The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1894-04-06
VOORHEES, SPEECH
Debate OH the Wilson Tariff Bill Be-
gun in the Upper Branch Of
Congress.
The Chairman of the Finance Com
mittee Talks About the Crime Of
McKinleyism
And the Virtues of the Measure Now
Under COnsideratiOn-What the
Senator said.

~ASHINGTON, April f.-AC Iu:lo tne
Behring sea bill was about to pass the
the senate when Senator Hoar made
some inquiries which precipitated a dis
cussion about some t~echnicalities in the
bill. In the course of his remarks, SEN
ator Morgan said the British parliament
was acting on a similar bill.
Senator Cullom of Illinois raised the
question if it was not unusual to author
i've foreign powers to direct American
citizens, and Senator Morgan pointed
out that a similar arrangement had been
entered into between Great Britain and
the United States to suppress the slave
trade. Several senators asked time to
consider the bill and see it printed with
the senate amendments. Senator Nor
a asked unanimous consent that the
bill be considered after Senator Voor-
hees' speech, which was agreed to, and
the matter went over till later in the
day.
Voorhees, Opens Debate.
The tariff bill was then taken up and
Mr.. Voorhees, opened the debate.
Senator Voorhees, after a few intro
ductory remarks upon the iniquity and
injustice Of a protective tariff and a re-
view of the reform proposed by the sem
ate bill, said:
Such a constitution as this, so full OF re-
lief to the people and of strength, safety
and honor to the government. may well
atone for the imperfections and short
comings alleged against the pending
measure and will constitute the rock on
which the temple of tariff reform will
be built, and against which, in the
ameliorated future, the gates Of a~varice,
oppression and fraud shall not prevail.
With such a beneficent and stu
pendous result now plainly
within the reach of the American peo-
pie and almost ready for their eager
enjoyment, l envy not the fate of the
party, or the man, or the set OF men
who shall constitute themselves II
hindrance and an obstruction to its
speedy fulillment.
Has some Faults.
Faults and imperfections can, of
course, be alleged and pointed out; con-
cessions are apparent which have been
unwillingly made i'll order to ecure its
passages; articles on the free list as they
came from the house have been made
dutiable under the duress of a small
majority here. yet, deeply as l regret
the necessity for these changes, | do not
hesitate to say that the bill, taken as a
whole, as it now stands, with its COM
bination of lower taxes on the neces-
4 I." ..l - A.. .., 1,..1 -.
creased for the government,
will be hailed as a substantial measure
Of reform and relief by the great pro-
ducing masses Of the American people.
Mckinley Law a Crime.
! The enactment of the Mckinley law
In 1890 was a gigantic crime, not only
against every workingman and woman
in the Untitled States but also against
every individual manufacturer and
against all manufacturing interests. 1t
was not so designed by its authors, but
such was its real and inevitable char
acter. 1t declared a policy so fagitious
in principle, 81 rotten in morality
and so ravenous in its exactions on the
absolute wants of life, that its possible
duration was only O. question of time
when the next election by the people
should occur, and yet the vast manu-
featuring interests of the country were
tempted and seduced into accept
ing its delusive brides and into
an eager adjustment of themselves tc
ats alluring, through evanescent
and short lived provisj ms.
Mr.. Voorhees, defended the ad valoren
system as fairer, honester and more
easily understood than specific duties
and then turned his attention to the
sugar schedule. This article he called
the great revenue raiser Of the govern
ment.
The Income Tax.
Speaking of the proposed income tax
which he warmly upheld, Mr.. Voor
bees said:
The proposition contained in thu
pending bill to levy a tax Of . per cen
on all net incomes of corporations ant
of individuals in excess of a, 200 PEI
annum is so just and equitable towards