The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1909-02-18
A BILLION A YEAR NEEDED
Required for the Needs of the Gov
ernment- Would Continue the Pro-
tective Tariff Policy, but Wants
Commission to Study and Adopt
Laws to the Needs of the People.

Indianapolis, Ind, Feb. 18.-Assert-
ing that the present method OF max
ing the tariff is a sort of scramble
about once every ten years and adVo-
eating the commission plan under
which the tariff might be in process
of revision all the time, d. A. Tomp-
kins, of Charlotte, n. c., delivered
notable address here today before the
tariff conference.
Mr.. Tompkins discussed the gener-
al subject of revenue, analyzlng IN
round figures the cost of running the
various departments of the Federal
government and defining the three
principal ways provided by the consu-
tuition for raising revenue.
'sIt may be said that the federal
government of the United States OF
America said Mr.. Tompkins, re
uu4res about one thousand million dol
lars per year of revenue to pay the
expenses of conducting the Govern
ment, divided principally as follows
the army $IOO, 900 900; the navy $125,-
OOO, 900; pensions, $150,000, 900; public
works $125, 100000.
Separate from this expense of the
general Government he continued,
'fthe state governments also cost no
ney We may assume that the state
governments cost in the aggregate an
other thousand million dollars year
1t is provided in the Federal Constitu-
ton that the Federal Government
may raise revenue principally in three
ways:
"tl-By internal revenues on whiS-
keys and tobacco and few other-1t-
ems and Iby revenue stamps on docu-
znents when necessary.
''2-By tariffs on imports.
BY direct tax upon the States in
v,s,or,o1,tinp n their DODnlatiOQ.
The states all raise revenue by d1-
rect tax uDon the people and the pro-
perty of the state by license fees, etc.
The revenue of the Federal Govern
ment have always been raised by
means of internal revenues and tariffs
on imports With the burden OF
State and County taxes already upon
them. it would be difficult to persuade
the people to submit to another oil
rect tax at the hands of the Federal
Government
Therefore, it may tbe assumed that
a tariff on imports is now and Will
continue to be one of the most i'm
portant methods of raising the FEEDER
al revenues. Therefore, if this he
true, we can have no free trade and IT
we must have import duty, it is sim
ply a question of how it should be laid
We might put a uniform percentage
tax upon all imports. Let us say that
10 per cent might be enough to raise
the revenues required. Under this
plan everything coming into the Unit
ed States would he taxed. Tea, coffee
sugar, silks, steelrails, plate glass,
everything would pay the 10 per cent
duty.
1--WE all know that it would be
better plan to have tea and coffee on
the free list and make some other
things pay higher tariff. We all know
that in some lines of industry high
er tariff would not only benefit the
industries in the United States 'bui
would make indirect benefits some
times almost incalculable. Therefore
we perceive that tariff may be laid
so as to benefit the American people
and it may be laid in ways that sub
NIT the American people to an unfail
price,
Let us take the cases of the tarif
on coarse cotton goods, continued
the speaker. Fifteen years ago there
was over production of cotton; the
price was cents per pound. Wages
throughout the cotton growing dis
trict were very low and work difficul
to get. Everybody produced cottor
and it was sent abroad to be manufac
tured. Since that time factories have
been developed in cotton growing dis
tricts The factory population have
become consumers OF perishable farm