Waterbury Democrat., 1901-12-13
BILLS 10 PROVIDE REVENUE
Several of Them Discussed in
 the House To-Day
The Majority Report for the Philip nine Tariff Bill Was Presented To- Day-The Payne Revenue Bill Will Be Considered Next Tuesday.


 Be Considered Next Tuesday
 Washington. Dec 13.--After an ad- .isurnment of three days, the house met st noon to-day MT Cannon of Illinois asked the unanimous consent for the consideration of the senate bill to continue the industrial plan to February 15. After some discussiOl the bill was passed.
 MT Payne of New York, chairman of the ways and means committee, re ported back q substitute for his bill to temporarily provide revenue for the Philippines. Mir Richards offered a minority report and both were ordered printed Mir Payne said he would call up his bill for consideration next Tuesday and asked that the bill meet with that consideration on Tuesday and Wednesday next up to four o'clock of the latter day. The house agreed and adjourned to next Tuesday.
 Chairman Payne of the committee on ways and means to-day presented the majority report on the Philippine tar iii bill. It says:
 This bill is designed to raise revenue for the government and benefit of the Philippine archipelago. It is intend- ed to restore the status which existed prior to the late decision of the SUI preme court in the diamond rings" case. Prior to that decision the gov ernment had been collecting duties on goods coming into the United States from the Philippine archipelago at the same rates as those provided in our tariff laws for like articles imported from foreign countries The court holds that the Philippine archipelago is not foreign country, and therefore the general tariff law does not apply. This bill extends the rate now existing upon imports from foreign countries to articles brought ill from the Philip pine islands.
 In the Philippine archipelago the United States Philippine commission prepared tariff act after much care and study. Their object has been and is to release sufficient revenue to sup port q government in the Philippines, to provide amply for the education of the people, to open up,the highways of commerce, both foreign and domestic, and to provide ample police force for the preservation of order. Those diff ferent forms of tariff in force there have produced a surplus of revenue after paying the expenses of the gov ernment. This bill proposes in the first section to make this Philippine tariff a part of the statutes of the Unit ed States.
 The necessity for a continuance of revenue which shall be both ample q in ie inn z tinue the police and constabulary sys- tenn which has been inaugurated, and which is doing So much to restore and conserve order in the islands, it will call for large increase in appropri- ations. We have enrolled 10000 school children in the public schools. Of this number more than one-half are without schoolhouse accommodation. It is necessary that we build suitable houses at once. Ten thousand adults were at last accounts enrolled for night schools, and we are told that this num- Der has since increased probably to at least 35,000. These people, anxious to learn our language and to better their mental condition, must be amply pro- vided for. Four thousand teachers have been employed. nearly all of them recently. and their salaries must be paid. This great work of education must not be crippled, even for a short time. for lack of funds.
 Our government has gone to work systematically through the commission for the improvement of the harbor of Manila. They have let the contract. after a public advertisement and com petitive bids, to the lowest bidder. This contract calls for the expenditure of three millions of dollars inathe near future. Roads are being constructed and the building of roads in this tropi- cal country is expensive. These are but a few of the many items of eX. penditure which are imperative. All these expenditures are preparing the way for a reduction of the army and in the end will prove of direct benefit to the taxpayers of the United States.
 The bill also provides for the colfec- ton of tonnage taxes on vessels ply ing between the ports of the United States and the Philippine archipelago It further provides that vessels not of the United States may ply between these ports, notwithstanding our coast wise navigation laws, until the first day of January, 1905,' when it is be- lleved these islands may safely come under the operation of our present status and vessels only of the United States be employed in our commerce with them.
 At present our own people who ship goods to these islands are handicapped bysthe internal revenue tax and duties paid upon foreign goods imported here and used in the manufacture of arti- cles sent to the Philippines. The sixth clause of the proposed bill is designed to remedy this.
 The fourth section provides that all the duties and taxes collected under the act shall not be converted into the general fund of the treasury of the United States. but paid into the treas- ury of the Philippine islands, to be used and expended for the use and benefit of these islands.
 The object of the bill is to meet q pressing emergency, practically and efficiently. We present the tariff act of the commission as the best that can be devised in the limited time left for us to act.