The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1904-10-07
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1904.
FOR REVENUE ONLY
A DEMOCRATIC POLICY AND
HOW IT WORKS IN PRACTICE.
h Wilson Tariff Law and lite Stu
pendous and Disastrous Failure,
with Four Years Of Accom pa nyin
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
hcmDcr. tir tariff tinkering. but to the
very serious falling off in government
revenues which it occasioned.
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 in hard times than in good.
With the foreigners flooding the Ameri-
can markets with articles that can just
as we'll be produced by American labor.
our w people naturally have less tnan-
cial means with which to buy foreign
laces, 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 bust
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 its Democratic trainers by
no less a sum than SS7 100000, and
this, including its 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 10
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 their
notorious "rake-offs."
All through 1894 trade generalization
increased, and the government revenues
for the first six months OF the year turn
ed out to be about S4O.OOO,OOO less than
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 warning. but went
ahead with their free trade tariff bill
without paying the slightest attention to
whether or not the bill could produce
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 1uties, and therefore logical
subjects for revision, from the Demo
cratic standpoint, but it refused to CON
time the sugar duties. which were a
revenue tax of the most productive char
acter. The Senate, through the influ-
ence OF III. G.. 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,
but 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
Dill. The Senate sugar tariff. it is true.
produced eventually hardly one-half as
much revenue as had been yielded by the
sugar tariff Of 1883. but there was never
theiess collected from this source. in the
first full year under the amended Wilson
act. the sum of S29.SOO. 600, none of
which revenue would have been obtained
by the government under the House bills
free-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
Courageous determinations and viola
tons OF principle"-an assertion which,
in view OF the platform of the majority.
was certainly not unwarranted. From
the 0OOr or the senate. the DemOcratlc
leaders retorted publicly with much
show OF indignation. When. finally.
after a long and stubborn struggle, the
Senate tariff bill prevailed and passed
both houses, President Cleveland refused
to put his name to it. and left the bill
Go become q law without his signature.
From Had to Worse.
The result OF this haphazard reckoning
on the revenue was a law which never
produced a surplus. Even with its sugar
import tax the yield of the Senate bill.
in the succeeding year, fell short of the
estimate of its authors by no less a sum
than $S7 100000. For this exceedingly
ill-timed miscalculation. the Democratic
Fifty-third Congress is properly held re-
sponsible for the necessity OF subsequent
bond issues. 1t is true that both houses
had added to the bill a tax of two per
cent on incomes over $1,000, and in a
vague, indefinite way had reckoned that
.he product of this tax would make good
whatever deficiencies might arise from