The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1897-04-03
A SCORCHER.
REPORT OF THE MINORITY.
Reasons Why Democratic Members OPP
pose the DingIey Bill.

| REPORT OF THE MINORITY.
Reasons Why Democratic Members OPP
pose the DingIev Bill.
WASHINGTON, March 81. Mr..
bailey, of Texas, presented to the
House the minority report on the
tallT bill. The report was signed
by all the Democratic members of
the ways and means committee, and
gives the grounds of their opposi-
ton to the DILL. 1t says:
This bill was framed with the
avowed purpose of protecting the
manufae tiiiiii-eeiis s off the United States
against foreign competition, and it
is perfectly obvious that if it accom-
plishes that purpose it viii result in
compelling the consumers of this
country to pay more for their manu-
featured goods, and for this reason
we think it should not pass. We
rest our opposition upon the broad
principle that Congress was invested
with the power of taxation as a
means of collecting from each citizen
his fair proportion toward the sup
port of the government, and that it
is a gross perversion of that sover-
eign power to employ it as means
of enabling favored classes to levy
impost charges upon the great body
of the people.
The majority of the committee
seem to think that taxation can be a
blessing, and that the support of the
government instead of being bur
den upon taxpayers, can be made to
enrich them. If this opinion is well
founded, then all the struggles .for
freedom which have revolved around
the question of taxation have pro
ceeded upon false theory.
Under the heading THE bill en-
courages extravaganza" Mr.. Bailey
says:
1T follows as matter of course
that a bill based upon vicious prin-
ciple must be injurious in its effects
and perhaps no effect would be more
pernicious than the extravaganza
which the bill encourages. The tab
ulated statement, embraced in the
report of the committee, shows that
the bill is expected to raise Sl13,
100000 more revenue than was col
lected in customs duties during the
last fiscal year; and yet, as is shown
by the same report, the difference be-
tween the government receipts and
disbursements during that year was
only $25,000,000. it is well known
that the importations 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 on level with the importations
oil 1896, the bill will collect from the
people more than $90,000,000 an
nually, above the requirements of
our present extravdgant and waste
full appropriations.
"The fniends of the protective
system know that to keep the taxes
high they must find some way of
spending the money which has been
collected. 1t is, therefore, the inev-
liable consequence of collecting more
than is proper that improper ways
should be devised for spending it.
The extravaganza which necessi-
tates the billion dollar appropria
tions, which have become such a
scandal upon Congress, had its ori-
gin in the unjust system of levyIng
taxes for the purpose of enabling
private interests to prey upon the
public through the fayoritism of the
law"
"The bill fosters trusts is anoth-
er headline, which is explained as
follows:
''If the system of unnecessary tax
alton is indefensible because of the
extravaganza which it encourages,
it is still more so on account Of the
trusts which it fosters and promotes.
1t is not more certain that protec-
ton encourages extravaganza than
it is that it breeds unlawful combi-
nations of capital. Indeed; protec-
ton is justified upon the avowed
theory that competition should be
restricted"
The report concludes
1--WE are unable to offer substi-
tute for the pending bill because we
have not been allowed q reasonable
time to prepare one. Congress con
vened in extraordinary session on
Monday, the 18th day of March, and
this bill was introduced the same
day and referred to the Commit
tee on Ways and Means, which met
the next morning. and on Thursday
it was ordered to be reported to the
House The majority OF the com
mittee had spent the three months
of the last session of the last Con
gress in the preparation of their
bill, and yet they refused to allow
the minority three weeks in which
to prepare substitute. We are un-
willing to propose a measure that
has not been carefully matured, and
we must therefore content ourselves
with protesting against the passage
of the committees bill.