The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-01-12

Professor Wilson Proposes to Help the
Ps0r Man by Taking Away the Duty on
Luxuries--Protection Declared To Be
Wilson'S Generous Gifts to Our Cana
dian Neignbors
Washington, January 1.-THE notable
speech of the day in the debate OH the
tariff bill was that delivered by Mr..
Dingley of Maine. Mr.. Dingley hogan
speaking at 1245. By this time, the
galleries had filed up somewhat especial
ly the public gallery, and Mr.. Dingley's
speech, delivered in his quiet but i'm
pressive style, was listend to attentively.
1t took one hour and five minutes for
delivery.
Mr.. Dingley said the pending tariff is
incorrectly termed bill to provide rev.
enue 1t is in fact bill to abolish rev.
enue Its advocates charge that our pro-
teetive tariff ignores revenue in order to
maintain protection of home industries;
and yet they propose substitute which
Yields Neventy six millions, or more than
one thIsd less revenue than the tariff
of 1880, In order TO overthrow protection.
They do this, too, in the face of a deli
iency of more than six millions for the
present fiscal year. and when the Secre-
tary of the Treasury informs us that
every dollar of the revenue under the
tariff of 1890 unchanged would be re-
quired to meet the expenditures OF the
uext fiscal year.
The tariff measure which proposes
deficiency of seveny six millions is said
60 be one for revenue only, in fact it is
.one for deficiency only. Six. years ago
a distinguished Democratic leader, then
and now President of the United States,
declared that it was "a condition Chat
of excessive revenue), and not p theory
which confronted US and necessitated
! tariff revision.
Now he reverses this reason for tariff
revision. No matter about the "condi-
tion;o it is the Democratic theory" of a
tariff for revene only that "confronts
u.s."
The Democratic majority of the COM
mittee which have reported the pending
bill Justify their scheme to remit seventy
six millions of revenue and create de-
fciency to that amount, on the ground
that it is reduction of the taxation of
TIE masses of the people. Assuming for
the present that duty is always added
to the price to the consumer, this claim
invites attention to the imported articles
5n which duties have beer reduced and
revenue surrendered.
OF imported liquors, cigars, leaf to-
bacco, silks and plushes, kid gloves,
jewelry, laces and EN- broideries, ostrich
feathers, artificial flowers. opium for
smoking, plate glass, and paintings and
statuary-all articles of luxury or volun-
tary use-it is proposed to surrender
about fourteen millions OF revenue. The
masses must feel greatly relieved at this
reduction of taxation.
Nearly one-half of the imports of
woolens, on which there is a remission of
duties to the extent of nearly twenty-five
millions are fine goods imported for the
use of well-to-do persons who could get
just as good articles here, but who want
something foreign. A considerable pro-
portion Of fine cottons, and of many
other manufactured articles are also ar
ticles of voluntary use. Nearly thirty-six
millions of revenue from imported lux
uries and articles of voluntary use are
surrender by reductions of duties by
this bill; and that, too, in the face of
the fact that all authorities agree that
high rates of duty can justly and
properly be replaced on such imported
articles for revenue.
Then six and quarter millions of reve-
nue. have been surrendered by the re-
duetion of the duty on tin plate one
cent per pound, in the face of the fact
that The increase of one and one-ffth
cents in duty in 1890 has not increased
the pripe here more than one-fourth
cent. per pound above the average from
1883 to 1851, if at all-thus showing that
the Welsh manufacturers have practically
paid nearly all the increased duty by re-
ducing their price in order to hold our
markets against the growing tin plate in
dustry here. Irasmuch as this prevails
as to many other imported manufactured
articles, in spite of the free trade ridicule
of the fact that in many cases the for
eigner practically pays part and some
time all the duty, it is no wonder foreign
rejoicing over the prospects of being re-
heved to SO great an extent from con-
tributions to our revenue.
There is remitted to Canada nearly a
million and a half dollars in duties nor
lum Der, two millions on farm products
without even asking anything in return,
not to mention eight millions remitted
ON wool.
The President and the chairman of the
Ways and Means Committee inform us
that their revised tariff will only tenn
porarily result in deficiency of seventy
six millions. They tell us that it will
increase importations of dutiable goods,
which will in a short time supply part
OF the deficiency and ultimately all; and
that they propose to supply the deficiency
caused by the remission on duties on
foreign goods by taxation of our own
interests.
When it is remembered that most of
our dutiable goods are such as can be
made here, and that any increase of such
importations would simply take away
so much demand from our own
mills and so much work from our own
labor, this announcement OF the end
sought by this bill must be comforting
TO the millions of wofkingmen who are
out of employment or working at re-
duced wages in consequence of the dis
trust caused by the anticipation of this
bill. Think of the increased importa-
tions necessary to make good the reve-
nue. surrendered by this bill. 1t would
require an increase of importations of
woolens from thirty-seven millions to
nearly one hundred millions; and the ag-
gregate increase of Importation under
this bill would have to be about two
hundred and fifty millions in order to
supply the revenue surrendered. Of
course there is rejoicing abroad, con-
sternation at home.
And all this wreck of home industries
in order to. carry ont tariff theory
adopted by the last Democratic National
conyention-the theory that protection
is unconstitutional and robbery and that
did, ~, eboY.Id hn for