The Irish standard., 1897-05-15
THE DINGLEY TARIFF BILL.

The bill for the production of revenue
and the protecafdh of American indus
tries passed the 1hlbta5 of representatives
some weeks sg g. aj2h 3 is now being so
tinkered in the senate CHAT before that
body gets through with it the gentleman
whose name it bears will scarcely .recog-
nize it as the oAAsPr{{pg Of his own fertile
brain. It has :, Been so revised and
amended by the *enate finance commit
tee that it is i;;nsa{ :sf.ctory to Repub-
rcans, Democrats cpd Fopul:sts. Ding
ley, himself, Of course, thinks his bill
will be less meritorious after undergoing
some five hundred; amendments, and
that it will noe Yield SO much revenue
as it would if lseH. untouched as it
reached the seaatf RYt the American
lords in the upper house Of congress will
slash away at it as they did with the
Wilson bill, and when they have COM
pleted their labors some time in July
the people will discover that the meas
ure will benefit but few at the expense
of the many. They have already placed
a duty Of ten cents pound on tea for
two years and a half, though everyone
consumes tea,: and it is not raised in this
country. The reciprocity idea has been
abandoned altogether, notwithstanding
all the, talk of Republicans in she past
about that feature: of the tariff bill. An
additional internal revenue tax of a
cents a barrel has been put On beer;
duty of ". cents per pound has been
placed ON hides; larger duties have teen
levied. on lumber and wool, and other
necessaries of life are treated in the
same manner. A tax upon wool anil
hides will benefit the stock raisers of
the west, but the consumers of the
country will have to pay it,. The New
England shoemaHng establishments
are up in arms against the tariff on
hides, for they have to pay more for
purchasers of their boots and shoes. 1t
is estimated that the tariff on hides will
increase the cost of manufacturing shoes
about five cents pair.
The Republicans in the senate expect
to pass the bill in it's amended form
without any aid from the Democrats
and Populists, and in our opinion it
would be a stroke of policy for the lat
ter to let them pass it without opposi-
ton. .:
The low tariff Mugwumps who voted
for Mckinley last fall :,:e deeply indig-
nant over the Republican program, and
one Of their organs, Harper's Weekly,
says it els probably the worst tariff bill
that has ever been, drawn" 1t stigma
Ties its father, Mr.: ,Dtng1ey, as ga pro-
tector of ignorffnce and bigotry," and
the measure as Il b bafprbarian assault up
on civilization because it has taken
from the free list works of art and all
books except those for the government
library and educational institutions. It
further says tSat, the "Dingley bill is
evidently for p}a6Spndssf and not for rev.
enue at ALL"
oenaeof AlnuS Ssy' y nentucAy' IL GIL
phatic in his denu9ciation of the bill
and says it is hhe worst that has ever
been considered in Congress" The Ken
lucky man hash III many others to agree
with him. The bill is intended to rob
the people for the benefit of class, and
If it goes into operation there will be
such storm of. asapproval from the
producing element ST the population as
to make the ears Of the senator's tingle
and the first opportunity they get they
will show the public servants that they
have lost every confidence In them to
restore prosperity to the nation, as they
promised. The sugar trust, however, is
amply provided for in the bill, and so
are the manufacturers, and what do the
aristocrats Of the senate care for the
common people when they have the ap-
sbrovaI Of those who furnish the funds
III run thescamrillll.