The Daily Texarkanian., 1894-02-17
THE TARIFF PROGRESSES.
The Duty on Sugar. Which has Prov.
en- a Stumbling Block, Settled.

less time was demanded from every
Senator, yesterday, in the discuss
ion and consideration of the sub
ject of the Peckham confrma-
ton, the Senate ub-committee on
Finance, in charge of the Demo
cratic tariff reform bill, were some
what disturbed in the work at
which its members have labored so
faithfully for the past several days,
Notwithstanding this interference
the members devoted a liberal por-
ton of the day to the work in
hand. Those features of the bill
relating to internal revenue came
in for the principal share of atten-
tion, chief among which and indeed
the one which has given the COM
mittee much trouble, is the duty on
sugar, as it seems that a sufficient
pressure has been brought to bear
on the committee, to make a duty
on this article certainty in the
Senate measure. The truth of this
has already been demonstrated and
the rate Of duty settled so far as
the subcommittee have power to
determine They are willing and
have said So to place a duty of l
cent per pound on raw and refined
sugar, but beyond this they say
they will neither be led nor driven,
Senator Allen [pop] from. Ne
braska has ayowed his willingness
to support the bill with the sugar
duty at one cent per pound. He
says the best sugar industry Of Ne
braska was developed into a profit
able business under the bounty
system of the Mckinley law, and
that he Allen is not willing to see
it bereft ofprotection entirely. He
believes / cent per pound would be
sufficient.
The Louisiana Senators have
been contending for higher duty.
They demand at least l! cents per-
pound. This demand of theirs was
regarded as excessive by the sub
committee and the refusal of the
latter to accede to it held the sugar
question in allegiance.
The same duty will be imposed
upon both raw and refined sugar.
Ali the arguments and pleadings of
the sugar trust and of the sugar
refners have failed to persuade the
Democrats of the finance committee
that the duty on refined sugar
should be in excess of that upon the
raw article.
Democrats of the finance com
mittee have talked with their party
associates of the ways and means
committee as to the probable ac-
ton of the house upon a bill impos-
ing a duty upon sugar They have
been informed that the house will
assent to a small duty on sugar,
provided the income tax is adhered
to. This no doubt correctly repre-
sents the Democratic sentiment OF
the House. The members who
passed the Wilson bill are not
averse to granting slight sugar
protection, provided that it be not
submitted as an alternative for the
income tax They would reject any
bill eliminating the income tax,
The Democrats of the finance COM
|
mittee fully appreciate this fact,
and therefore they will retain the
income tax,
With regard to what should be
the maximum duty on sugar Demo
Gratis of the ways and means COM
mittee differ. The majority opinion
among the house Democrats seems
to favor } cent per pound or a duty
which would in the aggregate about
offset the amount of the bounty
now paid on that product The
apument Of the Democrats favor
ing the sugar tariff is that a sugar
duty amounting to substantially
the same sum as the annual bounty
would not materially increase the
prices of sugar to the consumers;
that it could be justified before the
people by saying that they were
taxed under the Mckinley law to
pay bounty for the benefit of the
sugar trust, whereas under Demo
ocratic policy they were taxed the
same amount for the benefit OF the
bounty, as the entire duty would
fall into the federal treasury to
meet the expenses of the govern
ment.