Milford chronicle., 1904-10-07

eT,yrNTE ONLY" And what this high
.,linr policy always in practice has
sIg.eJ is DIMINISHING REVENUE 4
t,yD I'm, INCREASING DEFICIT.
rbs rreat business depression which
,.srtook the country during the last
Domoeratic administration was due not
Is.ey p TO the auti-protection features Of
nomocratie tariff tinkering, but to the
,rr serious falling off in government
,orspues which it occasiOned.
When there is a condition of uncer-
,.intv and instability in business, which
A. Parker himself has admitted follow
a mast attempts in the tariff tinkering
Inc tbe imports of certain classes Of
Sntiable goods are always sure to fall off
sren with the decreased tariff, for the
reason that the people consume less for
srp Injuries in 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,
onr own people naturally have less fnan-
cial means with which TO buy foreign
hces silks. teas wines, perfumes, dia-
monds. works Of art, etc.
As a revenue-prOducing measure the
Wilson tariff law was a stupendous fail
nre Its authors showed colossal bust
moss 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 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 their
notorious "rake-offs.'
All through 1894 trade decentralization
AutAFhoENs anu AnE EtN q lllIAtEL AEh El4NN@
for the first six months of the year turn
ed out to be about S40,000,000 less than
the Democratic Secretary of the Treas
ury, Mr.. Carlisle, had estimated they
would be in his report Of December
1888. 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 Ont 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 logica /
SUBJECTS for revision. from the Demo |
Gatc standpoint. but it refused to con- /
unue the sugar duties. which were
revenue tax Of the most productive char
acter. The Senate, through the infu
enee Of II. 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 1t restored only such part Of the
sugar duties as could play directly into |
'ne hands Of the sugar trust. Consid-
Hed merely as a law contrived to pro-
uuce sufficient revenue, the Senate bill
Was undoubtedly superior to the House
Oil The Senate sugar tariff. it is true.
produced eventually hardly one-half as
luch revenue as had been Welded by the
sugar tariff of 1888 but there was never
,usless ! collected from this source. in the
l'sl iull year under the amended Wilson |
lc. the sum of S29,S00,OO0. none Of
"lch revenue would have been obtained 1
y 'Ae government under the House bills |
Ieeslgar provisions. But the public /
dused for very obvious reasons to give |
le trainers Of the Senate amendments
u! credit for this achievement. On the /
we OF the passage of the Wilson bill |
u 'Ae upper house it was discovered that
vera! Democratic Senators. whose
Vles controlled action on the sugar du-
~ were speculating in Wall street in (
Lsa' uuSt stock. The angry public
! ,1-iO' over these disclosures was follow e
y oy an open letter from President {
y, ''e!and to his supporters in the House. 2
'1i4Ilhg the senatorial changes to be 4
ou''ageous Determinations and viola t
uns OF principle assertion which, r
view OF the platform of the majority, T
ae certainly not unwarranted. From /
y uooF of the Senate. the Democratic 4
a1s's .@ retorted publicly with much +
w" or Indignation. When. finally. r
,.el . long and stubborn struggle. the
'ia,e '.l tariff bill prevailed and passed r
va houses, President Cleveland refused 8
pul ms name to it. and left the bill G
'econie a law without his signature. a
From Rad TO Worse. h
1.e result OF this haphazard reckoning h
ule revenue was a law which never u
uluced a surplus. Even with its sugar c
'pvI' tax the yield of the Senate bill!
:, ,1e succeeding year, fell short Of the
mite e OF It's authors by no less p sum v
.a -. eetVUO'OO0. For this exceedingly II
s.l .iiea &c, mscalculatiOn. the Democratic Il
',..,i 1,y.lllrd Congress is properly held re- d
WI Is!oie Tor the necessity of subsequent | R
4 issues. 1t is true that both houses q
\, -uueu to the bill a tax of two per
q, ~. 9n incomes over $1,000. and in a
= sus' indefinite way had reckoned that pi
/, ,t.ct t.ouuct of this tax would make good fC
'o.eEer deficiencies might arise from in
NJ Nshedules. The income tax did not ii
~ n. 'ue test of examination by the
XIV l' states Supreme Court. and 10
!" revenue was ever derived from it, / o.,