Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1895-12-20
by Command of the People. !"

"nlch show
Just What the Mckinley Bill Did In
the Way of Raising revenues and
promoting Our Foreign Trade.
washington despatch to the New
1ork tribune says: One of the most re-
luarkaole features of the Presidents mes
sage Is mat in which he disposes, in a sin
gle sentence, of the tariff question Inv
speaking of the Mckinley tariff law as one
whlch, while inefficient for the purposes
Oh revenue, curtailed our trade relations
ana lmpeded our entrance into the markets
OF the world" The most charitable CON
structlon that can be placed on this state
ment is that Mr.. Cleveland has accented
Ihe statements of careless subordinates or
designing politicians; for certainly It is
tne reverse of the facts as shown by the
oLnclal record prepared by the statistician
OF MS own treasury department. His
statement in the message is that "By com
mand OF the people customs revenue sys-
tenn, which, while inefficient for
the PURPOSE of revenue curtailed our trade
relations and impeded our entrance to the
markets of the world, has been superseded.
ETC."
This command of the people," to which
he refers, of course, means the election of
1877, which elected Mr.. Cleveland and the
ODD Congress. If it is to be assumed that
this command" was given for the purpose
of having the tariff law revised, it must al
so be assumed that the condition to which
he refers as proving the law inefficient
Tor the purpose of revenue" and "curtail-
ing our trade relations and impeding our
entrance to the markets of the world had
developed at that time. 1t may be inter-
estiDg to those who suppose that a presi-
dent ought to be reasonably accurate in the
statements of an official document, such as
a message to Congress, to see Just what
the facts were when this so-called "com-
mand of the people" was issued. 1t was
on November 6, 1892, that the election of
Mr.. Cleveland and the sd Congress oc-
CURED, and that this command" was is
sued. The Mckinley law had been in OPP
Grafton then just twenty-five months. If
the command was issued because the
tariff law then existing was inefficient for
purposes of revenue" and "curtailed our
trade relations and impeded our entrance
TO the markets of the world" these condi-
tions must have developed during the
twenty-five months in which it had been
tested up to the time that the command"
was given.
Mr.. Cleveland says, first, that the law
in question was inefficient for purposes
of revenue" An examination of the Off
cial records of the treasury department is
sued under a Democratic secretary shows
that in the twenty-five months between the
enactment of the Mckinley law and the
date at which the command was given,
the receipts under this "inefiicientn law
were $3.50, 395, 942, while the expenditures
were $72l, 220, POP, leaving the handsome
surplus of $3S, l75, 740 for the twenty-five
months. This is quite in contrast with
the workings of the law which was sub
stituted for T. and which has created
deficiency of S70 494, 044 in the first fifteen
months of its operations.
Now, as to whether it really "curtailed
our trade relations and impeded our en-
trance to the markets of the world" Dur
ing the twenty-five months in which the
law had been in operation when the "com
mand" was issued, the exports amounted
to $1,000, 449, 700, or an annual average of
1904, 1874, S46. The largest years eXporta-
tions in the entire history of the country
previous to that time were 1857, S2S, 1884,
and the exports under the new tariff law
in its fifteen months have averaged at the
rate of $40, 57S,052 year. So it will be
seen that, so far as "our entrance to the
markets of the world" is concerned, the
most successful period in the entire history
of the country, without an exception, was
the very two years in which the Mckinley
law had been in operation when the "com-
mand, so called, was issued.
In the matter of imports the same condi-
tions apply to the same period. The i'm
ports during the first twenty-five months
of the Mckinley law were 81, 733, 997, 100,
an average of 1892, 31S,644 a year, while
the highest years reports preceding that
had been but $3.50, $40, 400, and the aver
age imports under the new tariff law at the
rate of $770, 53S, 032. Thus it will be seen
that in the matter of both exports and i'm
ports the period covered by the Mckinley
law, prior to the date of the command"
was the most prosperous in the entire his
tory of the country down to the present
time, not emitting the period covered by
the Wilson law. Uniting the imports and
exports, the entire annual commerce of the
United States during the twenty-five
months of the Mckinley law was 81 ,796,
S54, 1854 per year, while the highest year
preceding that time was $l,647, 1870, 093,
and the average per year under the Wilson
law 81, 1856, I'll 500.
1u6 lOlOWluS bdDlCo onOW IhC WOlA Vi
the Mckinley law in the twenty-five months
of its existence prior to the issuance of the
command" compared with preceding and
succ eding years. 1t will be seen that not
only did the law produce sufficient revenue
for all needs and handsome surplus, but
that under it American commerce with the
world was the largest, both as to exports
and imports, in the history of the country
Receipts first twenty-five months
Mckinley law, s759,9O5 ,9i
Mckinley law, 7s1, eco 90
Surplus, Sas, 175 "a
~ law, w. " Ss7S, 796, ga
Wilson law, 444, 200, go
Deficiency, s7O,494,O i
| Average annual exports Mckinley
| law first twenty-five months), 1864 ,534, Si
| Highest years exports before Nc 49,.
| Kinley law, $50 SIS, 6S
Average annual exports Wilson law, Si6,i93,60
| Average years imports Mckinley -.
law first twenty five months, 1872 1904
i'S ley law ,'' O' - WV 7s9 ,a1O,4O
A' law aSS, '''''' '''' 49, ~ ' 77O57s,O5
ave- law aSV (fifst twenty-five mo9thsy 1,7O6s54s
| Highest years commerce before .,o =,
Mckinley law, l,641 ,l39O'
| Average years commerce under - -,
| Wilson law, ,5Sb, Ul Ut