The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1897-07-28
The New Tariff Bill Signed.

The Senate passed the new tariff
bill on Saturday afternoon last a lit.
tie after 8 o'clock, and within an
hour later President Mckinley at.
taehed his signature to the bill.
Thus The work begun triae more
than four months ago, has been
brought to au eud, and the country
will not now be subject to the uncer.
tainties surrounding further discus.
sion of a measure 50 vital to all in.
terests of trade; not at least for some
time to come. OF the new measure
the Pittsburg Dispatch, bipartisan,
says editorially:
The record of that four months
work on the bill contains many
things that have provoked criticism.
Some Of that criticism was partisan
and exaggerated I; some of it was not
without foundation. The sober sense
of the country approached the sub
iect with the belief that the wisest
course was to pass moderate tariff
bill that would permit the subject to
rest until future changes could be
made by the expert work of a tariff
board or commissi, u. The high rates
that furmed salient points of the
House bill were Il disappointment to
that conservative view rhe Senate
took up the work with the avowed
intention Of reetllyiug this feature.
But while doing so it loaded the hill
with favors to special interests, at the
dictation Of Senators supposed to
hold pivotal votes, that we're even
more obnoxious. This caused public
opinion to swing back to the hope
that the House in conference would
correct those evils.
The outcome of it all has been that
the conflicting forces have to a GER.
tain extent neutralized each other.
The bill is not a perfect one. No
omnibus tariff ever was, or ever will
be, passed without features that are
open to objection. But it is salts.
factory result that the Senate has
mitigated some of the extremities ot
the Dingley rates; while the in
fueuce of the House has cut dowr
some, if not all, Of the special pieces
Of favoritism incorporated in the Sen
ate draft of the measure.
Business is now free to go forward
without fear of tariff disturbance foi
years to come. That it is taking ad
vantage of that relief from spprehe
sion is folly shown by the unauimity
of the trade reports on the increas,
both of confidence aud of actua
transactions 1t is not hazardous t.
predict that the restoration of sounC
and conservative prosperity will b,
so unmistakable during the next yea
or two that before there can lie an
other national election the disposition
to upset things will have disappeared
This will be less demonstration u
the exact correctness of every sched
ule in the new tariff than renewed ev
idence that what the material inter
ests need more than any other ont
thing is freedom from the fear of sucl
overturnings as has been either in
fiicted or threatened during the pas
four years
But the time may come wheI
changed conditions may require fur
ther tariff revisious. The mean
should be provided of making thos
changes without visiting the uncer
talnty on business that has accom-
panied the late tariff fights. An ex
pert commission to correct inequali
ties on scientific principles and to dis
pose of each subject by itself shoul,
be one of the first provisions for sta
bility and safety in the future