF such bill creating
such deficit and leaving IL tunaccounted
for. the minority vainly protested when
the bill was laid before the committee
Who would dare, IL OF sound and
statesmanlike mind. to create deficit OF
s74.O00.000. and blindiy vote Ii with no
way in sight whereby the government
could meet its expenditures That
same protest we make to the
house and to the country.
Further on the minority say. while as
a party we might rejoice at its passage,
as citizens Of the United States, we
think the exigencies Of the present time
are superior TO even the most desired
political advantages and advise that the
bill do not pass.
How it Affects Iron
After explaining at great length the
general opposition to the bill, the report
then takes up the schedules. Analyses the
changes made and comments upon the
probable effects Of these changes upon
the industrial future OF the country.
Regarding the iron and steel business
the minority save: The bill proposes
ores. foreign ores, some OF which are
- Ill
and none OF them at labor cost greater
than one-fourth OF ours. lt proposes to
bring our laborcrs who get from cleo 10
e per day and who work from fifty five
10 sixty hours week. into competition
with laborers who work sevcnty-two
hours week aud get 36 to 90 cents per
day; our miners who get from s225 TO
s255 per day into competition with
those who get from 20 10 y cents per
day"
Its Effect ON Wool
Tho bill deals with the wool manu-
facture in terms scarcely lcss radical
than thoss accorded the wool growing
industry upon which IL 30 largely de-
pends Ii proposes to revolutionize the
manufacture OF wooden goods by trans
fcrring IL from the basis Of dutiable ma.
tsrials To free wool. a change more radi-
cal than any textile industry In any
country was ever forced 10 make. with
out the most careful provision for safe
and gradual rea.ilusttnent
One of the amazing propositions Of
the ball IN that bituminous coal shall be
put upon the free list. and the millions
u dollars per snnum. almost that we
receive from IT'S importations by way oi
revenue. absolutely thrown away. Coal
has little value save aa it geie IL from
labor. Except for . short period. IL has
always bofne n duty. There are few
states or tsrritesies that sn intcrfcs-
encs with IL will not affect.
"a Benefits Foreigners
On every eide peculiar facilities are
afforded b. foreigners 10 soize our coal
trade II the duty on coal be stricken
dosn. And this simply by reason oi
the differences betseen fossign wage
rsses and our own. To put II on tne
free list without reason and hhds no
ssmblanes of defense. save la the desire
10 espinit theory ~ the sspeass of the
AmerlcAn people The minofity c0n
eluie their exhaustive speech by en-.
pressing their disapprossi ~ the changes
proposed IN ths administrative part II
tie act