The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1898-06-15
.--A<SS-
Washington Letter.
(From our regular Correspondent

Washington, D. c., June 1l.-The
war-revenue bill is now ready for the
Presidents signature. It was finally
passed by the Senate with many i'm
portart amendments added; it went
then to the House, which very prompt
ly decided (by strictly party-vote)
to non-concur in any one OF the
amendments added by the Senate,
but to refer the bill to committee
of conference, That was done and the
conference committee very promptly
agreed npon a report which was re-
ported to the two Houses and very
promptly passed by both. Asit fin
ally passed, the bond feature calls
for the sum of $40U,000,000 bonds
which are to be issued, from time to
time as they are needed, by the Sec
retary of the Treasury in certificates
of twenty dollars and multiples there
of. There is u farce Of a popular
subscription feature attached which
amounts to nothing as there can be
but little doubt that the banks and
the money changers will get about all
of the bonds issued-that is what
they are in the war for: they have
no idea of paying any taxes towards
maintaining the expenses Of the war,
but when there is going to be any
money made out of the exigeucies
created by the war why they are
right on hand with their pockets full
ard over-flowing with money. They
also succeeded in having the number
of silver dollars to be coined each
month reduced from $4,000,000 to
5OO,0O0-in order that they may
repeal the provision and stop the
coinage long before all Of the bullion
has peen coined, if it should happen
that the war ends soon; but there is
40 such provision hedging about the
issuance of the bonds--they are to be
issued in the discretion of the Secre-
tary OF the Treasury and it is safe to
predict that he will soon have them
in the hands of his plutocratic broth
er bankers of wall street and their
agents. The bill is in every way the
most infamous measure that ever
received the approval Of the Ameri-
can Congress. 1t is the most bold
and bare-faced catering to the money
class in their every interest that has
ever disgraced an American statute.
Take the tobacco tax, for instance.
Tie cigars which the weil-to- do can
afford to smoke are taxed at S per
cent, cigarettes the same, while the
more expensive cigars which are
smoked by the wealthy class are tax
ell at less than / per cent: but when
it comes to the commoner grade Of
cigars which are smoked by the great
mass of the common people, we find
the bill piling on tax of25 per cent
And this same policy runs entirely
through the bill. In other words,
we have the anomalous spectacle Of a
revenue bill purpoiting to ralse rev
enue to support the Government dur
ing great emergency deliberately
laying tax OF 25 per cent upon those
who are not able to pay / per cent,
while it lays tax of less than ( per
cent upon those who are abundantly
able to pay rs per cent.
In war circles, the army waits upon
the navy at Tampa and Key West;
and the navy waits upon the army at
Santiago lie Cuba. 27,O0O regulars
and volunteers were embarked upon
transports at Tampa and Key West,
but the ships conveying them are
now anchored in the Gulf of Mexico
waiting for the warships to convoy
them to their destination, which
causes another delay to the long
promised invasion of Cuba. The
ways of the Administration are truly
passed finding out. II the object is
to free Cuba, the country is bound to
take the assurance upon faith, for
there is but little evidence manifested
to that end in any of the acts Of the
Administration. 1t has managed to