Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-03-02
OPINIONS OF STATESMEN.
1nterviews with Gentlemen w,1oas roli

Interviews with Gentleman Whose PoIi.
 tics Arc at Variance.
 WASHINGTON, March 2.-In an interview with representative of The United Press on the tariff bill MT. Mills said: To begin with, let us glance at the free list. There are, 200 or 800 articles on which the duty is to be re- moved. A large number of these articles thus placed on the free list are of minor i'm portance, and the change can in no wise affect our industries; and where country charges an import duty upon any of the articles named, the present duty will remain. The principal items are lumber, and as to some of the articles placed on the free list the result will be to break up a few of the numerous trusts now forming in the country Copper is all instance: The total amount of reduction that will arise from the extension of the free list will be something like $22,OOO, ,OOO
 The reduction on wool and woolen goods will amount in round numbers to $12, ,OOO, ,OOO Where specific duty was charged before we have changed it on a number of manu- factured articles to an ad valorem standard On sugar reduction of $15, 5,0OO, 900. One result of this will be to break up the infamous trusts that have been formed for the purpose of increasing the price of that article.
 { The reductions on iron and steel rails are small, and think the importation of such articles will not be materially. increased. Iron in pig is put at $6 per ton. The reduction in leaf, manufactured and not stemmed, we have fixed the duty at S5 cents per pound, Sumatra is included. When the duty on Sumatra was $1 per pound a good deal of it was smuggled, and the revenue was thereby lost to tne g g2yernmenss mn Sa pn some 9 of the / the revende will be increased, while on others it will be reduced. Fish we have not touched. That question has always caused trouble be- tween this country and Canada, and involves dispute that we don't care to encourage.
 We have purposely left the internal reve! nue question outside, and will bring in a sep aratesmeaspre for that. We intend to have a bill on that subject. It may be appended in the house to the general bill, but that I am unable to say just now. The customs duties will be reduced about $55 900 ,OOO, and in such way that the manuf ufacturing indus tries of the country will have no cause for needless alarm.
 The bill reduces the revenue, by the closest estimate which can now be made, by about $53, ,OOO, ,OOO, of which $22, ,25O, 900 come from extension of the free list, $12, ,OOO, 900 from woolens, $11, ,OoO, 900 from sugar, $1 800, 900 GOO from metals, $500, 900 from chemicals, $500, 900 from provisions, $250, 0,OOO from cot tons nearly &2, 2,0OO, 900 from hemp, jute, etc., !: apdIab6t 31Q, 900 900 from suntlries.i < Mr. Reed tm Mainet lit is absolutely i'm DOSS1Dl0 1n one Ody or III C0n CO 0X6mlQ0 OllI containing 500 or 1000 items; nor can any one man do. it any time All anybody can say about it must be in the most general way. Speaking in that way the very first thing. which strikes any intelligent man is that it is absolutely political bill. There is not the faintest trace of economic principle running through it; hardly even 8 pretense of that is left; It is also by necessity sectional in the extreme. A few pet manufacturers have been consulted, a few Democratic members have been seen; but the great industrial in terests of the country have been left in the dark. Coal and iron ore, for example, are kept off the free list because West Virginia Democrats were afraid Maine they have no hope of, ana she is struck from boundary to boundary. The great northern timber belt and the Pacific coast also are under the ban.
 The treatment which the minority has re- k ceived ts utterly unprecedented in the, his- tory of the country. Why should Repnbli- cans, the protectionists on the committee, be utterly ignored2 Why have they been re- fused presence at the hearings given the pet manufacturers? What were they put on the committee for? You tell me the majority have resolved to refuse to give hearings. But z they are gnigtaken. They cannot maintain that attitud6 lt has ho senss and no piece
 The following additional expressions were gathered from members of the ways and means committee:
 MT, Breckinridge (of Arkansas}-I is Q bill which will eertainly pass I.u
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