The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-04-25
WOULD HAVE MADEITDiPFERENT

of the Senate when the Vice-President
took his seat on this the last day when
debate on the tariff bill proceeds before it
is taken up and read by paragraphs.
On notion of Pettigrew bill was passed
to extend the time for building bridge
across the Missouri River at YanktoD, s..
Oak. The morning hour having expired
the tariff bill was laid before the Senate.
Promptly at / o'clock Mills took the floor.
At the outset he declared that legislators
often had TO make selection between two
parliamentary measures. neither OF which
meets their approval. 1t must necessarily
be so, for no man could frame a measure
to meet the approval of every one. Every
act of the Legislature must be compro-
mise measure, and no act more so than one
regulating taxes.
This bill does not meet my approval"
said he. "and l doubt If it entirely meets
the approval of any gentleman on this
side of the chamber. But such as it is it
will have my hearty support"
He might want to offer some amend
ments to the bill, but whether or not he
was able to secure their adoption he would
bow to the will of his party and vote for
the measure as they ordained 1t should be.
1t was a strictly party measure, and had
been party measure from the foundation
of the Government and from the founda-
ton and organization of the Democratic
party.
If he had been chosen 10 construct this
bill and had forty-four members of the
Democratic side Of the chamber in accord
with his views he would have constructed
it on far different lines. He would not
have left coffee On the free list and would
not have tut cotton, coal and iron on the
dutiable list. He would put on the free
list metals, wool, cotton fbers. iron and
steel in pigs and all yarns-everything
which required to be manufactured He
would do this in order that the manufac-
turers Of the country might manufacture
their goods at the lowest possible price, so
that they could go into the markets of the
world.
The Republican policy, he said, was to
provide a home market, but there were
S., 0OO 00O,O 900 worth of goods made in this
country. Where were the people to come
from to consume this? In order to carry
out the Republican policy people would
have TO be imported IN consume our sur
plus agricultural products. 1t would re-
quire 100000 people to consume these
products and would require the importa-
ton of Chinese, Japanese. Maltese, CHM
panzses and General Coxey's army.
Laughter
"Emaucipate our people," he said.
"Give them a ch ance to show their skill
their genius as national aud heaven-bOrn
right. Give them back their own and the
workngmen will not be coming to Wash
ington to implore the Government to do
something for them. Their proper resource
is not to come to Washington anyhow. but
to turn back home and appeal to the ballot
box"
Mills devoted a large part of his speech
to the defense of the income tax. He
laud ed the action of the committee for re-
porting a tax on incomes. Why should
wealth not be taxed?
81 would like to know" he said, con
what prlnci pie the owners of millions in
sist that they should not be taxed. The
opponents of the income tax say it is in
quisitorial. anarchistic, socialistic to lay
a tax of per cent on incomes, but when
poor fellow wants a shirt and is taxed 100
per cent for it nothing is said about its be-
ing socialistic and anarchistic."
He enunciated the principle that a tax
should be collected in proportion to the
taxpayers ability to pay it. and that de-
pended on the amount of protection he re-
ceived. 1t was said the income tax was
unjust and iniquitous, and the Senator
from New York (ailD in his speech few
days ago had called it by all kinds of vile
names, yet when he was Governor of the
State of New York for six years he had
never told The Legislature that the income
tax, which was on the statute books Of thu
State, was unjust and Ubiquitous. 1t was
useless to denounce the income tax as ini-
euitous, unjust. etc.; it was useless to
make any sophistical remarks about the
difficulty of collecting the tax. The law
was going to be passed, he declared en-
phatically, if not by this Congress then by
the next. The torcible way in which the
Senator made this statement ELECTED ap-
plause from the galleries, which was
checked by the gavel of the presiding Off
Ger.
"Mr. President" continued the Senator
earnestly, "ths is duty devolving on this
body which cannot be evaded. We must
pass this bill; make 1t as good as we can
first, but pass it we must. We must not
only pass it. but we must stop talking
about ii. The American people demand
it. They sent US here for that purpose;
they did not send US here to hear argu-
ments for n new trial; they sent US to
drive the criminal out of the country; to
restore the country 10 its natural rights.
/ say that If forty-four Senators on this
side of the chamber and the forty-fifth in
the presiding officers chair were of the
same opinion as /, we would pass this bill
in forty-eight hours. The people want
this bill passed now-immediately they
do not want to wait until they are starved
TO death; they do not want TO wait until
the W hole country Is paralyzed. but they
want US to do it now Then the business
prosperity of the country will revive.
Then the condition Of things will be
changed; night will disappear. darkness
and distress will leave the land, prosperity
will come to our borders. light and sun
shine will tighten up all our faces and the
country will once more resume It's career
in prosperity"
The close of Mills speech was greeted