St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-04-04
ALLISON ON THE TARIFF.
THE IOWA SENATOR A8RAiCNS THE
DEMOCRATIC kEaSU8E.h
A BADLY CONSTRUCTED Hill

Country Will lie Injured and
Many Stranglrd To Beatfi +AF.
guments Against Changing the
Duties From Specific to 6Ad
Faiorem-Frye Grows Angry.
81
WASHINGTON. April 3.-The general
public did not seem TO have as much
interest III the senate today as Xester
day, and the attendance did not Indicate
that the second day of the tariff debate
was 10 excite as much interest as dhe
flrst. A dill was reported from the SCH
ate finance committee, directing the
parting and refining of bullion to be
carried on at the states assay office at
Helena. Mont. and was placed on the
calendar. Senator Mitchell. of Oregon.
presented resolution, which was
agreed to, directing the secretary Of the
interior 10 transmit to the senate list
or all public lands located in odd sec
tiuns In the states of Oregon and Wash
lngton. Senator Pettigrew. of South
Dakota. introduced a resolution, which
was agreed To, directing the Sec
rotary of agriculture to reply with
Ill three days to the resolution
passed by the senate about six weeks
ago. calling for statistics as to wheat
production. The resolution offered a
short time ago by Senator PETER. direct
ing the finance committee to prepare a
bill to repeal all laws which give the sec
Rotary of the treasury authority to issue
Understanding bonds. was laid before
the senate. Senator Sherman moved
that it be referred to the committee on
finauce,a as it was very important prop
osition. Senator Stewart Pep. ,Neyada)
opposed the reference of the resolution
to the finance committee and urged i'm
mediate adoption. The resolution went
over until tomorrow i'll order 10 allow
the consideration of the bill reported
by Senator Morgan to give effect
to the award OF the Paris tribunal
on the BeAring sea question. 'fhe bill
was passed. Senator Harris gave notice
that after tomorrow he would each day,
immediately after the transaction of the
routine morning business. ask that the
tariff bill be- considered. Senator Ledge,
of Massachusetts, gave notice that next
Tuesday at 2 O'clock he would address
the senate Oh the tariff question. At 2
o'clock the tariff bill was laid before the
senate, and
SENATOR ALLISON AROSE
to address that body. In his ,opening
remarks he complained of the methods
pursued in the preparation of the bill,
of the incomplete examination accorded
it III committee and OF the difficulty ex-
perienced by the minority of the conf
mittee i'll getting Information as to the
bill. He reviewed the courseof the. tariff
bill to show the liesurely manlier in
which the Democrats had hitherto
pushed it,. The house of represent
atives elected in 1892 favored
a change of tariff policy. but
the president did not regard this
policy as of sufficient Importance to. call
an extra session. He did. however. call
congress together in special session for
the consideration of other matters, The
committee on ways aud means, how
ever. which was primarily charged with
the consideration OF questions of rev.
enue. was appointed at the, extra SEES
sion, and on the 18th of December, 1884,
only few days after the converting of
congress. reported 10 the house what is
known as the Wilson bill, and which,
passing through the ordinary stages of
the house. appeared in the senate on the
I'd of February, 1894, and was on that
day referred to the committee, on
finance. 1t was not reported to the SEN
ate until seven weeks afterward.
'And when | say" exclaimed he.
THAT this bill was never read in the
committee on finance. or considered line
by line, and paragraph by paragraph, l
state what is known to every senator"
$50 that it is worth while,' he contln-
ued sarcastically. for us to consider
wha: sanction is to be given TO the re-
port Of committee thus brought into
the chamber being ally the con-
illusions of only three men,"
1t was made plain by the proceedings
in this chamber, he remarked, that as
regards the features of the bill involy-
ing a revenue of SS0.0O0.000. it came to
the senate as minority, and not as a
majority report. Only five out of eleven
members of the committee gave their
SUPPORT TO THAT FEATURE.
81 may say" went on Mr.. Allison,
THAT am embarrassed in the examina-
ton of this bill by the fact that we have
not yet been supplied with the necessary
statements and prints of the bill which
would enable US to consider it as a
great bill of this character ought to be
considered"
There was not any industry in the
country which would not be injured by
the bill, while many of them would be
strangled to death. Such course mad
never entered into the minds of the
statesmen of the early days of the re-
public; and even in 1882, when the
country was divided into two camps,
one insisting on absolute free trade
and the other for moderate protection.
no such radical measure had been
adopted. They never dreamed of putting
on the free list or reducing by one.haIf
the duty charged upon articles which
could be produced in the United States,
The amendment offered by MIR. Clay
and adopted provided for the reduction
of the import duty 10 per cent every two
years. thus taking ten years TO- bring
the tariff down TO basis of 20 per cent
ad yalorem. But instead of taking ten
years to reduce the duty. as in the case
OF the tariff of 1883. this revolutionary
measure proposes to accomplish THERE
duction In one year, abruptly and with.
out notice.
Mr.. Allison went on to argue against
the feature OF the bill changing the
duties from specific to ad valorem, and
showed the difficulty of getting a Just
appraisement of their value. In
European countries, which were more
intimately connected with one another
than ourselves, and the knowledge of
the value in the exporting country more
accurately known. the method of-ap-
praisement proposed in this bill had
become antiQuated ana had dropped
out of use. n,
HE GAVE NOTICE b.
that at the proper time be would offer
an amendment providing that the value
should be fixed by its price at home
m TO Of ohr