Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1890-09-27
MINNESOTA AND THE BILL.


Trust What should BE Done.
Senator Davis, of Minnesota, who is
supposed to belong to the high tariff
crowd, made speech in the Senate a
few days ago in which he showed with
great clearness the burdensome effect
of the tariff upon the farmers, He said
that he favored reciprocity and that he
thought the pending bill should be
amended so as to give the farmers ac-
cess to foreign markets, especially to
the markets of our neighbors north and
south of us. There must be an outlet
for the vast surplus of agricultural prod
ucts which we raise. We can not get rich
by swapping jackets with one another.
Foreign trade is necessity. So good
as he thought the Mckinley bill was as
a whole, he hoped to see it amended in
this direction.
But there were items in it which he
could not approve. Binding twine, up
on which the Finance Committee of the
Senate has placed duty of IL cents a
pound tthe Ways and Means Committee
of the House had fixed the duty at ~
cents should go upon the free list lie
was quite clear on that point His con-
stituents were farmers, and this sense
less and wicked tax cost them 81, 900, 900
year. They could not afford to pay
It; they should not be compelled to
pay it. 1t was simply tax upon the
farmers for the benefit of a gigantic and
greedy corporation. The whole busi-
ness was trusted" All the manufact-
urers of cordage and binding twine
were in the combination. This combi-
nation not only limited the production
of the manufactured article and fixed
its prices, but it controlled the supply
of raw material in the places where it
was grown. 1t exercised its great pow
er mercilessly, and the twine men
played right into its hands. There
were forty-two American and seven
Canadian establishments in the comb BIZ
nation. Their purchases were all made
by one man, and committee Of three
fixed the prices at which they should
sell, and declared how much of a product
they should turn out They were great
er than the Legislature; they were above
the law. Why, he asked, should we
protect these gentlemen? They could
protect themselves and were able tc
''spoliate the world" Yet they were
threatening to shut up these mills wher
the demands were complied with.
| Mr.. Davis showed by figures that the
profits on the manufacture Of binding
twine amounted to 40 per cent; that il
out of the $40, 600, 900 paid for this article
by the American farmers each year
81, 900, 900 was clean profit Such wa
the business that it was now proposed
to protect He thought that it wa
quite able to stand alone.
The situation was so bad in his STATE
that the authorities were going to pu
up machinery in the State prison to tr.
to make binding twine out OF Mime
sofa fax fiber. 1t was, he said, q
striking commentary to protection oi
that industry, that tho greatest whea
growing State in the Union had beeI
compelled to set up in its penitentiar
convict opposition to that all-compre
hending, unsatisfied and extortionat
monopoly"
But this was not all He had sal
something of reciprocity. This idea wa
popular with the people. The Amer
ican people needed other oppol
! tunities than those afforded
the homo market We mus
have consumers. There is genert
desire that other nations should becom
acquainted with the American aal
which used to be known on every sc
and under every sky. This tariff bi
gave us the opportunity to secure gres
advantages, in the way Of trade rel'
tions from ther countries