San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-03-17
THE NEW TARIFF.

: means committee, as to the increased
revenues to be derived from the new
tariff bill now before congress ar,
SIP, 100000 advance over the reven
ues OF last fiscal year. 1t is not prob
able however, that these estimate:
will be found correct, as they are ne
Cessarily based upon calculations
made upon the importatiOns OF the
present low tariff. That there is go
ing to be a rapid falling off of imports
for some months Immediately succeed
ing the adoption of the new schedule
now on until that bill becomes law
| are going to be unusually large. This
| is already seen in the receipts of the
New York customs which are larger
than for any single day or week with
in the history of the country. Not
only so, but the schedules themselves
are liable to be scaled down in some
things, for there is going to be a de-
cided opposition in the Senate to some
Of the items agreed upon in the COM
mittee, and there will be not the same
disposition to approve the work in the
Senate that there is in the House.
Many of the friends of high protec-
tive tariff are of the opinion that some
Of the schedules are higher than there
is any need of in order to properly
protect the growers of raw material in
this country. Anything beyond this
will necessarily react upon the franz
ers and endorsers of the bill, for it
will necessarily raise the cost of sta
pie material beyond the price necessa-
~ to protect the American producer,
therefore advance the price of manu-
featured goods beyond their needs
and so burden the American cOnsum-
er. 1t is generally accepted among
Texas wool growers, for instance, that
n duty of 8 cents on the woods includ-
ed under the first class is ample to
protect the wool grower against the
free lands and cheaper labor of our
wool growing rivals. The schedule Of
the ways and means committee raises
that s cents to II and that additional
three cents must be put on the price
of our domestic manufactures in order
TO enable them to live. This of neces-
sity in turn comes out of the pocket
of the consumer of wooden goods and
is Just so much more, small as the fig
ure Is in the total, than is necessary. 1t is
likely that all Of these matters will be
considered in Congress and the chang
es made with all the wisdom that
body possesses with the facts at COM
mand. Any reduction in the scale of
duties proposed in the prestnt bill will
necessarily reduce the revenues that
are estimated upon that schedule.
Still, making all proper allowance,
there is reasonable ground to believe
that our protective tariff will add
nearly if not quite hundred millions
to the revenues of the nation without
any increase in direct taxation. An
increase of three-fourths of this
amount, with due regard to economy
in the expenditures Of the government
will enable us to pay the current ex-
penses of government and return to
our old Republican habit of paying
something of the old war debt every
year. This is necessary now that the
Democrats have added $262, 100000 to
the bonded debt Of the nation during
the last term of President Cleveland
With increased revenues, increased
activities in our home Industries, i'm
proved labor conditions, prosperity
will soon follow protective policies, as
it has always done since the days of
the early prOtectiOnists, Washington,
| and Jefferson, and Hamilton and the
| fathers Of our American system.