Evening star., 1896-11-09
THE DINGLEY BILL
A Measure That May Be Passed the
Coming Session.
IT'S PROVISIONS BRIEFLY EXPLAINED
1t Increases All Duties on the Du-
table List.
A HORI IZONTAL RAIS E

An absorbing topic of speculation among
politicians at this time is whether the
"Dingley bill' of last session is likely to be
passed at the coming session Of Congress.
as preliminary step in the march toward
| general revision of the tariff at a possible
extra session of Congress
The Dingley bill was passed by the House
the day after last Christmas, the House
remaining in session during the usual holi-
day recess. The Senate committee on
| finance. In the following February. reported
the Dingley bill to the Senate with the
tariff feature stricken out and a free coin
age OF silver clause inserted In lieu, to-
gether with a paragraph redeemng and
canceling all national bank notes of a de-
nomination less than so, and providing for
the redemption of United States notes in
silver dollars and the reissue of the notes.
The Senate did not pass the bill
PrOvisions OF the Bill.
The provisions of the Dingley bill are ex-
plafned in the following extract from the
report to the House which accompanied the
IN:
Your committee have not undertaken a
general revision Of the tariff on protection
lines. as majority hope can be done in
1897 -9s, rot only because they know that
such tariff legislation would stand no
chance OF becoming law. but also because
general tariff revision would require many
months: and the need is more revenue at
oIce. We believe, however, that this need
or more revenue is so great that a simple
measure increasing all duties of the duti-
| able LIST, and taking from the free list cf
the present tariff few articles that Were
always on the dutiable list until August ~
| 1894. and which have always been impor-
tant revenue producers. and limiting the
operation of such Legislation to about two
| years and half-until the present def
cheney of revenue is overcome-ought to re-
oeive the approval even of those who do
lot favor protective duties patriotic
grounds; and that the fact that il may in
cidentally encourage the production of
| many articles that require at nome in
stead of abroad will not be re garded as a
ground Of opposition under present circum-
stances
Horizontal Raise of Duties.
In framing the bill submitted for your
consideration it has been necessary, if
action was to be taken promptly, to resort
to a considerable extent to a horizontal
raise of duties. for the reason that it would
Rave required months to deal with each
article separately. Horizontal dealing with
tariffs cannot be justified in ordinary times,
but In such an exgency as exists now-so
serious that the President felt it his duty
To send us special message of extreme
urgency-and especially for limited time
1t is not only defensible, but is the only
alt ternative.
But while we have presented in the bill
reported horizontal increase of Is per
cent OF existing duties on all the schedules
but two, which is an addition of less than
per cent to the average ad valorem rate,
giving about $l5,V0o,G10 revenue from than
source, yet more than S25.OJo.OO of the
Sio.HO,OoO which it is estimated this bill
would sdd to our annual revenue will come
mainly from wool, which is taken from the
| free list and given a moderate duty and
nf
given a compensatory duty equivalent to
the duty on wool, which is always neces-
sary when duty is placed on wool, in Or
der to give the wool grower the benefit and
| make 1t possible to manufacture woolens
at home.
Wool and woolcns.
The bill reported by your committee pro-
poses to make the duty on imported cloth
ing wool 60 per cent of the duty imposed
| by the act of 1890. which would give an
| equivalent of six and six-tenths of a cent
per pound on unwashed wool, OF about 40
per cent ad valorem. This reduction from
the duty Of the act of 1890 has been made
because the restoration of the full duty in
that act might seem to be too great a
| change from the present law to those
whose cooperation it is necessary to secure
| in order to have any legislation, and not
as measure of what might be done " hen
| all branches of the government are in ha--
mony with the majority OF the House on
protection lines The duty on manufac-
lures VI WOOL Is Increased Dy Speclnc uuty
equivalent to the duty on wool.
THE duty on carpet woods s left at the
32 per cent ad valorem, where it was placed
| in 1890 This Is a purely revenIe duty. as
we raise very few carpet woois
On Lumber.
''Such lumber as was placed the free
| list by the act of 1890, without the slightest
justification, is restored to the dutiable list,
but with duty Of only 60 per cent of the
duties provided by the act of 1S90-giving
an equivalent of only about 15 per cent
Such a raductio from the low rates of
! 1890 is justified only on the ground that the
object of your committee has been to frame
bill mainly on revenue grounds, in the
| hope that it would secure the approval of
| those in official place whose cooperation
| is essential to legislation. and who may be
supposed to feel that in such an exigency
as now exists the public necessity must
control.
Believing that such an increase of rev.
enue as is now proposed is. essential as a
| first step in the restoration of confidence
and the restoration of the treasury to a
sound condition, and that other legislati ton
| to be proposed to this end cannot be effect
| i've without adequate revenue to meet the
expenditures of the government. your COM
mittee recommend the passage of the ac-
companying bill, to temporarily increase
revenue to meet the expenses of govern
ment and to provide against deficiency"