The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-03-22

The Increase to Mckinley Rates.
Continuing, Mr.. Dingley said that the
increase of the tariff on flax and hemp was
made both in the interest of revenue
and because there was "A great promise of
home production. As TO other increases
of duties in the bill To Mckinley rates,
Mr. Dingley said: "For the most part
the increase of duties in the pending bill
TO the figures of the tariff of 1890 have
been in the schedule of paragraphs cover
ing luxuries like tobacco liquors, silks,
laces. ETC., which, being articles of volun-
tary consumption, are always regarded as
objects which will bear the highest duties.
The exceptions are the earthenware ana
glass schedule and the agricultural sched-
ule, on which the duties have been placed,
the same as in the act of 1890, because no
other rates seemed to be protective.
Mr.. Dingley then briefly touched upon
some schedules which had not been
materially changed from the present law.
These included iron and steel and cotton.
Continuing Mr.. Dingley also said: "In
all the other schedules, the rates proposed
in the pending bill are between the rates
of tho tariff of 1890 and the present law. -
There have been transferred from the
free list of the tariff of 1894 TO the dutia-
bic list of the proposed bill not only wool,
lumber, salt, burlaps, bags, cotton bag
ging ard cotton ties, which never should
argols, crude opium, asphaltum, chickle,
paintings, and statuary, except when i'm
ported for free exhibition by an estab-
lished institution, straw ornaments, etc.
which, under existing conditions, ought
TO contribute something toward the much
needed additional revenue. ..
SO far as possible the aim has been to
avoid exclusively ad valorem duties ON
articles which have been notoriously
undervalued and this has been more seri-
Gus than ever during the present tariff in
which, outside of the metal and cotton
schedules, almost exclusively al valorem
rates prevail. The better class of impor-
ters have united with manufacturers and
administrators of the law in asking for
this.
Ad Valorem and Specific Systems.
Mr.. Dingley next discussed at some
length the ad valorem and specific systems
and presented figures showing how disad
vantageously the ad valorem system
worked. He then presented the estimates
as TO the probable revenue that would be
raised by the bill, which were given in
his report, with the supplemental state
ment that in the second year the bill
would yield 800, O00 600 increased revenue.
In closing Mr.. Dingley said: 1T must
be obvious from any point of view that
the prompt action by the two Houses of
Congress Is indispensable To secure the
revenue which the pending bill is in
tended TO yield. The exigency is an un-
usual one. The people without regard
TO party affiliations are asking for action.
Business awaits our final decision. With
this great question of adequate revenue,
To carry on the government settled favor
ably, by such adjustment of duties as will
restore to our own people what has been
surrendered to others during the past
four years, with restored confidence in
the future, there is reason to believe that
gradually and surely there will come
back to us the greatest prosperity which
we enjoyed in the decade prior to 1893
and which the greatest living English
statistician so strikingly eulogized when
he said in 1892 that it would be impos-
sible to find in history any parallel TO the
progress of the United States in the (then)
last ten years.