The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1897-03-31
ENTER A PROTEST.
Minority Report on the Dingley
Tariff Measure.
The Pending Measure Is strongly De-
nounced as being Solely I'm the
Interests of the Corpora
tiOns and Trusts.

Washington. March 23.-The views of
the minority of the committee on ways
and means upon the tariff bill were pre-
scented to the house Monday evening by
Representative Bailey (dem., Tex.) the
leader of the democracy. 1t read as
follows:
This bill was framed with the avowed
| purpose or protecting the manufacturers
| or the United States against foreign COM
petition. and II Is perfectly obvious that IL
IL accomplishes that purpose II must result
| In compelling the consumers OF this coun-
| try to pay more for their manufactured
| goods. and for this reason we think II
| should not pass We rest our opposition
| upon the broad principle that congress was
| invested with the power OF taxation as a
| means OF collecting from each citizen his
fair proportion toward the support of the
| government, and that IL IL a gross perver-
! sion OF that sovereign power to employ II as
means of enabling favored classes to
| levy unjust charges upon the great body OF
| the people.
IF government has a right TO levy taxes
upon the people for the purpose OF in
ducing men to establish Improbable in
dustries, or industries which can only be
made profitable by compelling the con-
sumers OF the United States to pay exorbi-
tant prices for their products, then the
bounty system Is a more direct and less
complex way of attaining that end. and al
simplicity.
1T follows a matter OF course that p
Dill based upon vicious principle must
be injurious In its effects, and perhaps no
erect could be more pernicious than the
extravaganza which the bill encourages.
The tabulated statement embraced In the
committee report shows that the bill is eX-
pected to raise $ll3,000.0 900 more revenue
than was collected in customs during the
last hscal year; and yet, as is shown by
the same report. the difference between the
government receipts ard disbursements
during that year was only $25, 00O. 1t Is
well known that the importations Of last
year were smaller than usual, owing to the
general depression that existed in all cir
cles; but even supposing that importations
hereafter can be kept at a level with the
importations OF 1886, the bill will collect
from the people more than 9O,UUU,u U0 an
nually above the requirements or our pres
ent extravaganza anu wasteIui approprla-
tons.
IF the system of unnecessary taxation
is indefenslole because or the extravaganza
which IL encourages, ii is still more so on
account OF the trusts which IL fosters and
promotes. 1t is not more certain that pro-
lection encourages extravaganza than IL is
that 1t breeds unlawful combinations OF
capital. Indeed. protection is justified upon
the avowed theory that competition should
be restricted. True enough, il assumes the
patriotic pretense that foreign competition
ought not TO be permitted against our
nOIe lney Uttle understand
the selhshness or human nature, and es-
pecialiy they little understand the selfish
hess OF that human nature which relies
upon the favoritism of the law to increase
Its fortune. who suppose that these men.
having secured themselves against for
eigE competition by the favor OF congress,
will fail to secure themselves against do
mestic competition by voluntary combina-
uons among themselves.
1t is an old adage, and 1t is as true as II
la oil. fhnf a sae
and whatever tends TO restrict competition
must tend TO restrict trade. The majority
OF the committee seem TO think IL an easy
matter for TO build tariff wall about
our borders and thus prevent the foreign
ers from trading with us, but they forget
that the same wall which shuts the for
eigner out shuts US in. and that regula-
lations to prevent the foreigner from trad
ing with uS must at the same time prevent
US trading with the foreigner. We be-
leve in the principles of competition, and
we believe the people of the United States
can successfully compete against all other
people of the world; and we denounce as
a crime against the best interests of our
people any law which leaves the consumers
OF this land subject to the exactions of
reckless and corrupt combinations formed
10 destroy competition and control prices
I'VE are unable to offer a substitute for
the pending bill. because we have not been
allowed a reasonable time to prepare one.
Congress convened In extraordinary ses-
sion on Monday. the 18th day of March, and
this bill was introduced the same day and
referred TO the committee on ways and
means. which met the next morning, and on
Thursday II was ordered to be reported TO
the house. The majority of the committee
had spent the three months of the last ses-
sion OF the last congress in the preparation
OF their BILL and yet they refused to allow
the minority three weeks in which to pre-
pare a substitute. We are unwilling to
propose a measure that has not been care
fully matured, and we must therefore con-
tent ourselves with protesting against the
passage OF the committees bill"