The evening times., 1896-12-21
PiifdIkfor0S
s; soM ". Ninth and La. Ave.


meet the future necessities Of the govern
nent For more than a century our iafifi
legislation has been designed, to a great
extent, at least, to accomplish opJects
other than the raising or revenue Tor pup
lie purposes. The protection OF capital IN
vested in our native industries and the
protection Of labor employed in the Uniied
states against the competition OF the
products OF foreign industries and foreign
labor. have been alleged as the paramount
objects in many cases, ana urged as Il
justification for the progressive increases
of tariff taxes and commercial restr'c-
tions, when revenue was not Heeded. or
when the rates imposed were made so hign
as to reduce the revenue. In other IN
stances revenue duties have teen aboIish-
cd in order that protective duties might he
retained or Increased. ard the necessities
Of the government and Just principles OF
taxation have been subordinated to the
demands Of specisl interests.
$50 long rs the income of the government
from customs and internal taxes eNcccdcd
its expenditures, the fact that protective
duties were destructive OF revenue, al
though clearly apparent to all VINO OBJ
served the practical operation OF the sys-
tenn, did not attract the attention OF the
rublc generally: but the situation mas been
materially changed since 1892, and here
after it will not be possible TO sacrifice reyc-
assing tire fiscal affairs OF the government
by deprving it of an income sufficient To
defray its necessary expenditures III the
usual proportion of this income Is hereafter
to be derived from taxes on imported goods,
r.e protective theory must be abandoned as
the basis Of our legislation upon the sub-
iect. and a well considered and consistent
reyeIiue system must be substituted in its
place: and, i'll MY opinion, this can he done
without aterial injury to any trade or IN
dustry now existing in tins country. Ihe
danger of a large foreign competition IN our
home market, and the alleged injurious ef-
rects of such Competition upon the interests
of domestic labor, have not only been
greatly exaggerated IN the past, but are
less now than at any time heretofore. and
must continue to grow less hereafter
The Secretary review : trade and indus
trial conditions and adds:
TRADE CONDITIONS.
"In conSiderin. the manufacturing and
mechanical induSt ries, for the. purpose or
a>certainnc to what extent they can be
subject to foreign competition. the follow
ing general propositions may, think, be
accepted a. the basis for Just Conclusions:
~. A large and continuous export OF
particular class of articles proves IN ability
10 manufacture as ctreaply as any foreign
competing nation.
"G Natural advantages, such as the
proximity or CheapneSs OF raw materials,
jnventiycDcss, special aptitudes, and fadl-
itics secured by an extensive use of superior
machinery, are sufficient in most cases to
exclude foreign competition.
"3. Many occupations, such as those OF
bakers ,blacksrnirfis. carpenters, masonsand
others. are. necessarily local; the work
must be done at particular place, and, con-
scquently, foreign competition lslnposslbie
- Theexpenseso esofimportation-thec
of transportation. insurance, loss OF IN
terest, etc.-pre event competition from
abroad in many kinds of manufacturing ana
mechanical products"
The Secretary at length treats of the
geographical bearing on our trade, and
says the failures of many OF our Industries
in the past have been attributed To insif-
ficient protection against competition from
abroad, when the real causes were unfav-
oraIe localities and lack of skill and cx-
perience on the part of their managers,
or oversupply of products by domestic es-
tablishments If this view Of the subject
is correct it is evident that new objects
of taxat.o must be included in our tariff
schedules, or the attempt TO secure the
usual proI ortion of revenue from customs
must be abandoned and some other m ethod
of raising means to support the government
must be adopted.
He concluded by saying:
when the true principles of taxation
are recognized and applied in our fiscal
legislation, there will be no difficulty
i'll securing an ample revenue for the sup
port of the government, in the exercise of
all its proper functions, without subjecting
our industries to injurious and unn ecessary
burdens, or our trade to injurious and un-
necessary restrictions. Although the
number of purely revenue articles has been
much diminished by the economic changes
that have taken place during the last few
years, such articles are still sufficient
in number, and they are and must continue
to be imported in such quantities as to
afford, under moderate rates Of duty,
all additions to the income Of the govern
ment that future exigencies may prove
to be necessary; and, no matter what may
be the preferences Of any part Of our peo-
pie upon the subject, the necessities Of
the situation demand the adoption Of a
system of taxation which will utilize these
resources"