The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1897-03-23


| been selected to reply to Mr.. Dingley.
but at the last moment 1t was learned
that Mr. Mcmillan had been unable to
/ prepare himself owing to the illness
! Of his wife. The task, therefore. de-
volved on Mr.. Wheeler. The latter
was unprepared, but nevertheless kept
the floor for an hour. Mr. Bell, of Col
orado, blazed the path for the Popu-
I lists. Mr. Hopkins, Of Illinois, a meme
/ Der of the ways and means committee.
also spoke.
At the night session of the house
Mr.. Bailey, of Texas, presented the
minority report on the tariff bill. The
report is signed by all the Democratic
members of the ways and means com
mittee, and gives the grounds of their
opposition to the bill. The report is in
part as follows:
This bin was framed with the avow-
ed purpose of protecting the manufac-
turers of the United States against
foreign competition, and it is perfectly
obvious that if it acoomplishes that
purpose It must result in compelling
the consumers of this country 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
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
It is a gross perversion Of that sover-
elgn power 70 employ It 40 a means
Of enabling favored classes to levy un,
just charges upon the great body of
the people We believe that if contrib
uting his proper share toward the
maintenance Of this government, every
citizen of this republic is entitled to
the full possession and enjoyment of
all he can honestly earn, and we deny
the right of congress to make or en-
force any regulation which REQUIRES
one man to give any part of his honest
earnings toward encouraging the en-
terprise or increasing the fortune of
another.
No man, however blind he may be.
would defend a system of taxation un-
der which the government first coll
lected the money and afterwards dis
tributed 1t among its favorites. 1t is
true that the tariff act of 1890 ven
tured to this extent In dealing with the
sugar growers but the disapprovai
Of that policy was so overwhelming
and so bitter that the advocates Of
protection have been forced to abandon
1t, and they have not dared to incor-
porate any provision for a direct
bounty in the present bill.
I'VE are unable, however. to per.
ceive any difference In principle be-
tween law which requires the govern
ment TO collect money and distribute if
among the protected industries and a
law which enables these industries ia
collect the money directly from the
people. If the government has the
right to levy taxes upon the people
for the purpose Of Inducing men to es-
tahlish Improbable Industries or In.
dustries which can only be made profit
able by compelling the consumers of
the United states to pay exorbitant
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 direct
pess and simplicity.
'The majority of the committee seeu
TO think that taxation can he made "a
blessing and that the support Of tbQ
government, instead Of being a burden
upon taxpayers. can be made to en-
rich them. If this opinion is wen
founded, then all the struggles for
freedom which have revolyed around
the question Of taxation have proceed
ed upon a false theory, and the Amer
lean colonists, when they determined
that they would not submit to taxa
ton without representation, INDUCED
in mistaken zeal for liberty The pa
triotic resolve Of our forefathers not