The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1896-11-18
THE OINGLEY BILL

! ! III glNGLEY BILL
\ NJ aa3ura That May Be Passed at the
Coming Session.
An absorbing topic of speculation
among politicians at this time, says
the Washington Star, is whether the
''Dingley bill of last session is likely
to be passed at the coming session Of
Congress. as a preliminary step in the
march TO ward a 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 dur
ing the usual holiday recess. The
Senate committee on finance, in the
following February, reported the
Dingley bill to the Senate with the
tariff feature stricken out and free
coinage of silver clause inserted in
lieu, together with paragraph re-
deeming and cancelIing ali national
bank notes Of a denomination less than
$40. and providing for the redemption
Of United States notes in silver dollars
and the reissue oftbe notes.
The Senate did not pass the bill.
The provisions of the Dingley bill
was explained in the following ex-
tract from the report to the House
which accompanied the bill:
Your committee have not under
taken a general revision of the tariff
on protection lines, as majority hope
can be done IL 1SS7-9S, not only be-
cause they know that such tariff legis-
lation would stand no chance of be-
coming law, but also because general
tariff revision would require many
months; and the need is more revenue
at once. We believe, however, that
this need of more revenue is so great
that a simple measure increasing all
duties of the dutiable list, and taking
from the free list of the present tariff a
few articles that were always on the
dutiable list until August27, 1894, and
which have always been important
revenue producers, and limiting the
operation of such legislation to about
two years and half-until the pres
ent deficiency of revenue is overcome
ought to receive the approval even
OF those who do not favor protective
duties on patriotic grounds; and that
the fact that it may incidentally en-
courage the production of many artl
cles that we require at home instead OF
abroad will not be regarded as a
ground of opposition under present
circumstances.
''In framing the bill submitted for
your consideration it has been neces-
sary, if action was to be taken prompt
ly, to resort to a considerable extent to
a horizontal raise of duties, for the
reason that it would have required
months to deal with each article sep
arately. Horizontal dealing with tar
ifs cannot be justified in ordinary
times, but in such an exigency as ex-
lists now-so serious that the President
felt it his duty to send US a special
message Of extreme urgency-and es
pecially for a limited time, it is not
only defensible, but is the only alter
native.
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 ad-
dition of less than s per cent to the
average ad valorem rate, giving about
ST., 900, 900 revcnuo from that source,
yet uc.v than S25, 100000 Of the $40,
coo, GOO which it is estimated this bill
would add to our annual revenue will
come mainly from wool, which is TAX
en- from the free list and given mod
crate duty, and from manufacturers
of wool, which are given compensa-
tory duty equivalent to the duty on
wool, which IS always necessary when
duty is placed on wool, in order to
give the wool grower the benefit and
make it possible to manufacture wool
ems at home.
1.-The bill reported by your commit
tee proposes to make the duty on i'm
ported clothing wool 80 per cent. Of
the duty imposed by the Act of 1890,
which would give an equivalent of six
and six.tenths of cent ger pound on
| unwashed wool, orabout 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 a measure of what might
be done when all branches OF the
government are in harmony with the
majority of the House on protection
lines. The duty on manufactures OF
wool is increased by a specific duty
equivalent to the duty on wool.
The duty on carpet woods is lett at
the 80 per cent. ad valorem, where 1t
was placed IN 1890. This is a purely
revenue duty, as we raise very few
carpet woods.
Such lumber as was placed on the
free list by the Act 1880, without the
slightest Justification, is restored to
the dutiabIe list, but, with duty Of on
ly 60 per cent, of the duties provided
by the Act Of 1S90-giving an equiva-
lent Of only about Is per cent. Such
reduction from the low rates of 1890
is justified only on the ground that
the object of your committee has been
to frame q bill mainly on revenue
grounds, in the hope that it would Sc
cure the approval of those in official
places whose cooperation is essential
to legislation, and who may be sup
posed to feel that in such an exigency
as now exists the public necessity
must control.
Believing that such an increase OF
revenue as is now proposed is essential
as first step in the restoration Of con-
fidence and the restoration of the
Treasury toa sound condition and that
other legislation to be proposed to this
end cannot be effective without ad-
equate revenue 10 meet the eXpendl-
lures of the government, your com