The Portland daily press., 1895-12-27
BY YHE HOUSE.


Cohtluueu from FlreG rage,
twenty odd million REQUIRED as a working
balance. This $50, 900, 600 represents $50, :
O00, O0O of redeemed United States legal
tender notes. for whose redepmtion we
borrowed $50, 900, 600 in gold. If we con.
tlnue to pay them out to meet a
deficiency of revenue, then presently they
Will come back again to draw $50, 000, o0C
| more from the treasury which we must
| supply by selling $50, 200 more Of
bonds. The suggestion, therefore, that
we heed no more revenue because we
have cash balance of $50, 00o, 600 of gov.
eminent notes in the treasury that can
be used to pay any deficiency for the next
SIX or twelve months, is in effect propo-
si6lon to issue more bonds to meet g
deficiency which should be met at once
providing more revenue.
In other words those who oppose rails
ing more revenue in such a situation in
eHect, whether they intend to do so or
not, favor borrowing in preference ia
paying as we go along. Your committee
believe that it is the duty of the House
Oh Representatives, to which body the
constitution commits the Inauguration OF
revenue bills, to frame and pass a meas
ure that will yield not far from $40, 600, :
000, sufficient to put an end to the
denciency, and 70 do this without delay,
too, leaving it to others whose co-opera-
tion is required, to finally place such
legislation on the statute books, to meet
the responsibility in their own way. And
the Presidents special message setting
forth so pointedly the seriousness of the
situation and the necessity for the
promptest action, only emphasizes the
duty of the House.
In response to the urgent call of the
President, your committee have felt
impelied to act with all possible dispatch.
Two facts have led your committee to
look to an increase of customs duties as
the most appropriate source Of additional
revenue. They are, first, the fact that we
are already raising a diSprOpOrti Onate
amount from internal revenue, which has
always been regarded as war resort. In
deed Jefferson took the ground that ex-
else should not be resorted to by the
FEDERAL government as sources of revenue
In time of peace and the Democratic
national convention maintained the same
doctrine in 1884. And, secondly, the fact
that by increasing customs duties on i'm
ported articles which we can or ought to
purposes, we can at the same time in
c1dentaliy encourage stricken industries
and materially aid in turning to our
favor the balance Of trade which has been
SO heavily against US all through this
calendar year and which has casued a de-
mand for gold for export which our treas
ury has been called upon to supply. For
SO long as the balance of trade is against
US on account of excessive imports, we
must export gold or, what is the same
thing, promises to pay gold to pay the
excess of imports over the exports.
Your committee have not undertaken
a general revision of the tariff on protec-
tion lines, as majority hope can be done
IN 1897 or 1898, not only because they
know that such tariff legislation would
stand no chance of becoming law, but
also because general tariff revision would
require many months, and the need is
more revenue at once. We believe, how
ever, that this need of more revenue is SO
great that simple measure increasing
all duties of the dutiable list, and taking
from the free list OF the present tariff a
few articles that were always on the
dutiable list until August 81, 1894, and
which have always been important
revenue producers, and limiting the
operation to such legislation to about
two years and a half, until the present
deficiency OF revenue is overcome, ought
to receive the approval even of those who
do not favor protective duties, on
patriotic grounds: and that the fact that
it may incidentally encourage the
production of many articles that we re-
qulre at home instead of abroad, will not
under the present circumstances. In
framing the bill submitted for your con-
sideration, it has been necessary if action
was to be taken promptly to resort to
considerable extent to a horizontal raise
of duties, for the reason that it would
have required months to deal with each
article separately. Horizontally dealing
with tariffs cannot be justified in ordi-
nary times, but in such an exigency as
exists SO serious that the President
felt it his duty to send US special mes
sage OF extreme urgency, and especially
for limited time, it is not only defen-
sible, but is the only alternative :"
The report then goes on to explain the
tariff bill in detail. 1t concludes with
urging, the passage of both bills and
insists that the Secretary of the Treasury
should always have authority to issue
bonds in times of emergency.
Mr.. Crisp explained that the minority
OF the committee had had on opportunity
to prepare their views no opposition to
the bill
Mr.. Henderson, Republican Of Iowa,
offered resolution from the committee
on rules providing for a vote on the
revenue bill just reported at five O'Clock
this afternoon. He stated that he SUM-
posed the gentleman understood that az
other bill from the committee Oh ways
and means would be reported tomorrow.
The bill to be discussed today, he said,
was in no sOnce general revision of the
tariff, but one to pI Divide revenue needed
at once. The House differed from the
President, probably. as to what was
necessary to be done to relieve the
country and the financial situation, but
the bill under discussion contained what
the House or a majority thereof, believed
to be necessary.
Mr. Crisp said members of the House
should not blipdly follow the dictates of
the rule, but vote upon it as they deem
to be best for the interests of the country.
The bill reported was general revision
OF the tariff, whatever might be said TO
the contrary, for it affected every
schedul 10 in the bill. The rule brought
in deprived the House OF the right to
consider the bill in committee of the
whole, as well as of the right to discuss
1t under the general rules of debate, and
the five minute rule, and also as to offers
to amend it, so that every constitutional
privilege of debate and consideration was
by the rule proposed by the
gentleman from Iowa. The resolution
was return to the rules of the 51st Con-
gress, about which SO much had been
said. He defied one to point to any rule
reported by any committee to any Iegis-
lative body which proposed general
traiff revision after four hours debate,
without the right TO propose a single
amendment. Every Republican member