Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1893-12-21
WILSON BILL.
Introduced to tho House by It's
Champion.
EXPLANATION OF ITS FEATURES.


follows;
Tho American people, after the fullest and
most thorough debate ever given BY any PEG.
pie TO their fiscal policy have deliberately and
righuuliy decided that the existing tariff IL
wrong In principle and grieyously unjust ia
operation They have decided. as free inca
must always decide, that the power Of taxa.
tion has no lawful or constitutional exercise
except for providing revenue for the support Of
the government Every departure from thi
principle Is a departure from the fundamcn tai
principles OF free institu ions aud Inevitably
works out gross inequality In lhe citizenship
OF co ntry.
For more than thirty years we have levied
! the largest part Of our federal taxes in viola.
ton Of this vital truth until we have reached
In tho existing tarin, an extreme and volumin.
Gus system Of class taxation to which history
may be challenged TO furnish any parallel So
many private enterprises have been taken into
partnership with the government so many
private interests now share In the rich preroga.
tive Of taxing 5D,1J1OOO Of people. that any at
tempt to dissolve this illegal union IS neces
saf,y encountered by an opposition that rallies
behind the Intolerance OF monopoly, the power
Of concentrated wealth, the inertia OF nxed
habits and the honest trrors Of generation OF
false teaching
The bill on which the committee has expend.
ed much patti Mt and anxious labor Is not
offered as o complete response to tho mandate
| Of the American people II no more Processes
TO DO purged q oil protection than to be free
Of all error In Its comp ex and manifold dc.
tails However, we may deny the existence Of
| any legislative pledge or other right OF any
congress TO make such pledge, for the contln.
uanco Of duties that carry with them more or
less Acknowledged protection We must -.co,,.
nlze that great interests do exist whose eKIsi.
ense anu lrosperltY Is no part OF our reform
ol'her 70 lmperil or TO eurtail We believe, and
I ~ ave -. warrant Of our past experience for
] al afA ttN Iaa sslHN L..
/ lure but give moro abundant life to all our
great manuiac uring Industries, however much.
they ma dread the change In dealing with
tho tarin question, as with every other long.
stnding abuse that has interviewer itself with
[ our social or industrial system the Legislator
must always remember that In the beginning,
temp rate reform Ia safest having In itself the
principle Of growth.
"A glance at the tarin legislation Of our own
country ought TO satisfy every Intelligent stu.
dent that protection has always shown its
hlslty as a system Of economy By its absolute
failure to insure healthy and stable prosperity
TO % nnuflcturers II teaches men TO depend
on ar lnciIl help, on laws taxing their country.
men for prosperity In business, rather than up-
on ihcir own skill and effort II throws bust
uc-s out Of It's natural channels into artificial
channel In which there must always be fiuctu
alton and uncertainty, and II makes tariff
system tho football d party politics, and the
ability OF large business interests the stake
OF every popular election
None have tccpgn god this truth more fully
than the wise men who from time to tune have
engaged In tho sooallel protected Industries
\ ears ago Mr. Edward verett stated, in an
grafton at Lowell, that the sagacious men who
founded the manufactures Of New England
were never frlt nds 81 high tarin policy
Hon. Amasl Walker, u former member o,
tLis hoDs from Massachusetts,, and one Of
our foremost writer's on economic questions
DECLARED u 10 DO within his own personal
knowledge that when the proposal was made
to Impose tho protective urin OF 1910, the
ltaiing manufacturers Of Rhode Island
amongst whom was Me-. Slater, tho father
o. cotton spinning In this country mot at
thc counting room ~ one OF their number
and, attcr deliberate consultation came unani.
uHu,ly 10 the conclusion that they would
rather be- lot alone, ~ their business had
iAr fulf confident OF It's continued prosperity
i lot alone by the government. They argued
Mat by il iuF protective urin their business
would DO thrown out Of Its natural channels
nnd be SUBJ 'cted to hactuntion and uncer.
