St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-09-07
4 WASTE OF THE.

II is net pleasant to see the ways and
means committee of this congress TO-
lowing the precedent established by its
Republican predecessors of giving hear
ings to the representatives OF the in
duStries affected by the tariff. We are
surprised that the practice receives the
assent of the chairman of that commit
tee. We recall an especially effective
speech he made IN the Fifty-secord
congress, i'll which, with cutting Sar-
casm. Re showed who made the McKIN-
LEY tariff, quoting from the reports of
the hearings the views of the various
manufacturers as to what the tariff on
their particular line should be, and COM
pairing them with the provisions of the
bill.
Under system which laid imposts
for the sake of protection and not for
revenue as its primal object. there was
q fitness in calling in the representa-
tives of the industries to be protected to
ascertain how much protection they
wanted and the most effective way of
securing it, but that policy was rejected
by very decisive majority of the peo-
pie, and one inaugurated the sole pur-
pose of which is to get revenue. The
effect it may have on manufacture is
ALI unavoidable incident, but not at all
one that should be given weight. The
plain selfish interest of the manufact-
urer is to get as large tax as is posi-
bic: the only interest the govern ment
has is to get the largest possible amount
of revenue.
Under revenue system of tariff taxa
ton the only point to be determined is
the,revenue point; that is, that point in
the scale of taxation where the lowest
tax will yield the largest amount of
revenue. This is not to be aScertained
from the manufacturers. Their opinions
on it are worthless. 1t is a question of
calculations only based on the statistics
Of trade and consumption. The materials
for the Investigation are not in the
counting houses of the mills and shops.
but IN the statistics of the treasury de-
partment. The reports of the census
bureau, too. will afford data useful in
the investigation.
There is only one point from which
this waste of time presents any excuse,
and that does not amount to justifica-
ton. Were The committee to proceed
with the formulation Of a tariff bill
without giving hearing to all the self
iSh interests which have fiocked there
session after session to get legal permit
10 fatten Oh the people, there would rise
| at once and sweep over the country a
| Republican howl about "star-chamber
proceedings" the ''poor workingman'
would be told that the committee was
intent on reducing him to the "pauper
level" by denying hearing to his nat
ural protectors. his employers. But the
effort to be fair will be futile. What
| ever the committee does or does not, the
| howl will come. Within three months
it VIII deafen their ears with Its cur1.
| ling sound.
| There has been too much delay al
ready. The committee should have
been at work in May. The change in
! systems was ordered last November.
The manufacturing industries nearly
or remotely dependent on the tariff are
i'll condition of uncertainty, naturally
| Every consideration requires that that
/ period of suspense should be made as
\ short as possible, so that trade may be
| adjusted to the new conditions. The
hearings are farcical as far as they have
! gone. Under the old system manufact-
urers knew what they came there for.
] It's evident that they do not know what