182 a short history of the united states
on July 4 , 1890 , whereupon the Senate approved the McKinley Tariff
Act and President Harrison signed it on October 1. Naturally, manu-
facturers raised the prices on their products without fear of being un-
dercut by foreign competition. It did not take long for the tariff to be
seen as a tax on the poor to benefit rich industries.
This bill also included an interesting provision that allowed the
President to raise duties without obtaining congressional approval, in
order to encourage reciprocal tariff agreements with foreign nations.
This was an important surrender by Congress of one of its most jeal-
ously guarded prerogatives: the power to levy taxes and control the
purse strings.
An even more important piece of legislation was passage of the
Sherman Anti-Trust Act. The need to curb and control the prolifera-
tion of monopolies in basic industries, such as oil, sugar, and beef, had
for many years been demanded by reformers and those who recognized
that the elimination of competition hindered the formation of small
and middle- size companies. It also meant higher prices for the con-
sumer, and that struck hardest at middle-class people and the poor.
Public concern about the growth of monopolies had already prompted
twenty states and territories of the United States to pass antitrust legis-
lation. But to really get a handle on the problem required federal ac-
tion. Although the Republican Party generally opposed such legislation,
it saw the need to accede to pop ular demand, and in July 1890 , it passed
the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, whereby “every contract, combination in
the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy in restraint of trade... is
hereby declared to be illegal.”
But this act was inherently weak. It was ambiguous. It failed to de-
fine the meaning of such words as “trust,” “restraint,” and “combina-
tion.” And was unclear whether unions and railroads were covered by
this legislation. Thus, the act was not vigorously enforced, and mo-
nopolies continued to grow under other names.
The record of achievement by this Congress in passing 641 bills,
many of which were important, came as something of a shock to the
American people when it learned that $ 1 billion had been appropriated.
A billion dollars! It struck many as unbelievable. They therefore de-
manded an explanation of this “Billion-Dollar Congress.” Speaker
Reed supposedly responded: “It is a billion-dollar country.”