Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-01-15
THE DIFFERENTIAL TAX
A Bill Recommending Its Repeal to Be
Reported to the House.
Measures Which in MR. Wilson's OpfA-
Ion Indicate a RetaliatOry Policy
ON the Part Of Germany.

The republicans have not yet decided
what their attitude will be toward the
Pre- position to repeal the dinerent1al tax
of one-tenth of a cent on sugar imported
from countries paying bounty to their
producers. The committee on ways and
means at their meeting today decided to
report favorably to the House the Wilson
bill to repeal this item of the new tariff
law. The discussion in the committee was
for the most part of a perfunctory char
acter. Mr.. Wilson and Mr.. Reed being the
Only members who had studied the ques-
ton, and the opposition which the republi-
cans made to reporting the bill was tenta-
tive.
Mr.. Reed was strongly of the opinion
that Secretary Gresham was wrong IN
his statement that this clause of the bill
was in violation of our treaty with Ger
many. He had little to say as to the ad-
Instability of abolishing this discrimina-
ticn, the republicans not having conferred
together. The general question of the in
jury to the trade of this country by the
repeal of the reciprocity clause of the
Mckinley law and the question Of the
combination of continental Europe to put
restrictions on our commerce were not gone
into in the discussion. This will be re-
served for debate on the floor if the bill
the republicans may not object to the re-
peal of the one-tenth per cent dinerential,
but will merely make 1t a text for q moral
lesson to statesmen who legislate without
knowing what they are doing.
MIR. Wilson's Position.
Chairman Wilson took the lead In adj
vocating the bill, urging the arguments
which have been advanced by Secretary
Gresham that the differential violates the
most favored nation clause in treaties
with Germany, Austria and certain other
foreign nations. 1.-The differential," said
Mr.. Wilson. puts money into the pockets
of the sugar trust at the expense Of our
cattle interests" He gave 1t as his opin-
ion and that of the administration that
there could be no shadow of doubt that the
exclusion of American meat from Ger
many on alleged sanitary grounds was in
spired by the sugar duty, and said that the
retsliatory measures against this duty had
already done great injury to American
commercial interests and that still more
sweeping acts of retaliation were threaten
ed by Austria and other countries. The
republicans opposed the bill.
Mr.. Reed had some sarcastic remarks to
make about the insufficiency of the revenue
provided by the new tariff, and said that 1t
would be folly to make changes which
might decrease the income of the govern
meut or the effect of which was uncertain.
Other republican members deplored what
they termed lack of Americanism in the
policy of the State Department. They ar
gued that the differential did not violate
treaties. and that a bad precedent would
be established by permitting foreign gov
ernments to force legislation by threats.
Mr.. Hopkins Of Illinois held that the export
bounties granted by Germany and her
neighhcIs so affected the sugar business
that an offset was necessary in our tariff.
No formal vote was taken. and the names
were not recorded