New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-05-12
CHAIRMAN DINGLEY SPEAKS
A STATEMENT IN REGARD TO THE
AMENDED TARIFF BILL.
THE REVENUE NOT LIKELY TO EQUAL THAT
UNDER THE HOUSE NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
MENT EXPRESSED AT THE DELAY
WHICH SEEMS INEVITABLE

WHICH SEEMS INEVITABLE
Washington. May 1.-THE first statement
which Chairman Dingleyof the Ways and Means
Committee whose name is borne by the new Tar
III BILL has consented to make regarding the Dill
since 1t was amended by the Senate Finance
Committee was made by him to-day to the Asso-
ciated Press Mr.. Dngley was requested to give
some statement to the probable additional
revenue that would be yielded the first year by
the Senate Tariff bill, well as by the House
BILL and he spoke as follows:
1T must be borne in mind that there Is no
Senate bill as yet What is improperly spoken
of as the Senate bill Is the House bill, reported
to the Senate by the Finance Committee. with
certain amendments recommended. what the
Senate bill will be when the body shall have
made It, yet say.
while the amendments of the House bill
recommended by the Senate Finance Committee
(about seven hundred) appear to be multitud-
inous, yet about two hundred Of them are manly
verbal-such as amending the spelling OF aspes-
tus' by substituting % for u, leaving about hVe
hundred which change rates. This Is about the
number of amendments to the Mckinley bill
adopted by the Senate in 1890, and of these re-
naming 800 a large proportion involve nothihg
Of consequence There are. however. many
amendments which are important. not only on
|
now to speak Of these proposed amendments ex-
cept as they affect revenues.
EFFECT OF THE AMENDMENTS.
THE effect of these amendments whole
outside the amendment imposing duty on tea
| for two years and a half. and the amendment
| increasing the internal revenue tax on beer "a
| cents per barrel for the same PERIOD and the
increase proposed on tobacco and cigarettes-is
| to produce less revenue than would be yielded
by the House bill. For example, the amend
ments returning to the free list argol, certain
acids, and oils, painting and statuary for pri-
yate use, and reducing the duties on liquors.
| tobacco. precious stones etc. lose more revenue
| than could be obtained by the duty on The
amendments reducing the duty on clothing wool
| and Increasing the duty on carpet wool would
! also diminish the revenue. The amendment In
| creasing the duty on opium from SO to IS per
| pound would not Increase the revenue in the
! Judgment of the administrators of the law. who
| informed the Ways and Means Committee that
So was the point which would yield the largest
revenue The proposed duty on hides and few
other amendments would increase the revenue
somewhat.
"Of course the estimate Of an increased reve-
nue. from sugar through an abrogation OF the
treaty with Hawaii has nothing to do with
|
by accepting the House sugar schedule the
sugar schedule proposed. The Ways and Means
Committee did not consider the question
of abrogating this treaty. because they took it
for granted that il it considered desirable
to abrogate this or any other treaty, 1t would
| be done in the straightforward manner pro-
| yided by the treaty itself. The fact that the
Senate Finance Committee recommend an ad
valorem duty sugar apparently little higher
than the specific duty of the House bill does
not insure a larger revenue, past experience
with ad valorem duties has shown. In our
! Judgment. the revenue from sugar under the
House sugar schedule (setting aside the question
OF abrogatng the Hawaiian treaty. would be
larger than under the Senate amendments.
THE DUTY on TEA.
THE proposed temporary duty 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 tea
| would soon go back to the free list, and the
| proposed increase Of internal revenue taxes
| would also increase the revenue to the extent
| estimated But the other proposed amendments
| would as a whole, diminish. rather than in
| crease, the revenue.
| Some criticism has been made on the esti-
mates Of the Ways and Means Committee as to
| the revenue that would be produced by the Tariff
bill as 1t passed the House. These criticisms
| overlook the fact that the Ways and Means Com
| mittee's estimates Of the revenue that might be
expected the first year were based on the as
sumption that the bill would become law be-
| fore Nav l. The committee in their report eX-
| Dressly said that while there could be no ques-
| ton that the House bill would In any event yield
| sufficient revenue to carry on the Government
and leave a surplus the second year or It's opera
| tion-.which nobody even now contradicts-and
| probably sufficient for the first year If 1t could
be promptly put in force. yet If there should he a
| DELAY In its enactment beyond May ], antici
| patory importations would inevitably cause a
serious inroad In the prospective revenue for the
| first year.
THE NEED OF PROMPT ACTION.
"Hnre is what the committee said on this point
What the actual revenue would prove to be In
the wear following the enactment Of the proposed
/ measure into law is of course, dependent upon
CONTINGENCIES which cannot be forecasted with
any approach to certainty, and win>therefore
no subject to varying estimates. Undoubtedly
the contingency which would exert the largest in
nuence in diminishing the estimated revenue
would be delay In the passage or the proposed
| biu In consequence of which there would be
large importatons of such articles as wool, wool
len goods sugar. etc, on which II Is proposed TO
| increase the duty
| "If the WAYS and Means Committee had sup
posed when they made this statement, March Is
that the bill would be delayed as long as now
| seems probable, they would have said that such
| DELAY would inevitably result in largely nulilty-
ing the revenue qualities OF the bill the hrst year
through Importation Of WOOL sugar and other
articles before the new duties should go INTO
| force unless such retroactive provision as was
n,aced in the bill by the House could be main
| tained The antcipatory importations or such
articles already arrived and on their way exceed
the fears OF the Ways and Means COMMITTEES
| when they urged prompt action by the House 10
nrevent such loss Of revenue FOR the first year"
LIBERAL VICTORY IN QUEBEC.