Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1897-01-12
Absurdities at the "Hearings.'
louisville Courier-JournaL)

LOUISVILLE OOufltI-JOuintil
AS has already been suggested, the
show that has been going on before the
Ways and Means Committee Is necessa-
rily very much of a farce To invite men
to come and tell what rates OF taxation
would cOnduce TO their own interests Oh
rectly and to those Of the country fndi-
rectly ignores the rule Of evidence that
little or no confidence Is TO be put In in
terested testimony. But the stuff unload
ed upon the committee Is not even testi-
mony. II is not sworn TO, and with a rev
executions IS designedly false or mis-
leading. This has been demonstrated with
reference to other hearings, and can be
demonstrated as 10 the present PERFORM
ance.
The absurdities however, which have
characterized the present series or hear
ings have been extraordinary, even when
compared with those that have preceded
IT, For the situation, IL must DC femem-
bered, has changed entirely. Dix years
ago when the first Reed Congress was
going gayly and heedlessly 10 destruc-
ton of which it had no premonition or
suspicion, IL was engaged on bill 10 re-
duce the revenue. 1t was working under
a platform which suggested that a gOod
way TO reduce the revenue was 20 MAKE
rates on competitive articles 50 high that
nobody could afford TO pay them. win
this. importations would stop, ana, or
course all the revenue from the sources
i'm question would stop This was lnteill-
when
nue. but il would have been absurd II the
object had been to increase It.
The reason assigned for preparing
tariff bin At this time Is that the revenue
Is deficient. 1t is so very deficient that a
snecial session must be called TO increase
the revenue But even a special session
Is not enough. The bill must be prepared
before the special session begins by
committee Of a Congress that Will be
dead when tho bill IS reported and when
Of and
Means will have ceased TO exist with
the Congress which created II. All TINS
il done because the committee are bound
TO get revenue at all hazards. Give us
plenty OF revenue, say the conin litles
will vanish like the dews of the morning.
What could be more utterly absurd
than a committee pretending 10 be ac-
tuated by these sentiments sitting Tor
weeks listening 10 men who know nothing
about revenue care nothing about reve-
nue., say nothing about revenue, but tell
the committee with tireless iteration that
the thing TO do Is TO impose prohibit0ry
duties that will yield rfo revenue at all.
Nothing will answer, say they. but 10
prohibit importations entirely. This is the
way they choose TO instruct the commit
tee how TO get revenue enough 10 cure all
our financial Ills. Compared with this the
humbugs practiced by the old Roman
augurs were commonplace. yet II Is re-
corded that one OF them could not look
another In the face without grinning. Had
the Romans finer sense OF humor than
ourselves?
The talks on wool showed the great va
riety OF interests that cluster around this
commodity and the articles made OF II.
The wool manufacturers were. as usual,
tearfully telling the committee that the
Wilson law had ruined them. They de-
liberately suppressed the Information that
IL Is their normal condition 20 be ruined.
A number of them during the campaign
OF lSSS stated that they would 20 cut or
business IL Cleveland was elected. Cleve-
land was not elected. but most OF these
political manufacturers made assign
ments the following year. rhey were living
under the high tariff OF 1888. but those
who did not fail continued 10 be on the
verge Of ruin until the Mckinley bill was
passed. After that everything was 10 BE-
lively again, but the bill had hardly gone
into effect before their lamentations be-
gun again over the large imports and the
general unsatisfactory state OF business
When the Wilson bill was passed they
expressed confidence that they were able
10 compete with foreigners, and they pro-
bably would have been had the tempo
rary revival OF business continued; out
when times became pad again. from
causes well known, they agreed 10 lay the
whole blame on the tarin.
Then the wool-growers submitted ns-