Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1888-07-22
STEEL SCHEDULE
is SIT DOWN III rHE HILLS BILL.
Better for the Soft Steal Industries Than tho
Present Tariff.
In EXHAUSTIVE EXPLANATION
Of the Changes Congressman
Wilson's Opinion.

Special Telegram 10 tie Sunddp Register.
WASHINGTON, D. c., July 2l.-Your
correspondent this morning asked Con-
gresham Wilson how the question Of hard
and soft steel stands in the Mills bill, as
finally agreed upon. 'There is no dis
tinction in the existing law or in the bill
between hard and soft steel as such. The
law imposes duty of forty-fve per cent.
on steel blooms, ingots, slabs and billsts,
and duty of seventeen dollars ton on
steel rails. The rails, I suppose, are
meant by "hard Steel" the blooms,
ETC., by soft Steel" on this
classification. In preparing the Mills
bill the committee were Impressed
with the belief that this was too great Q
discrepancy, and was due to the influence
Of the steel rail combination. They cut
dswn the duty on rails from seventeen to
eleven dollars per ton, and had placed bill.
lets and slabs on the same footing. But
it was found that the rails were the finished
product, while billets and slabs were the
raw material, so to speak, of many of the
commonest articles of use Q necessity. To
raise the duty on these beyond what the
law now makes it, and especially beyond
the schedule of 1888, notoriously made by
the iron and steel men themselves, was
against the theory of the bill, and
when the Republicans, under the
lead of Major Mckinley, bit
terly attacked the classification Of billets
and slabs with rails, and denounced it as
an act of wrong to the farmers, ETC., 1t was
deemed best on one side to leave the former
as they are in the law, at As per centum,
and to diminish the difference between
them by cutting off six dollars from the
steel rails. This does not equalize them as
the bill at first proposed, but it takes
away an immense part of the advantage
which the steel rails have heretofore under
the existing tariff had over billets, ETC."
Gas the matter now stands, these bill
lets, blooms aud ingots are rated at 45 per
centum, that being the existing law, and
your bill cuts down rails from SIT to $l1
per tonP"
Mr.. Wilson-''Thst is it exactly"
I append Major MoKinley's remarks,
when discussing the Mills bill who had
no hesitancy in running down protection
when it answered his purpose.
"Now, here is single item, steel bill
ets. The present duty on steel billets is
As per cent. ad valorem. In this bill it is
increased to $11 per ton, which Is equiva-
lent to 68 33 per cent.-an advance Of 45
per cent Do you know what is made ont
of these steel bilistsP Wire fencing, which
incloses the fields Of the West; and the
raw material is increased 45 per cent. by
this hill; and if the principle Of the gen.
tlemen who advocate the bill be true, that
the duty Is added to the cost, every pound
of wire fencing that goes to the West will
be increased from one'quarter to one-balf
cent o pound; all this under Democra-
tic bill. What else Is made out of steel
billets? Nails, which everybody uses,
which enter into the everyday uses of
the people The duty upon nails is re-
duced 25 per cent, and the raw
material in increased As per cent
Laughter As friend near me sug-
gests, when one end goes up the other goes
down; and the latter, trust, will be the
fate Of this bill. Laughter.
Why, sir, the duty on wire fencing Is
only As per cent. ad valorem; yet the billet
from which wire fencing is made must pay
in this bill SO per cent. Here (illustrat-
ingl isa piece Of wire rod drawn from
these steel billets, and which finally goes
into fencing. That is dutiable ct 45 per
cent. under this bill; and the steel from
which it is made is dutiable st SO per
cent. What do you think Of raw mate
rial for manufactures? Laughter. No
account is here taken of the labor required
to draw the rods"