The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1888-04-05
Juggling With Coal aad Iron.

Juggling With Coal aad Iron.
The article below shows that the dicker
the political marplets are making to bring
strength to the Mills tariff bill may prove
dangerous experiment to the coal and
iron ore interests of the South. The bill
ostensibly retains the tariff of rs cents a
ton on bitumlnous coal and iron ore, but
in fact it leaves it an open question wheth-
.er this would be SO or not, The safest
thing to do would be to kill the bill and
thus obviate the danger The article is
from the Philadelphia Press and reads:
The Mills tariff bill originally Put btu
minous coal and iron ore on the free list,
Southern States protested, and these ar
tic!es were removed from the free list.
These important industries were supposed
to be safe. Are they?
The Mills tariff makes free mineral
substances in crude state. and metals
unwrOught not specially enumerated or
!. proyided for" 1t has another clause re-
Stealing all laws Inconsistent with il.
Bitumnous coal is mineral substance
in crude state" So is iron ore. Sup
pose Treasury decision held that the later
and broader designation repealed the duty
levied by the earlier and narrower one :
Bituminous coal would be tree. Iron ore
would be free. Canadian coal would take
possession of New England and the lake
nports. English coal would pour into
Southern ports. Iron ores would meet
domestic ores at the Seaboard and Inland.
Mines would be closed in every State in
the Union which produces bituminous
coal and iron ore.
ho of dnRICfnn steel
finding, the knit goods ruling, the inter-
tpretation of the wooden and worsted
clause, all these show how easily a broad
clause can be used to nullify the PLAIN
meaning of more specific imposition of
duty. What an easy path this clause would
!. open for the Administration to keep its
parol agreement with England, at the
close of the fisheries conference. to use its
influence to admit free Canadian coal and
iron ore
The Mills bill is full of these traps and
pitfalls. This is the worst. but it is only
one of them There is only one way to
that is to say What ffssq What it says. and
We advise no Representative. be he
Democrat or Republican, whose consti
tuents mine ere or bituminous coal. to
: rest until he has had amendments made
to the Mills bill imposing specific duties f
seventy five cents per ton on bItuminons
coal and iron ore. This will be safe.
Nothing else will be. Unless an industry
is protected in express terms by the Mills
, bill the basket clauses of that measure are
liable to leave il UNPROTECTED.
= The Treasury Department has just
shown the spirit in which these clauses
will be interpreted bv deciding in q Gal
!. aeston case March II, 1888 that coal with
:. less than 20 rer cent. of volatile. COM
a oustible Natter is :" anthracite" and
:. therefore free. Such ruling would strip
Sof Protection everv semi bitnmlnous coal
in the country. Under it Cumberland and
Pocahontas COAL and most of the South
ern Goals. would be held to be ''anthracite"
by the Treasury Department. and GOALS
& like them could come in free.
- Therefore. we say to the coal and iron
4 ore men ard to every one else. trust to moth
put specific duty in the Mills tariff.
* The BIRMINGHAM Open-Heartn