The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1895-01-27

DECLARED TO Be NOT RETALIATORY.

cent per pound imposed by the tariff act
on sugars imported from bounty-paying
countries.
| Wilson, chairman of the Ways and
Means Committee, opened the debate with
long argument, in which he introduced
! all the correspondence between the Ger
man ambassador and the State Depart
ment on the subject, including matter not
hitherto published in which Germany ex-
pressly disavowed retaliation against the
! United States for the imposition of this
duty when she excluded our meat products.
| 1t is thought vote on the bill will be Sc
cured Thursday.
| The letter of October from the German
| ambassador is formal notification that
| Gin consequence of the introduction of
Texas fever by means of two shipments
from New York the importation of fresh
beef and cattle from the United States to
Germany will shortly be prohibited.
have to add that shipments made by the
| United States up to October % will be adj
mitted under compulsory slaughter at
landing" The ambassador states and
concludes: 81 reserve for later commu-
nication to your Excellency the particulars
| of these cases"
The ambassador in letter to the Secre-
tary of States dated October 81 says:
'That which l had the honor to express
on several occasions to your Excellency as
my personal opinion is now officially con-
frmed by instructions which I have re-
ceived from Berlin. The imperial Govern
ment, when it decreed the prohibition of
cattle, far from intending it as a retalia-
| ton, was merely prompted by veterinary
| considerations.
! "By expert authority the existence of
| cases of sickness was established in two
separate cargoes which were recognized
with absolute certainty as Texas fever, and
| only thereupon was the prohibition of i'm
portation issued. There remained no doubt
that in Germany one must have recourse
! to protection against this dangerous
| disease, which had heretofore made its APP
! pearance among cattle there, and a resort
to prohibitory measures was compulsory
Notwithstanding the immediate existing
danger all shipments from the United
States made up to the Goth of October were
admitted out of special considerations
under which compulsory slaughter is made
on landing"
lated the favored nation clause less when
she gave an export bounty to protect her
sugar than we did when we placed an addi-
tional duty on sugar to protect ours was
discussed.
Wilson said that he wonld come to that
and proceeded to state that although Ger
many and Austria Hungary were not
named in the sugar schedule of the tariff
act, that fact did not relieve the situation.
The simple language of our treaties with
those countries guaranteed to them adj
mission to our markets on as favorable
terms as any other country, unless the
other countries gave the United States an
advantage through reciprocal benefits.
Reed called Wilson'S attention to
the obiter dictum of the Attorney-Gen-
eral, whose Interpretation of the favored
nation clause was that an export bounty
provision could be compensated for by an
import duty without its violation.
Wilson, in reply, contended the Attor-
ney-General's decision on the salt duty
held that the removal of the duty as
against certain countries was not gratu-
ity, but favor granted for reciprocal ben
efits. That was the best Interpretation of
the favored nation clause.
In reply to Dalzell, he took issue with
Senator West, who was quoted as saving
the opinions of the Secretary of State and
Acknowledgement on this subject were op-
posed to each other. Wilson said the
sugar trust was benefited by the one-tenth
discrimination, and that no other class.
including the Louisiana planters, reaped
any benefit.
Wilson then branched off into a discus
sion of the question of the Governments
revenue, laying down the proposition that
the treasury did not need additional rev.
enue.
81 would like to dispel from the minds
of the American people," said he, "the
common and prevalent idea that the treas
ury is in distress from lack of revenue"
This statement was received with ieers
on the Republican side, but Wilson waved
it off deprecatingly, declaring that so far
as the revenues were concerned, the treas
ury was in no danger of default He again
expressed the opinion in which he said he
had never wavered, that the tariff bill, as it
originally passed the House, with the in
come tax provision and with no duty on
sugar, would under normal conditions have
supplied enough revenue.
Instead of bankruptcy staring us in the
face" said he, amid bowls of Republican
derision, 1--WE are moving steadily and per-
sistently toward a surplus"
Dingley (R.) of Maine and Hopkins (R.
of Illinois closed in with Wilson at this
point, challenging his figures. The former
called Wilson's attention to the fact that
this month alone the deficiency was SIS, O0o,-
600, and Hopkins stated that no pension
payments had been made this month.
Wilson repudiated these figures.
Hopkins called Wilson's attention to
the fact that the deficiency since the tariff
act had gone into operation had been each
month from SIS, ZOO, 600 to $13, 100000.
Wilson contented himself with the state
ment that Mr.. Carlisle's report explained
this. The present trouble with the treas |
ury, he said, was not lack of revenue, but
the depletion of the gold reserve.
Blair of New Hampshire asked Wilson
to state without equiyocation whether. in
view of the letter read in the House TODAY.
he believed Germany was retaliating on |