The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-03-18
WILSON ON THE BILL
Ex-Postmaster General Re
views Dipgley's Measure.
1T is GLASS TAXATION
THE REMEDY APPLIED AT ALL
TIMES BY PROTECTIONISTS.f
ALL FOR PRIVATE POCKETS

ALL FOX PRiVR l. PUNE
SAYS Harrison's Administration Would
Have Formed a Deficiency, But
For Trust Fund--A Bon
ANA Por the Trusts.
New York Herald)
Washington. ID. c., March 15.-To the
Editor of the Herald: On the 9th of Dc
tober. 1890. when the Treasury state
ment showed a surplus revenue for the
fiscal year ending June 80 of 100000
a tariff bill went into operation under the
title, "A Bill to Reduce the Revenue and
Equalize Duties on Imports nd for Other
purposes" In January, 1897, when
statement for the fiscal year ending
June 80, 1896, shows a deficiency in
revenue for over S25,000,000, certain to
be very much greater for the current
year, a tariff bill is introduced under the
title, "A Bill to Provide Revenue for the
Government and to Encourage the Indus
ties of the United States"
These bills are so nearly identical IN
general structure and particular items.
eACeHIiuS do w SuSdl oNliNduic$ tAue
it may be we'll to consider the effect of
the first bill on the revenue of the coun-
try. Both bills are vast and voluminous
schemes of class taxation, the production
of public revenue being an incident and
entirely suborG nate to the purpose of
taxing all the American people for the
benfit of a small part of the people.
PROTECTUONISTS' ONE REMEDY.
The protectionist has but one remedy
which he applies whether the revenue be
redundant or deficient. If times are
prosperous and more money than is need
ed pours into the Treasury he increases
taxes by scheme that turns the larger
part Of their avails into private pockets.
and this reduces public revenue. If times
are depressed and less money than is
needed pours into the Treasury he seizes
the pretext of increasing public revenues
by adding enormously to the amount of
private exaction. Any tax that passes
directly and is controlled by some fayorite
interest from the taxpayer to the govern
ment lis an abomination which he viii
never permit if he can help it to remain
upon the statute book.
The act of 1890 whatever its other eff
u
surplus is swept us headlong to Il def
cheney, although it weighted the people
with heavier taxes, and although another
law, passed in July, 1890. turned into
The Treasury as part of the general as
sets to be used for paying expenditures.
Il trust fund of more than S54 100000
which belonged to the national banks
and had always been held for the redemp-
a., tion of their notes.
ADDED TO THE BALANCE.
Even before the Harrison adminstra-
ton ended we should have been confront
ed with a large deficiency, but for the use
Of the trust fund and the further fact
that Secretary Foster, by Il change of
bookkeeping, added to the Treasury
balance $2O,OOOOO0 of token and subsid-
larry coin, not before treated as Treas
airy asset. With these extraordinary
additions, even, we wound up the fiscal
year, June 80, 1893, with a surplus OF
only S2.341 GA as against surplus for
the fiscal year, June 30. 1890, of over
SS5,000,000 before the above trust fand
and subsidiary coin We're touched. and
during the fiscal year ended June 80,
1894, through all of which the Mckinley
bill was in force, expenditures exceeded.
the revenues to the amount of 50, S03, 26O.
notwithstanding the fact that the ex-
penditures of the government were So
952, GA less than in the preceding year.
This statement shows how grOundleSs
and absurd is the claim constantly made
by the protectionists that recent deficits
in revenues are due to the substitution
of the existing tariff for the Mckinley
bill. Nothing is more certain than that
if the bill had been in force during the
last three years the annual deficit would
have been immensely swollen, while the
people in a season of depression and hard
times would have staggered under much
heavier burdens of taxation. Even in
this disastrous period customs duties I'M
der the existing law have increased from
less than $132.00,000, in 1894, the last
year of the Mckinley bill. to even S152,-
100000 in 1895 and over S160,000,000 i'll
1896. In the sugar schedule alone the
balance in favor of the existing
law is about S55,O00,000. The
Customs revenue reached near
ly $40,0O0,O00 scarcely any of
which would have been receivable under
the Mckinley bill, and under that bill
we would have been paying S15,OOO,0O0
in bonds.
Z NEED NO NEW TAXES.
With the accumulated moneys in the
Treasury we really need no new imposi-
ton Of taxes ON the people to conduct us
to sufficient revenue or even a comfort
able surplus if we will only invite back
prosperity by giving stability to business
and reduce expenditures by few obvious
reforms. In the Postoffce Department
alone saving of from ten to twenty
millions annually can be made by few
simple improvements in the business or
ganization Of the department and with
drawal of facilities which the postal SER
vice was never intended to provide and
which force it to do two-thirds of its
work for less than one-thirtieth of its in
come.
But if it be deemed necessary to in
crease the customs income of the govern
ment by new sources of revenue, a small
duty on tea, coffee, spices and crude
opium will accomplish that result easily