bint Bl' ~ usual, the clamOr Of selfish ana
less far sighted men nnl tho ambition Of law.
on locrf usurp The place OF Providence pre-
Nloi The country entered on a protective
policy with he unfalllny result that gov.
trrw = uo'p p'got Violent demand for more
v"rnmcnt IA lp The moderate tarln Of 1915
pd grca into tho "tarin Of abomnatlons"
t1gi carried the ,Ountr3 to the verge OF civil
disc rd and provoked o natural revulslon
Prolt elton has run like course since 1851
VI hen congress began 20 repeal war burdens
AMI TO relieve manufacturers Of Internal taxes
which they had used to secure compensatlng
duties on like foreign products, there arose q
d mAnd throughout the country, without re-
spott 90 plrty. for a reduc ion Of the war tariff
UuNhlg To rcsift this demand the protected In.
dus'rlrs ham "a and thwarted any rod &c ton By
substituting "a senate bill which carried a hori
ID .U d Il UH A.
tie election Of lsd gave tho next house To the
uclp rattle party that bill was repealed by the
OUTGOING republicans ana rates restored to
whit they were before 1877
ANA although the demand for tariff reform
and for reduction OF taxes has ever since been
% burning anil growing one In tho country, the
projected industries have exaoted and received
from every republican congress elected since
~ an Increase OF their protection, occasion.
all permitting the repeal or the lesseninR OF a
tax that was paid into the treasury In order TO
keep away from or TO increase duties levied
Tor Their hen IT. Protection left TO its natural
M tntntum mover stops short Of prohibition
and prohibitury walls are always needing 10
be- built higher or TO be patched or strength.
enoi. A protective tariff never has and never
can give stability and satisfaction TO Its own
bnuohciarios Even II its victims are too weak
and o. scattered to agitate for its decrease,
those bouenoiaries are sure to agitate for an
Increase
NNth Tue REFORM thflH OF 1870 WAS before |
con 'ress the air was full Of prophecies that Il |
would dCs roy our manufacturing industries
throw labor out Of employment or compel It TO |
work at paupor wages and dwarf and arrest the |
grow "a OF the country, Every representative |
from our great manufacturing states Of New |
England voted against Il with gloomy forebod. |
ings ~ It's hlightng effect The rate Of duties |
provided In that tariff was much lower than |
those Of the BIN we here offer What was the |
rosult' Instead of practically killing the indus |
tries and pauporlzing the labor OF New England |
or the rest Of the country the tariff OF 1915 gave
immense vigor TO manufacturers with steady |
employment and increasing wages To labor, so |
that Atcr eleven years experience under IT, |
the lowest period Of stability we have ever en-.
lOyod under anY tarin, the representatives OF |
theto same states wi practical unanmlty |
voted for IN Their reduction Of - per cent, |
and by two thirds vote sustained the tariff Of |
l05 HE made a reduction OF rs per centum |
nnl so well contented and prosperous were the |
m irs Of that and other sections OF the ooun- |
Try under the low rate OF tnrin Of 1857 that |
when the NORTH lin OF 1851 took the nrst back
war; step there wa general protest
against 10
Tnc history OF American Industry shows that
during no other p riod has there been more
health uud rapid development Of our manu-.
featuring industry than during the fifteen years
OF low mr,u from 1919 TO 1901. nor more
" althY and hArmunluus growth OF agriculture
aud 70 the other industries Of the country. No
chapter in our political experience carries with
Il more salutary lesson than this, AMI no one
cou'd appeal more strongly TO law makers To
establish !usi and rational system Of public
revenues, utather exhausting agriculture by
constant blood-lettns nor keeping mtnufact-
ur ~ alternating between chills aud fevers BY
artificial plmp'rlng In this direction alone
lies stability, concord OF sections and OF great
inlUstrirs
We We already said thar the public discus.