The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-05-12
He Tells What He Thinks of
the Tariff Bill
Since the Senate Committee
Got Through With 1t.
HE DOESN'T LIKE TT
Thinks it Will Not Raise al
Much Revenue
As it Would in Form He Gave
1t.

------e winch OIAdIIIudA OlnS1SY OF the
ways and means committee, whose
name is borne by the new tariff bill.
has consented to make regarding the
bill since it was amended by the sen
ate finance committee, was made bv
him today to the Associated Press Mr.
DlngIey was requested to give some
statement as to the probable additional
revenue that would be yielded the first
year by the senate tariff BILL as we'll
as by the house bill. and he spoke as
1t must be borne in mind that there
is no senate bill as yet. What is prop
erly spoken of as the senate bill is the
house bill reported to the senate by the
nnance committee What the senate
bill will be when that body shall have
made 1t no one can as yet say.
While the amendments of the house
bill recommended by the finance com
mittee (about 700) appear to be null
utudinous, yet about 200 of them are
mainly verbal, such as amending the
spelling of asbestos by substituting
20" for ''Ou,' leaving about 500 which
change rates. This is about the num-
Der of amendments to the Mckinley
bill adopted by the senate of 1890 and
of those remaining 500 large proper
ton involve nothing of consequence.
There are, however, many amendments
which are important, not only on rev
enue, but other grounds. I do not pro
pose now to speak of these proposed
amendments except as they affect rev
enues.
The effect of these amendments as a
whole, outside of the amendment i'm
posing duty on tea for two years and
half, and the amendment increasing
the internal revenue on beer A cents
per barrel for the same period, and the
increase proposed on tobacco and Gig
arettes is to produce less revenue than
would be yielded by the house bill For
example, the amendments returning
to the free list argOls, certain oils. etc,
int inc
and reducing the duties on liquors. to-
baccOs. precious stones, etc, lose more
revenue than could be obtained by the
duty on tea. The amendments re
ducing the duty on clothing wool and
increasing the duty on carpet wool
would also reduce the revenue. The
amendment increasing the duty on
opium from Sc to IS per pound would
not increase the revenue in the judg-
ment of the administrators of the law.
who informed the ways and means
committee that Sc was the point which
would yield the largest revenue. The
| proposed duties on hides and few
! other amendments would increase the
! revenues somewhat
"Of course. the estimate of an in
! creased revenue from sugar through
an abrOgatiOn of the treaty with Ha-
waii has nothing to do with the tariff
/ legislation for this has been done as
! we'll by accepting the house sugar
] schedule as the sugar schedule propos-
! ed. The ways and means committee
/ did not even consider the question of
! abrogating this treaty. because they
/ took it for granted that if it was
sidered desirable to abrOgate this or
any other treaty it would be done in
/ the straightforward manner provided
/ by the treaty itself. The fact that the
senate finance committee recommends
an ad ValOrem duty on sugar appar-
emily a little higher than the specific
duty of the house bill, does not insure
a larger revenue. as past experience
2 wi n 4 al faC "a hHiV In
/ our judgment the revenue from sugar
under the house sugar schedule (set-
/ ting aside the question of abrogating
/ the Hawaiian treaty. would be larger
/ than under the senate amendments.
The proposed temporary duty on tea
! would increase the revenue. although
/ not so much the first year as estimated,
( because OF the large stocks on hand
/ and the short stocks that would be
/ maintained with the knowledge that
/ teas would soon go back to the free
/ list, and the proposed increase of in
ternal revenue taxes would also in
/ crease the revenue to the extent esti-
mated But the other proposed amend
ments would, as a whole, diminish
1 rather than increase the revenue.
Some criticism has been made on
/ the estimates of the ways and means
! committee.
! The committee said that there was
/ no question that the house bill would in
/ any event yield sufficient revenue to
! carry on the government and leave
| surplus the second year of its opera
! ton which nobody even now contra
diets and probably sufficient the first
/ year if it could be put in force, yet if
/ there should be a delay in its enact
/ ment beyond May L anticipatory i'm
portatiOns would inevitably cause
serious inrOad in the prospective rev
enue for the first year. Here is what
/ the committee said on this point:
/ What the actual revenue would prove
/ to be in the years following the enact
ment of the proposed measure into
! law is of course. dependent upon cir
! cumStanceS which cannot De forecast
! ed.
/ :. Undoubtedly the contingency which
| would exert the largest in1ueEce in di
] minishing the estimated revenue would
] be delaying the passage OF the proposed
bill. in consequence of which there
would be large impOrtations Of such
/ articles as wooden goods. sugar, wool,
ETC. on which it is proposed to increase
4 the duty
J IF the WAYS and means committee
had supposed when they made their
/ statement on March Is that the bill
J would be delayed as long as now seems
/ probable. they would have said that
| such delay would inevitably result in
/ multiplying the revenue qualities OF the
/ bill for the first year The anuc1pa-
! tory impOrtatio of such articles al
! ready arrived and on their way exceed
! the fears of the ways and means COM
/ mittee when they urged the prompt
/ action by the house to prevent a loss
! of revenue for the first year.
Unbounded enthusiasm has been
] aroused all over the country by the
! narkable acrObatic perfOrn2 nee of the
/ wonderful Foy Family, one of the latest
| inportat tons with Ringing Bros IA
! nous big circus. They viii be seen with
this famous exhibition tomorrow.
/ Our work will please Won Peerless