The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-09-02
ANOTHER TARTFF FOR DEFICIT.

The prospects of the Dingley act be-
coming tariff for deficit only" with
all the horrible effects that were at
tributed to it's predecessor, are bright
or gloomy according to your point of
view. This was predicted by Senator
Aidrich in presenting the senate
finance committees modification of the
house bill. He very plainly announc-
ed that the house bill would be a def
cit producer, and he incorporated in
the bill several revenue features, such
as the tea tax and the reduction Of
rates on revenue producers. Secretary
Gage, after Aldrieh was made sick by
the reception of his notifications and
especially by the rejection of his pro-
visions for sweets to the sweet in the
sugar schedule, sounded a note Of
alarm and called for an internal tax
on sugar refined from imports made
this year. The proposed tax on sales
of stocks and. bonds was but another
admission that the bill, as conformed
by the senate to the house measure
made it more and more certain that
the act would not provide revenue suf-
fcient to meet the lavish expenditures
Of congress.
The statement for August, covering
the first full month, carries confirma-
ton of the prediction of Senator Aid
rich in the deficit of nearly 49, 200
for the month and of over $25, 000, 900 for
the first two months of the fiscal year.
Of course this is largely due to the
anticipation of increased rates, leading
to importations for private revenue,
occasioning a loss between the intro
duction of the Dingley bill and it's
enactment estimated by the treasury
to be over $32, 000 900. But this loss was
one of the inevitable conditions of the
change of rates that has accompanied
every change and could only be pre-
vented by the retroactive clause of the
house bill. which was rejected because
of its doubtful legality. 1t was a con-
dition to be met and provided for by
rates that would produce revenue as
proposed by the senate committee, by
Secretary Cages sugar tax, the stock
sales tax or some of the other means
proposed and rejected.
Instead of doing this, congress enact
ed, virtually entire, the house bill, and
contented itself with viewing with
alarm the fiendish importers who were
so cruelty regardless of the interests Of
the party and sc mindful of their own.
AS the deficits appear with each sue
cessive monthly statement, we may ex-
pect repetition of the charge that all
would have been we'll but for the
democratic distractions" to the pass
age of the bill, which gave the i'm
porters opportunity to evade the in
crease of duties. We will hear nothing
from them of the singular conception
of taxation that adopts precisely the
same means to produce revenue that
We're used seven years ago to reduce
it, and we will hear nothing of the
claim that the Whole monetary prob
lem is involved in the sufficiency of
revenue. But, if we deduct from the
estimated deficits for the first year,
computed to amount to over S150, 900, 900.
the amount lost by the forestalling of
the importers, we have deficit IF $780,
900, 900 as the net result of Republican
financiering. Exports appear to be go
ing abroad in payment for securities
in our railways sought by domestic in
vestors, an import that affords no reve-
nue., instead of exchanging for products
that would yield an income. 1t is of
a piece with Republican financing that
it should rely upon imports to supply
revenue and raise rates to prevent i'm
ports from which revenue must be de-
rived.