The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1897-03-23
Ing the tax over which the American


colonists went to war"
Under the heading 1.-THE bill en-
courages extravaganza" Mr.. Bailey
says:
ut is well known that the importa-
tions of last year were smaller than
usual, owing to the general depression
that existed in all circles. but even
supposing that importations hereafter
can be kept at level with the impor-
tations of 1896 the bill will collect from
the people more than 90,000,0 600 anual-
ly above the requirements Of our pres
ent extravagant and wasteful appro-
priations. II the government were now
properly and frugally administered our
expenditures, including pensions Of the
soldiers of the war. would not exceed
the sum of $3.50. 100000.
. President Jackson hardly over
stated the danger of surplus when
he declared that 1t was more danger
Gus than a standing army, and yet.
dangerous as surplus is, It Is not so
dangerous as the extravaganza which
is always resorted to In order to pre-
vent its accumulation.
"The friends Of the protective system
know that to keep the taxes high they
must find some way of spending the
money which has been collected. II
is. therefore. the inevitable conse-
quence of collecting more than is
proper that improper ways should be
devised for spending it..
"If the system of unnecessary tax
alton is indefensible because of the ex-
travagance which 1t encourages it is
still more 80 on account Of the trusts
which 1t fosters and promotes. 1t is
not more certain that protection en-
courages extravaganza than It is that
1t breeds unlawful combinations of
capital. Indeed. protection is justified
upon the avowed theory that compe-
ttion shall be restricted. These men,
having secured themselves against for
eign competition by the favor of con-
gress, will secure themselves against
domestic competition by voluntary
combinations among themselves. n
I'VE believe in the principles of COM
petition, and we believe that the peo-
pie Of the United States can success
fully compete against other people
of the world; and we denounce as a
crime against the best interests of our
people any law which leaves the con-
sumers of this land subject to the ex-
actions Of reckless and corrupt COM
binations formed to destroy competi-
tion and control prices"
Treating of the effect of the bill on
labor, the report says:
THE repot of the majority is singu-
larly silent upon the old pretext that
these high taxes are imposed for the
benefit of American labor and the ST.
lence may be taken as concedng the
Democratic contention that the intel
ligence and skill of the American fac
tory operative are all the protection
which he needs or desires. To say that
the welfare of labor depends upon
its wages. and that Its wages In turn
depend upon it's skill and intelligence,
and In the next breath to say that the
very intelligent and highly skilled la
borers of this country cannot success
fully compete with the ignorant and
unskilled laborers of the old world is
equivalent to saying that skill and in
telligence are not of great advantage
to the laborers who possess them.
1.-THE fact that the unslSilled laborers
VI q haii SlNhl1Cu COulitTy llNe more
cheaply than the skilled laborers of a
highly civilized country is more than
counterbalanoed by the greater pro-
ductiveness Of the skilled and intelli-
gent laborer. The skill and intelli-
gence of the American laborer are
such that he is able to produce seven
times as much as the less skillful and
less Intelligent laborer of continental
Europe, and fifteen times as much as
the ignorant and unskilled laborers of
Asia.
1--WE are unable to offer substitute
for the pending bill because we have
not been allowed reasonable time to
prepare one. The majority of the COM
mittee spent the three months of the
last session of the last congress in
preparation of their bill, and yet they
refused to allow the minority three
weeks in which to prepare a substi-
tute."
The senate agreed to resolution re-
questing the president for information
relative to the Imprisonment and death
of DR.. Ruiz In Cuba. Beyond this, the
brief session, lasting but 40 minutes,
was devoted to the presentation of bills
and reports. Among the reports was
that Of the Lodge bill restraining i'm
by an educational quaifica-
uon.