The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-12-25
REPUBLICAN LEGIsLA-
TION.

If the information obtained by the
associated press dispatch may be re-
lied upon in regard to the tariff and
financial legislation to be introduced
by the Republicans in the House the
latter part of this week. we may see
the novel spectacle of a Republican
House of Representatives passing a
tariff bill drawn on lines that would
make it a tariff for revenue measure.
instead of a protective tariff for pro-
tection's sake. True it is to be tenn
porary measure. a law that shall go
out of force on the first Of August, 1898.
But even temporary tariff law enact
ed by Republicans admitted to be
mainly for revenue and not protection
is ore of the surprises even in these
stirring days that is truly the least
expected.
The main features of the bill. &C
cording to the press reports are: A
duty on wool of so per cent of the Nc
Kinley law rate. A compensatory duty
on wooden goods of 60 per cent. of the
Mckinley act rates. a duty of 60 per
cent of the rate of 1890 on leather.
which VIII be from 10 to Is per cent.
ad Valorem. We are again to see
SOD thrown to the farmer by an in
crease of % per cent. over the duties
fixed in the Wilson bill on cereal bread
stuffs. dairy products and all live stock
including poultry; and then a horizon
tai increase of 10 per cent. over the
rate fixed in the Wilson bill on all
other schedules. except that the duty
shall not exceed the Mckinley duties
only where the Wilson bill rates exceed
the rates of the Mckinley law.
The financial proposition is to au-
thorize the issue of an unlimited
amount of per cent. five year coin
bonds to protect the gold reserve. with
a provision that the currency redeem
ed by the proceeds of the said bonds
shall not again be issued unless the
expenses of the government are in ex-
cess of the revenues. In the second
place the bill is to provide one year
per cent. treasury certificates of in
debtedness not to exceed fifty millions
in amount and to be disposed of by the
secretary at his discretion.
we predict for such patchwork leg
islation an endless amount of diff
Guilty even in its passage through the
House, and it's final defeat The finacr
ciai bill was doubtless conceived in
the hope that it would so far be in
line with recommendations of the adj
ministration for preserving the gold
reserve that he might look with favor
upon the tariff bill part of the Repub-
lican scheme. But as MIR. Cleveland
and Secretary Carlisle are of opin-
ion that there is no need of increasing
taxation to meet the current expenses
of the government, that they have a
surplus assured sufficient to meet all
possible deficits that can arise, and that
under normal conditions the present
tariff law by the end of the fiscal year
1867 will yield more than enough to
meet the expenses and create a surplus
OF seven millions-the President is not
likely TO sign this proposed bill which
is neither legislative fish, flesh or fowl
Nor do we believe he will accent the
financial bill as SUFFICIENT to meet tho
difficulties connected with the gold
reserve
There is nothing brave or manly in
the proposal of such a measure. If is
evidently the work of the politicians
trimming up the sails of the Republi-
can party for the coming presidential
election campaign.