The evening times., 1899-07-05
What Has DineIeyi.m Done.

Secretary Gage owes it to his party no
less than to the country to make a clearer
exhibit of income and expenditures during
the fiscal year ended June / than has
been made in his report. recently issued.
There rs such wide discrepancy between
what the revenues should be and what
have been the approximate expenditures
that unbiased judgment cannot reconcile
to the theory of wise and economical ad-
ministration OF the Government a deficit
of SIS. S.S75. 900 with an excess of special war
revenues of $156, GOO, 900 over the actual
expenditures. for the military account.
Did the war clog all of our other sources
of revenue? Did hostilities with Spain
shut out from our. ports all imports on
which. according TO time-honored theory
of Republicanism, ''the foreigner pays the
taxi" In other words, has the Dingley
tariff law produced any revenue for the
support Of the Government
These questions are pertinent They go
to the root of the Republican theory of
government. They yitally affect the Re-
publican party's fiscal policy. of which Mr..
Mckinley is the greatest exponent. They
ramify the system Of taxation fastened
upon the country by Republican control of
the Government in all OF its departments.
They expose Republican methods of the
expenditure of public funds. The answer
to them eonvicts the Republican party
either. of reckless extravaganza in public
expenditures or of being welded to false,
unscientific, and dishonest tariff policy.
We suspect that close investigation would
reveal both of these conditions. Ii will
require the Congressional probe TO deter
mine even approximately the vast sums
wasted during the past fiscal year in ex-
penditures for river and harbor improve
ments, in munitions of war. in the ex-
pense incurred by the numerous com
missions which the Administration has
seen fit to appoint. and in the purchase of
yachts, tramp steamers, and old tugs at ex-
trayagant prices And even the Congress
ional probe. honestly and intelligently ap-
piled, cannot get al the bottom of things
cannot reach the horde of favored con-
tractors who have fattened upon the coun-
try's unusual necessities during the past
fifteen months.
he @tdhHtSS Vi Tue
system, however, can be proved by care
ful investigation Of the causes of Mr..
Cages announced deficit of nearly $40, 0e0-
coo. 1t will be shown that the Dingley law
is not revenue producer 1t will be shown
that the Dingley tariff is a prohibitive tax
on imports. 1t will be shown that as our
ports are closed to goods of foreign manu-
facture by the operations of high protec-
tion the opportunity has been utilized by
aggregated capital to multiply trusts and
monopolies. 1t will be shown that the ex-
actions of this system of concentration
have grown more oppressive upon labor
and production. 1t will be shown that
though there has been a slight increase in
the wage scale of the country labor has
not been benefited because the opportuni-
ties OF labor have been narrowed by the
increase of trusts, and that there are act
ually more idle men in the country today
| than a year ago, when the wage rate was
lower.
The protectionists will be on the defen-
siye from the opening to the close of the
Fifty-sixth Congress, and they are going
TO have a hard time explaining away a
multitude of hard, stubborn facts.