New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-06-01
THE WILSON LAW At ITS BEST.
YET IT ROLLS UP DEFICIT OF NEARLY
$4,000 900 IN NINE MONTHS.
AND DURING THAT PERIOD 1T HAS HAD MORE
THAN FAIR sHowA STARTLING
CONTRAST WITH THE WORKINGS


CONTRAST WITH THE WORKINGS
OF THE MKINIEY TARIFF
rpy TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIBUNE1
Washington May 3l.--The first nine months
operation Of the Wilson Tariff law ended to-day
The law he's now passed through the two busy
periods OF the season. the spring imporiatons
and the fall importations. 1t has also had the
advantage OF the excessive importations natural
TO the opening weeks OF It's existence. ard to the
opening weeks OF the operations OF the woollen
schedule. Naturally every importer held back
his foreign goods until the new law should go
into effect so as TO get the benefit OF the re-
auctions The result Is that the law In its first
nine months has had more than fair show; us
operations have been in excess OF the normal
Yet the nine months result is a deficit OF So6,-
7I3sso against a surplus Of sl6,L2. 564. which the
much berated Mckinley law produced In the hrst
nine months OF Its operations. The deficiency IN
the month ending to-day was s2.6s6,9O4; that OF
last month was $s.b42s40; those OF preceding
months ranging from les than sl.00O0oo up TO
over sis 900 900 But 1t has always been dehcit
I'm not a single month since the new law went
into effect has Il shown balance on the right
eide OF the ledger at the end OF the month. Sec
rotary Carlisles misleading and reckless state
ments regarding tho Mckinley law and its reia-
tlon to the present condition OF the treasury
seem 10 have started up large crop OF initators
who are now boldly charging that the MCKINNEY
law failed to produce sufficient FUNDS 70 meet tue
expenses OF the Government ana piungeu '"e
Treasury into bankruptcy. or course 'nose VIII
understand the facts know that this - merely
atop thief" cry. Intended to divert Afternoon
from, tho shortcomings OF the Wilson law. But
II is perhaps worth while TO Indicate just ""a'
the Official figures OF the Treasury Department.
nublished under the direction OF the Democratic
Chief OF the Bureau of Statistics. show regarding
the operations Of the Mckinley law.
The Mckinley law went into effect on Oc'oner
1890 on August T. 1893. a Democratic Coh-
cress met at call OF Democratic Presiden' LUZ
the purpose Of destroying that law and giving
'free-trade" tariff rate. according 10 the PROMISE
OF the Democratic platform. whether IL ala 30 VI
not ir not the question pertinent TO this discus
s,on--,he peopie expected that it would do So
and shaped their course 20 that end by stopping
,,. ,mnortat,on OF dutiabe goods as far as pos
sible with the intention OF waiting Tor lower
duties. Prior to the meeti,-, Of that Congress
the Importation OF dutiable goods had averaged
during the entire term OF the Mckinley law
Ss4O.ilS7 In value a month The very month
following the meeting OF Congress the dntaoie
,mnortations fell off one-third. or from s3i.ssO,-
o97 IN July 1885, t. 500 SO7 436 In September. 1879
The total importations OF dutiable goods from the
meeting OF the Democratic Congress until the
new law went into effect were only an average
OF So so2 1853 a month. against an average OF VA
O4l. 1877 a month under the same law prior 10 the
meeting OF that Congress. Thus II Is apparent
that the normal operations OF the Mckinney .aw
we're during the period between It's enactment
and the meeting OF the Congress elected 10 de-
stroy IL. or In other words. between OCTOBER l.
1900 and August T. 1898. Nobody will have the
har,lihood 10 assume that a law can be fairiy
Judged by its operations during the very months
when its enemies were planning It's suppression.
That their attacks on II did cause an enormous
falling OF In the income from II Is SHOWN py inc
fact that the importation or dutaole sooas
dropped 80 per cent the moment CONGRESS ne'.
and 10 continued from that time until the law
wa. dead so. to get at what the Mckinney Jaw
did during It's normal operations ana what ~
would have continued TO do II let alone ana nor
threatened with destruction. one must CONSIDER
only the period from It's enactment 10 the da'e
nj which It's destruction began. Here are inc
actual figures showing the receipts ana expedi-
,ures month by month during the normal opera
lions Of the law the period in which II was
being destroy ed. and the normal operations OF It's
successor the Wilson law:
NORMAL. PERIOD MKINLEy LAw-MoNrHLf SUR