Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-01-09
braced in that instrument and promptly in
voked by the national government without
hesitancy or question"

Definition of Tariff Reform.
Passing from these general matters Mr.
Burrows began a consideration Of the SUBJ
stance of the measure. prefacing It with
this definition of tariff REFORM"
And here we have at last translated into
apt phrase the hitherto mysterious doc
trine Of tariff reform" You have now con-
1ured with these words for the last time.
Having ceased to be mysterious they will
lose their magic power to deceive and mis-
lead the people. Tariff REFORM is finally
interpreted to mean free raw material
and reduction of duties on competing for
eign products entering our markets below
the protective point, regardless of the con-
sequences to American industries or Ameri-
can labor. This is tariff reform"
The bill proposed. he said, the transfer of
131 articles from the dutiable to the free
list. nearly One-half Of which are the fruits
OF domestic husbandry. AS whole, the
proposition is to open our markets to the
free Importation of nearly $46. OOO, 900 of for
eign products, accompanied with the volun-
tary surrender of nearly $13,OOO.OOO of an
nual revenue. 1T is free trade gone mad"
The present free list ought to be sufficient
to satisfy the demands Of the most ad-
vanced free trader. The act Of 1890 enlarged
to the very limit of safety to American in
dustries and American labor. The value Of
our free imports increased from $2881O3 O4S
in 1880 to $444, L., O64 In 1893, while our
dutiable imports fell of from $5O7 All 764 in
1880 to $500. .2S2519 in 1893. And yet it is
proposed to increase our free imports to
more than $490OOO.0OO. while reducing the
dutiable to $354,OOO.OOO.
Eject Of the Proposed Free List.
The speaker discussed at length the effect
of the proposed free list. setting forth many
alleged Inconsistencies that must ensue
prejudiced classifcations OF free raw ma
teriaL" two illustrations being these:
'One would suppose that hoop iron would
De the same. regardless OF the uses to which
1t Is applied. Not SO. On the farmers
bucket 1t Is taxed. around the planters cot
clay ought to hold the same place in DEM
ocratic philosophy. Yet the wool of the
northern farmer is raw MATERIAL while
the washed clay in the hands of the south
ern producer is a highly finished product"
Considerable time was devoted by Mr.
Burrows to presentation Of the effects Of
the bill upon the wool and iron ore indus
tries. which articles are among those pro-
posed to be transferred to the free list
When this shall have been consummated -
he exclaimed 1.-The manufacturer OF woolen
goods will surely secure his raw material
In the cheapest market. He will draw his
supply OF wool from Australia, South Amer
ica Turkey and South Africa, where lands
are practically free and climatic conditions
conduce to the cheapest production The
manufacturer of pig iron will turn to Spain,
Cuba, England and the worlds sources Of
cheapest supply for his iron ore This will
inevitably result in one OF two things-the
destruction of our fiocks and the closing Of
our mines. or the lowering of our condi-
tons to the level Of our foreign competi-
tors. The destruction of the wool industry
the speaker asserted, would be. attend.
ed by the sacrifice of 47tDO0DU sheen in
which 2,U0OOO farmers have invested $780,
on.UW. Mr.. Burrows read extracts from
memorial addressed to the President by the
citizens of Bessemer Mich. setting forth
the present deplorable condition OF the iron
miners In the upper peninsula of that state,
o tpSf hui fho ha,r -
vtsors of Gogebic county against putting
iron ore on the free list. to show the appai-
ling effects in those regions of the mere an
proach to free trade in that article. Besides
the mining property directly involved in the
proposition. Mr.. Burrows scheduled other
investments and improvements to the value
OF $lS2.WO.NW that would be imperiled or
destroyed by placing iron ore on the free
list.
some Ipcongruities bf the biIl.
II shall not pause to call attention 10 the
many incongruities. in this bill The COM
naittee may he able to- xplain why pig iron
is taxed and cotton ties are free. Why the
northernfarmer, with harvest labor at 81
a day, is allowed 20 per cent on his wheat,
and the rice producer of the south, with
% cents day labor, secures Il per cent.
why tallow, wool. grease and degfas
are made free as tanners materials while
the sulnac of Virginia and North Carolina
used Tor the same purpose, Is protecIed.
Why the farmers potatoes secure only 10
per cent conside -ation, while peanuts of Vir-
ginia grow in security behind Chinese wall
OF 30 per cent. Why in many instances the
duty on the finished article is less or no
more than on the articles entering into its
manufacture. But / cannot pursue this in
quiry l have cnly to say that the bill, as
whole. is as unscientifc as it is un-Ameri-
can"
But the most startling feature of the bill,
Ear burrows declared, was the general s:ib-
stitution of ad valorem for specific duties.
1t is matte: of surprise" he said. that
the chairman should nave the courage to
greater frauds in administration for count
Ing and weighing at the custom houses are
done by the cheapest and most easily cor
rupted labor.
nection IL viii De revelation to the labor
ing people of this country that in the opin-
ion OF the chairman of the committee on
ways and means they are a class more
easily corrupted than their more fortunate
brethren. But when the chairman states
that specific duties lead to greater frauds
In administration he flies in the face of
current of authority which he cannot
successfully resist. The method of levy
ing duties has been the subject Of thor
ouGh and repeated investigation and it is
not too much to say that ad valorem duties
are condemned by the almost unanimous
verdict OF those whose opinions are en-
tied to respectful consideration. l invoke
the judgment of every Secretary of the
Treasury investigating the subject, from
Hamilton 20 Manning, in refutation of
the position assumed by the majority" A
host OF authorities was cited to sustain
the allegation that ad valoferl duties are
inferior to specific rates of duty. The
system. he said. had been condemned by
century of our own history and the ex-
perience of the leading European nations.
The remaining portion of the speech was
devoted to demonstrating from statistics
ana history the beneficial results of pro-
lection upon the country's material pros
)erity as compared with the effects of the
free trade eras through which 1t had pass
ed. After quoting figures to show the gi-
gantic strides made in the thirty years
from 1860 to 1SW under the opera ton Of q
protective tariff Mr.. Burrows closed as fol-
lows:
Concluding Remarks.
Yet in the face Of this magnificent
triumph. 1t is now proposed to call halt
in the industrial march and turn the col
umn backward over the deserted and dis
astrous pathway leading to free trade. The
command has already been given, and con-
formation has taken possession of all our
people. The record of this single years dis
asters stands without parallel in the his
tory Of our country. Fifteen thousand
five hundred and sixty business failures,
seventy-thre railways, aggregating 3l,S7S
miles. and representing untold millions of
property, gone into the hands of receivers
(At,v inc. R,z -