The river press., 1904-10-26
FOR REVENUE ONLY
a DEMOCRATIC POLICY AND
HOW IT WORKS IN PRACTICE.
The Wilson Tariff Law and Its Stu
pendous and DISASTROUS Failure,
with Four Years of Accompanying
Business Disaster.

The Democratic policy has often been
announced to be "A TARIFF FOR
REVENUE ONLY" And what this high
sounding policy always in practice has
produced is DIMINISHING REVENUE
AND INCREASING DEFICIT.
The great business depression which
overlook the country during the last
Democratic administration was due not
merely to the anti-protection features of
Democratic tariff tinkering, but to the
very serious falling off in government
revenues which it occasoned.
When there is a condition of uncer
tainty and instability" in business, which
Mr.. Parker himself has admitted follow
ed past attempts in the tariff tinkering
line, the imports of certain classes OF
dutiable goods are always sure to fall off
even with the decreased tariff. for the
reason that the people consume less for
eign luxuries i'll hard times than in good.
With the foreigners flooding the Ameri-
can markets with articles that can just
as well be produced by American labor,
our own people naturally have less tinan-
cial means with which to buy foreign
1aces. silks, teas. wines, perfumes, dia.
monds. works Of art. etc.
AS a revenue producing measure the
Wilson tariff law was a stupendous fail
ure. Its authors showed colossal busi-
ness incompetence in their failure to
make it supply anywhere near the
amount Of revenues required to meet the
expenses Of the government The reve.
nue. from the Wilson bill fell short of the
estimates of it's Democratic trainers by
no less sum than $S7 100000. and
this, inclndins it's sugar import tax. to
which many of the Democratic leaders,
including President Cleveland himself,
had been bitterly opposed. This bill not
only did direct damage to manufacturing
industry everywhere throughout the
country, but it had disastrous effects on
the nations credit. because in causing
the revenues to drop heavily below the
expenditures it forced the government to
draw for its routine expenses on the
treasury gold reserve, which was needed
to preserve the gold standard of value,
and this shrinkage in the gold reserve in
turn necessitated the enormous bond is.
sues in which syndicates secured thei'
notorious 'rake-offs.'
All through 1894 trade decentralization
Increased. and the government revenues
for the first six months Of the year turn.
ed out to be about $40.OO0OOO less thar
the Democratic Secretary of the Treas.
ury. Mr.. Carlisle, had estimated they
would be in his report Of December.
1898. Nevertheless the Democratic lead,
ers failed to heed the warming, but Went
ahead with their free trade tariff bill
without paying the slightest attention to
whether or not the bill could producs
enough revenue for running the govern
ment.
Davis Looks Out for His Own Revenue.
The House of Representatives not only
struck off the import taxes on coal. iron
ore, and WOOL which were exclusively
protective duties, and therefore logical
subjects for revision, from the Demo.
cratic standpoint. but it refused to con
tinue the sugar duties. which were a
revenue tax of the most productive char
acter. The Senate, through the infu-
ence Of III. 6. Davis. now the Demo.
cratic vice presidential candidate. whose
vast fortune was represented chiefly in
coal lands, replaced the duty of 40 cents
per ton on coal, which was an utterly
insignificant source of national revenue,
hut it restored only such part of the
sugar duties as could play directly into
the hands Of the sugar trust. Consid-
cred merely as a law contrived to pro.
duce sufficient revenue. the Senate bill
was undoubtedly superior to the House
bill. The Senate sugar tariffs it is true.
produced eventually hardly one-half a.
much revenue as had been yielded by the
sugar tariff of 1888, but there was never
theless collected from this source, in the
first full year under the amended Wilson
net, the sum OF $29.SOO,OOO, none Of
which revenue would have been obtained
by the government under the House bills
1ree-sugar provisions. But the public
refused for very obvious reasons to give
the trainers Of the Senate amendments
any credit for. this achievement. On. the
eve of the passage OF the Wilson bill
in the upper house it was discovered that
several Democratic Senators. whose
votes controlled action on the sugar du.
ties, were specializing in Wall street in
sugar trust stock. The angry public
clamor over these disclosures was follow
ed by an open letter from President
Cleveland to his supporters in the House,
declaring the senatorial changes to be
Outrageous determinations and viola.
tiOns of principle'-an assertion which
In view Of the platform OF the majority
Was certainly not unwarranted. From
the floor Of the Senate. the Democratic
leaders retorted publicly with much
show of indignation. When, finally
after long and stubborn struggle. the
Senate tariff bill prevailed and passed
both houses, President Cleveland refused
70 put his name to it, and left the bill
e. become a law without his signature.
From Bad to Worse.
The result Of this haphazard reckoning
on the revenue was law which never
produced surplus. Even with it. sugar
import tax the yield OF the Senate bill
in the succeeding year, fell short of tn,
estimate of its authors by no less a sun
than $S7,O0OOO0.s For thia exceedingly
il-timed miscalculation. the Democrat.
Fifty-third Congress is properly held re
sponsible for the necessity of subsequen
bond issues. 1t is true that both house.
had added to the bill tax OF two pc
cent on incomes over $4,000. and in I
vague, indefinite way had reckoned tina
the product OF this tax would make goot
whatever deficiencies might arise from