The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-03-23

which has been more serious than ever under
the present tariff in which outside of the
metal and cotton schedule almost exclusively
al valorem rates prevail The better class of
importers have united with manufacturers
this ->'-'s ~
Mr.. Dingley next discussed at some length
the ad valorem and specific systems and pre-
sent hgures showing how disadvantageously
the ad Valorem system worked. He then pre-
sented the estimates as to the probable rev.
enue that would be raised by the bill which
were given in his report with the supplement
tai statement that the second year the bill
would yield 500 900 900 increased revenue.
In closing, Mr.. Dingley said:
1t must be obvious from any point of view
that prompt action by the two houses of con-
gress is indispensable to secure the revenue
which the pending bill is intended to yield.
The exigency is an unusual one. The people
without regard to party affiliations are asking
Tor action. Business awaits final deci-
sion. With this great question of adequate
revenue to carry on the government settled
favorable by such an 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 great
prosperity which we enjoyed in the decade
prior to 1893, and which the greatest of liv-
ing English statisticians strikingly eulo-
gized when he said in 1892 that it would DE
impossible to find in history any parallel to
the progress Of the United States in them
the last ten years. -
The first applause came when Mr..
Dingley referred to the purpose of
the bill to encourage the stricken IN
dustries of the country" and was con-
tinued at intervals throughout his
speech. Toward the close members
crowded up the aisles and stood close
about him. When he finished at the
end of an hour, the Republicans ap-
plauded for fully a minute, the gal
leries joining in the demonstration.
OPPOSITION OPENING.
Gen. Wheeler (Ala.), the old cavalry
leader of the Confederacy, opened for
the opposition. Mr. Wheeler began
with the statement that the bill had
been secretly prepared by the RepubIi-
can members of the committee on ways
and means and framed almost in the
language of the petitions presented by
protection interests. Since the star
chamber measure came to light on
Monday last, he said, the conservative
press of the country had denounced it
in unmeaSured terms. The bill in
creased the duty on many articles far
above the Mckinley rates, and in some
instances exceeded the Mckinley rates
by from so to 100 per cent. Nearly
every paragraph was changed from the
ad valOrem rates under the Wilson bill
tC either the specific or compound
rates, the effect Of which was to in
crease enormously the duty upon
cheaper articles that are purchased by
those who work, and lessen the tariff
upon the expensive articles that are
purchased only by the rich. By trans
ferring an enormous quantity of wool
from class three to class one, the duty
on raw woods was increased far beyond
any bill ever presented to an American
congress. Woods that paid 80 per cent
under the Mckinley bill would now,
he said, pay an equivalent ad valOrem
of between two hundred and three hun
dred per cent and possibly more. The
duty on cOrdurOyS used by the poor
was increased to about 123 per cent, alb
sOlutely prOhibitOry. The bill restored
the duty on burlapS made from jute
used for bagging grain and fertilizers,
while the only burlap of this descrip-
ton made in this country was made in
prisons. Carpets of jute, purchased by
the poor, had been raised, he said, to
an equal of $50 per cent, while those
used by the rich were taxed 55 per cent.
The tax upon waterproof cloth had he
continued been increased from the
Mckinley rate of 40 per cent to about
120 per cent. The reciprocal clauses in
the tariff bill never could become oper-
ative; the proposition never would DE
accepted by any government. Under
the Wilson bill our excess of exports
over imports far exceeded those en-
joyed by our country under the Nc
Kinley law. We are now shipping iron
ties all over the world and Alabama
was shipping vast quantities of pig
iron to England and other European
ports.
The proclamation Of the president
admitted that our receipts last year
were only $25, goo, 900 less than our eX-
penditures, and the reports of the trea-
Sury now showed that our receipts eX-
ceeded our expenditures, and yet, in the
face of these facts, the Republican ma,
jority sought to pass a bill which they
said would increase taxes $ll3,OOO,OOO.
Mr.. Wheeler spoke over an hour. HS
was followed by Mr.. Hopkins Rep..
lid who announced that the mission
of the Republican party, again placed
in power, was to restore prosperity and
give employment to labor. The tariff
bill prepared for that purpose, he said,
would meet alike the wants Of the gov
eminent and the people. He said thai
until he had listened to Mr.. Wheeler's
remarks he did not believe that any
Democrat still chung to the old de-
cayed and repudiated doctrine Of free
trade. But he was now convinced
that a genuine Bourbon Democrat sell
dom forgot any error he had learned
and never learned anything new.
In conclusion Mr.. Hopkins prOphe-
sled that an era Of prosperity would
begin sixty days after the enactment OF
the bill.
POPULIST STANDPOINT.
Mr.. Bell pop, Col.) then took the
floor as the spokesman Of his party as
scciates. THE Populist party" said
he, has not taken any decisive stand
on the tariff as a whole, because it has
never believed that the tariff was the
cause of our difficulties. Nevertheless,
think it can safely be stated that the
Populists in general believe that while
the government raises it's principal rev.
enue by an export tax, such incidental!
protection should be given to all our in
dustries as will cover the difference be-
tween the cost of labor here and abroad
without discrimination against section
or Individual, whether it or he produces
raw material or manufactured prof.
ucts. But the POpulist party, Of
course, believes in requiring the wealth
Of the country to bear its share Of the
burdens through a graduated income
tax"
Mr. Bell dwelt to some extent on the
failure Of the election to restore pros
perity and give work to the idle. He
pointed out that as a result Of the col
lapse of the steel rail pool, which re-
duced, instead of increasing prices,
thousands of men were given employ
ment and from this argued that if
all the trusts could be destroyed, and
if free competition could be again
placed in full operation, there would
be a better chance for the unemployed
than under an increase of taxation
designed to foster and develop trusts.
Mr.. Bell said the difference in princi-
pie between the Wilson bill and this
bill. was the difference between twee-
d!e-dee and tweedle-dum. In the main,
the changes in this bill were opposed
to the interests Of the masses. The
claim that these duties were levied to
cover the difference in the cost of labor,