Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1894-07-11
burden where it ought to be increased in jus
- nr,I nr,,nl:.--

burden where it ought to be increased IN jus
tice and equality.
Now, sir, we find that the Senate bill has re-
turned very largely to specific taxes, and in
many cases, in considerable number of cases,
in that worst and most insidious prima facie
fraudulent form of taxes, compound duty
made up of specific tax and an ad yalorem
tax. Thus the bill comes back TO the House
with these too great fundamental principles of
lust taxation and these two great fundamental
principles of Democratic policy in large
measure overridden and neglected, and it is
for this House so far as it can, in the perform
apce of its duty to the people, to insist upon
their continuance in any tariff bill that is
passed by this Congress. Loud applause on
the Democratic side.]
Now, Mr.. Speaker, shall not go, as l said
in opening this discussion, into details as to
the specific schedules or as to the specific
taxes. l have already stated that the amend
ments proposed to this bill by the Senate are
6S4 in number. They are distributed as fol-
lows: There are 81 amendments to the chemi
cal schedule, there are Ga amendments to the
iron and steel schedule; there are 8 to the
wood schedule; to the sugar schedule to
the tobacco schedule 10 to the cotton sched-
ule 10 to the flax schedule; 80 to the wooden
schedule to the silk schedule; s to the pa
per schedule 81 TO the sundry schedule, and
SO to the free list in the latter case, almost
always a transfer of something left on the free
list by the House or put upon the free list by
the House back to the taxable list
Now, sir, if there we're any feeling in this
House when we came to deal with the tariff
bill it was that we were dealing too conserya-
lively. There was scarcely any sentiment in
this House, except here and there upon some
one particular item, that did not make us
feel Il at if we were free to carry out the full
mandate of the people who sent us here, we
would have sent to the Senate bill with a
lower range of duties than we yentured to
suggest or pass in this House.
If these amendments were in the direction
of reduction of the peoples taxes, am sure
that this House would agree very quickly to a
large number of them, but while few of them,
in one or two important instances, for which
I must give due credit are reductions, the great
mass of these changes are in the direction of
increasing the taxes upon the American peo-
pie and increasing the protection of the home
makers of the articles thus taxed. This is es-
pecially true in the sugar schedule. 1t is true
in the wooden schedule. 1t is true in the glass
schedule, and so on through all the important
schedules where the taxes bear most heavily
on the people there is an increase in taxation
which will not, in my judgment, increase pro-
portionately the revenue Of the government
derived from those taxes.
But, Mr. Speaker, feel that while it is the
duty of the House to stand by the people, and
while believe this House is going to stand by
the people, Applause on the Democratic side
l believe, sir, that we should recognize in the
spirit of fairness any difficulties which our col
leagues at the other end Of the Capitol may
have had in the construction of this bill, and
that there should be, both in letter and in
spirit, "a full and free conference between the
House and the Senate as to all the amendments
proposed to the House bill and believe that
such conferees as may go from this House will
60 animated with that spirit prepared to deal
fairly and fully and honestly with these sue
cessive amendments, but at the same time un'
der the overwhelming sentiment of fidelity Ia
their party pledges and to their duty to the
people who sent them here. Applause on the
Democratic side.l
Mr.. Speaker, l reserve the balance of my
time, though DO not know that l shall want
to say anything further.