Show CHAIRMAN DINGLEYS REPORT I Chairman Dingley has reported the tariff bill to the house and has accompanied accom-panied it with a report which is interesting inter-esting reading It is optimistic in the extreme and if all his anticipations are realized the country will no longer want for revenue It is very much to be hoped that all his anticipations will be realized His treatment of the deficit under the present customs laws cannot be said to be ingenuous it is the treatment of a narrow partisan rather than of a broadminded I broad-minded statesman and financier It is all very well to change the deficits that occurred under the McKinley law to an I anticipation of tariff changes under the new administration but that does not fully explain them by any means There was a steady falling off in customs cus-toms receipts from 1890 till 1893 when they went up some 26000000 but falling fall-ing off from that figure in 1S94 some 72000000 And this under the blessed McKinley law There was no such fallng off in the internal revenue rep re-p Chairman Dingley says that the prospect I pros-pect of lower duties checked imports I under the tariff law of 1R90 Will not I n n the prospect of higher duties have the same effect now He makes an estimate esti-mate of what the revenue will be under the new law providing the rate of importations im-portations for 1896 is maintained The estimate is very encouraging very flattering in fact and if the rate of importations for 1896 is kept up when the new bill becomes law is fully warranted war-ranted Will that rate be kept up That is the whole question and at present pres-ent no one can answer it Chairman Dingley urges the necessity neces-sity for prompt action on the new bill It is desirable that his urgings be heeded for if the new bill is to be enacted en-acted Into law which it probably is to be it is best that it be enacted into I law quickly that the people may know what its effect upon the business in I terests is going to be This being the case it follows that it is desirable that there be no long deb tes upon the bill in either the house or the senate By both sides they would be more for political po-litical effect than for the purpose of analyzing the bill and ascertaining what revenue could be expected from the duties levied in each schedule and whether they were too high or too low to accomplish their ostensible purpose From the Republican and protectionist protection-ist standpoint the report will be commended com-mended but it cannot be said that it deals with the subject fairly or fully It ignores some important facts such as Secretary Fosters preparations for a bond issue and does not credit some others with their full force |