The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-05-12
SENATE'S TARIFF SCHEDULES.
AMENDMENTS TO THE HOUSE BILL
FOOT UP 700.

Chairman DlngIey Explains That
About 200 of Them Are Merely Vdr-
baI-The Effect of the Amendments
as n whole lis 10 Produce Less
Revenue Than Would he Yielded
by the House BiIl-TempOrary
Much Revenue as some Persons
Think.
Washington, May 1.-THE first stsse-
ment which Chairman Dingley of the
ways and means committee, whose name
is borne by the new tariff bill, has con-
sented to make regarding the bill since
il was amended by the Senate finance
committee was made by him to-day to the
Associated Press.
Mr.. Dingley was requested to give some
statement as to the probable additional
revenue that would be yielded the first
year by the new Senate tariff bill as well
as by the House bill. and he spoke as fol-
lows: 1T must be borne in mind that
there is no Senate bill as yet. What is inn
properly 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 viii be when that body shall
have made IL no one can as yet say.
while the amendments of the House
bill, recommended by the Senate finance
committee (about 70O appear to be null
titudinous, yet about 200 of them are main
ly verbal. There are, however, many
amendments which are important, not
only on account of revenue, but on other
grounds. II will not at this time speak
of those proposed amendments except as
they affect the revenue
"rhe effect of these amendments as
whole, outside of the amendment proposed
by imposing Q duty on tea for two years
and half, and the amendment increas-
ing the internal revenue tax on beer Al
cents per barrel for the same period, and
the increase proposed on tobacco and Gig
arettes, is to produce less revenue than
would be yielded by the House bill. For
example, the amendments returning to the
free list argols, certain acids aud oils.
paintings and statuary for private use,
and reducing the duties on liquors, robae-
than could be obtained by the duty on
tea. The amendment increasing the duty
on opium from $6 to IS per pound, would
not increase the revenue In the judgment
of the administrators of the law, who in
formed the ways and means committe g
that Sc was the point which yield the larg.
est revenue.
"The proposed duty on hides and a few
other amendments would Increase the rev.
enue somewhat.
"Of course, the estimate of an increased
revenue from sugar, through an abroga-
tion of the treaty with Hawaii, has moth
ing to do with the tariff legislation, for
this could be done as well by accepting
the House sugar schedule as the sugar
schedule proposed. The ways and means
committee did not even consider the ques-
ton of abrogating this treaty, because
they took il for granted that II it was
considered desirable to abrogate this or
any other treaty, 1t would be done in the
straightforward manner provided by the
treaty.
I'm our Judgment the revenue from
sugar under the House sugar schedule
| Setting aside the question of abrogating
the Hawaiian treaty. would be larger
than under the Senate amendments
"The proposed temporary duty on tea
would increase the revenue, although not
so much the first year as estimated, be-
cause of the large stocks on hand and
the short stocks that would be main
tained 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 pro-
posed amendments would, as a whole,
diminish rather than increase the reye-
nue..
Some criticism has been made on the
estimates Of the ways and means COM
mittee as to the revenue that would ne
produced by the bill as it passed the
House. These criticisms overlooked the
fact that the ways and means commit
tees estimate OF the revenue that might
be expected the first year were based
on the assumption that the bill would be-
come law on or before May l."