The Portland daily press., 1897-05-12

Ooidy III TassaSe OF Bill Will Null1fy
Its Effect During irst Year.
Washington, May 1.-THE first state
ment which Chairma Dingley of the
ways and means committee, whose name
is borne by the new tariff bill, has con-
sented to make regarding the bill since it
was amended by the Senate finance com
mittee, was made by him today to the
Associated Press.
Mr. D1ngley was requested to give some
statement as to the probable additional
revenue that would be yielded the first
year by the tariff bill, as well as by the
House, and be spoke as follows:
''1t must be borne in mind that there
is no Senate bill as yet. What is improp-
erly spoken of as the Senate bill is the
House bill, reported by the Senate BY
the. finance committee, with certain
amendments recommended What the
Senate bill will be when the body shall
have made it, no one can as yet say.
1'While the amendments of the House
bill, recommended by the Senate finance
committee (about 7OO), appear to be null
titudinous, yet about 200 of them are main
ly verbal-such as amending the spelling
of 'asbetus' by substituting 20 for u,
leaving about 500 which change rates.
This is about the number of amendments
to the Mckinley bill adopted by the Sen
ate in 1890, and of the remaining 500, a
large proportion involve nothing in con-
sequence. There are, however, many
HRT,,nT iah ~
only on revenue, but other grounds. / do
not propose now to speak of these pro-
posed amendments except as they effect
revenue.
''The effect of these amendments as a
whole, outside Of the amendment impos-
ing duty on tea for two years and a
half, and the amendment increasing the
internal revenue on beer AZ cents per
barrel for the same period, and the in
crease proposed on tobacco and cigarettes,
is to produce less revenue than would
be yielded by the House. For example
the amendments relating to the free list
certain acids and oils, painting and stat
uary for private use and reducing the du-
ties on liquors, tobacco, precious stones,
etc., lose more revenue than could be OBJ
tanned by the duty on tea.
"The amendments reducing the duty
on clothing wool and increasing the
duty on carpet wool would also diminish
the revenue. The amendment increas-
ing the duty on opium from Sc to So per
po und would not increase the revenue in
the Judgment of the administrators of
the law, who informed the ways and
means committee that $6 was the point
which would yield the largest revenue.
The proposed duty on hides and few
other amendments would increase the
revenue somewhat.
"Of course the estimate of an in
creased revenue from sugar through an
abrogation of the treaty with Hawaii,
has nothing to do with the tariff legisla-
ton, for this could be done as well by ac-
cepting the House sugar schedule as the
sugar schedule proposed. The ways
and means committee did not even con-
slider the question of abrogating this
treaty, because they took it for granted
that if it was considered desirable to
abrogate this or any other treaty it would
be done in the straight forward manner
provided by the treaty itself. The fact
that the Senate finance committee recon-
mend an advalorem duty on sugar appar-
entity little higher than the specific duty
of the House bill, does not insure larger
revenue, as past experience with ad valo-
rem duties has shown. In our Judgment
the revenue from sugar under the House
sugar schedule (setting aside the question
of abrogating the Hawaiian treaty. would
be larger than under the Senate amend
ments.