Show THE DINGLEY BILL IF mr dingley were to receive the condemnation Is and ridicule that his bill is he would begin to think that the world would be better off without him importers denounce the retroactive clause of the dingley measure in a no gentle terms they declare that that portion of the bill 18 is unconstitutional we have no doubt but what that assertion is absolutely correct this question was settled in the case ca e of the united states vs the city of new orleans where the supreme court held that a law can prescribe only for the future it can have no retrospective operation in the case of campbell vs united states the same principle was laid down and mr campbell recovered the duties which he had paid under protest some of the merchants and importers have consulted with legal counsel and are assured that should such a piece of bunco legislation pass congress the courts would promptly declare it void if suit were brought it was inserted no doubt for the purpose of putting a damper upon importation under the wilson law so that there would not be a glutted market A great many believe that the senate will kill such a piece of torn tom foolery as the retroactive clause mr charles R spence a custom broker of new york says say s cc 1 I believe the bill will be materially amended and that it will not reach the president before august A singular feature of tariff legislation is seen in the titles of the mckinley and dingley measures and their inconsistency is marked one was entitled A bill to reduce the revenues and equalize the duties on imports and for other purposes while the other is A bill to provide revenues for the government and t to encourage the industries of the united states 9 yet the duties imposed in each are practically aDy the same those in the dingley bill being higher in some instances than in the other if the mckinley bill reduced the revenues the act will further do so this reasoning seems to us to fi be correct times limes were quite prosperous during the operation of the mckinley act of 1890 yet the revenues enu es were decreased what then will be the result under the dingley bm which is higher than the me kinley wt act when there is a stagnation of business why to be anre s there will be a falling off in the th e rev revenues enaes |