The Penn's Grove record., 1897-03-26
TARIFF DEBATE BEGINS.
Discussion Of the DingIey Bill OPEN
in the House.
SYNOPSIS OF MINORITY REPORT.

Chairman DlnEIey Defended this Measure
and Mr. Wheeler Led ON for the Oppo-
neutrality-suspicious. Predict an Add.
tioual Inoome---Dstuocrats Declare the
Schedules Would EarIch the Few.
WASHINGTON, D. C. (Special). Tho great
tariff contest OF 1897. which everybody be-
lleves will DO a memorable one. began ir the
House Representatives, Monday. Although
the time appointed was two hours earlier
than that at which the daily slttings usually
begin. there was a pretty full attendance of
members and tho galleries were flied with
interested spectators. The an Hence con-
tinued to increase In size during the two
hours and moro consumed by the clerks In
reading the bill.
Representative sherman, OF New York
had the honor OF presiding as Chairman Of
the Committee OF the Whole, when the de-
bate on the Dingley bill was opened.
The opening OF the debate was delayed
more than two hours by the full reading OF
the bill of 1862 pages, anu this, of course. had
a depressing effect. The Republican lead
ers insisted on this to avoid the charges that
the bill was never read In full In the House,
q kbthh WhAoh bbpPOhCA AZ Il StASpS " w.
the Mckinley and Wilson bills. Only four
speeches were made Mt the day session. Mr..
Dingley, Chairman Of the Ways and Means
Committee, opening for the majority.
Mr.. Dlngiey began by referring to the
Government deficiency, which, he said. hal
nearly oil been causel by a falling OIL OF
revenue from duties on imports, and not by
a decline OF revenue from internal taxes. In
revising the tariff. he said, the committee
had endeavored to discard mere theories
and bad addressed themselvest 10 the framing
OF a practical remedy, at least In part.
for the Ills which have for so many
months overshadowed the country.
He said tina. by placing wool on the
free list the Treasury lost S2l. 900, 900 rev.
enue and the farmers $50, 000, GOD per year.,
and that this country had not been able to
increase its exports Of manufactures OF wool.
The new schedule, he said, would aid the
grower, increase manufactures AMI ultimate
ly increase the revenue.
Mr.. Wheeler. who replied for tho DJmo-
Gratis, said the theory OF the Democratic par
ty was that the way to give employment to
American labor was to find purchasers for
the products OF farms and factories, and that
the way to do that was TO open the markets
Of the world to those products. The bill he
declared, had been franei in a secret star
chamber by eleven Republicans, and was
largely framed from petitions presented to
that body Of eleven men by the agents of the
protected interests OF the country. Many
paragraphs in the bill were In the exact
language of those petitions.
Mr.. Hopkins, a Republican member OF the
Committee on Ways ard Means, defended the
bill, which, he declared, was in accordance
with the almost universal demand ofthe peo-
pie for tariff legislation.
Mr., Bell, of Colorado, spoke as n Populist
In antagonism to the bill. The Populists, he
seid, believed no tariff bill was fair which
did not carry with 1t a graduated Income tax
which would provide that the wealth OF the
country should pay something for Its own
support.
At the evening session Of the House Mr..
Taylor, OF Indiana. spoke in opposition to
the bill, and Mr.. Greene, Populist, OF Ne
braska, made a general political speech
around the question, "How are the people
to buy the products Of idle mills which are
to be started by the Dingley bill, when they
cannot buy what the mills now open pro-
duce?"
The views of the minority of the commit.
tee on Ways and Means Upon the tariff bill
were then presented TO the House by Rep
i~esentative Bailey. Among other things, the
report says:
'ThIs bill was framei with the avowod
purpose OF protecting the manufacturers OF
the United States against foreign competition,
n 1t Is perfectly obvious that IL 1t accom-
plishes that purpose 1t must result In COM
polling the consumers Of this country TO pay
moro tor their manufactured goods, and for
this reason We think It should not pass.
ave rest our opposition upon the broad
principle that Congress was Invested with
The power Of taxation, as q means OF collect
ing from each citizen his fair proportion to-
ward the support of the Government, and
that II is n gross perversion of TINT sovereign
power to employ 1t as u means OF enabling
favored classes 10 levy unjust charges upon
the great body of the people. We deny the
right of Congress to make or enforce any re-
gniation which requires one man to give any
part OF his honest earnings toward encourage
Ing the enterprise or increasing the fortune
Of another.
''our principal contention is that the bill.
II passed. will bring more revenue thnn the
Nation requires, which the people will con-
tribute, and encourage extravaRance.
at the system Of unnecessary taxation is
tndefepsible because OF the extravaganza
which 1t encourages, 1t is still more so on
account of tho trusts which 1t fosters and
promotes. II WIS not more certain that
protection encourages Extravaganza than 1t
Is that it breeds unlawful combinations OF
n