Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1897-03-30
.ENTER A PROTEST.
Minority Report on the D:agley
Tariff Measure. z
The Pending Measure Is Strongly De-
nounced% as Being Solely in the
Interests of the Corpora
lions and Trusts.

washing Ton. MaTcQ G0.-1n ne 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 OF protecting the manufacturers
OF the United States against foreign COM
petition. and 1t Is perfectly obvious that If
1t accomplishes that purpose it must result
in compelling the consumers of this coun-
try to pay more for their manufactured
goods. and for this reason we think it
should not pass. We rest our opposition
upon the broad principle that congress was
means or collecting from each citizen his
1alr proportion toward the support of the
government, and that it Is gross perver-
sion OF that sovereign power to employ it as
means of enabling favored classes to
levy unjust charges upon the great body Of
the people,
III government has right to levy taxes
upon the people for the purpose Of in
oucing men to establish Improbable in
oustries, or industries which can only be
maze prontaDle 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 at
least has the advantage Of directness and
simplicity.
OIL based upon vicious principle must
be injurious in it's effects, and perha ps no
erect could be more pernicious than the
extravaganza which the bill encourages
Inc tabuIated statement embraced in the
committee report shows that the bill is ex-
pected to raise S113.O00,0 600 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 and disbursements
during that year was only SIS, OOO, 900. 1t is
we'll known that the importations Of las,
year were smaller than usual. owing to the
general depression that existed in all cir
cles: but even supposing that importation
hereafter can be kept at a level with the
tmportations Of 1886, the bill will collect
from the people more than $90,0UV,CU0 an
nually above the requirements OF our pres
ent extravagant ana waslelu4 appropr4a-
tons.
If the system Of unnecessary taxation
Is indefensible because of the extravaganza
which it encourages, 1t is still more so on
account or the trusts which it fosters and
promotes. 1t Is not more certain that pro-
lection encourages extravaganza than it is
that 1t breeds unlawful combinations of
capital. Indeed, protection is justified upon
the avowed theory that competition should
be restricted. True enough, it assumes the
patriotic pretense that foreign competition
hume industries: but they little understand
the selishness Of human nature. and es-
pectally 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
eign competition by the favor of congress.
will fail to secure themselves against do
mest1c competition by voluntary combina-
tons among themselves
1t Is an old adage, and it is as true as It
is old, that competition is the life Of trade
and whatever tends to restrict competition
must tend to restrict trade. The majority
Of the committee seem to think it an easy
matter for US to build a 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-
lieve 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
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 com bina tons formed
to destroy competition and control prices
I've are unable to offer a substitute for
the pending bill, because we have not been
allowed 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 it 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 commuters bill"