Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-10-28
IT'S NUMEROUS PARENTS.
WHO MADE THE M'KlNLEY TARIFF
AND HOW THEY DID 1T.

Friends'-Suggestive Facts from The
Congressional Record.
Representative Henry G. Turner, of
Georgia, member of the ways and
means committee Of the Fiftieth and
Fifty-first congresses, has contributed a
very interesting and not uninstructive
paper to the st. Louis Republic, which
explains how and by whom the new
tariff was made in large part The Tel
egraph, while this measure was in course
of making and subsequently, contended
that its most Objectionable features was
its too evident discrimination in favor
of single class, to which it compelled
the entire country to pay enormous
tribute.
This contention is confirmed in most
remarkable manner by Representative
Turner'S paper, no single statement of
which rests upon his unsupported testi-
mony, but every statement of which is
proved by congressional documents. The
makers of the Mckinley bill declared
that "the tariff should be revised by its
friends" and irrefutable evidence shows
that it was so revised. Take, for in
stance, the increased, in some most i'm
portant fabrics the prohibitory, duties
on wooden goods. Mr.. Turner says that
the president of the National Association
of Wooden Manufacturers appeared be-
fore the ways and means committee and
stated wide Hearings, p. 300 that she
had framed two clauses" to be put into
the bill. These clauses are as follows:
"Women's and children's dress goods,
coat Innings, Italian cloths, bunting and
goods of like description, composed
wholly or in part of wool, worsted, the
hair of the goat, alpaca or other animals,
and not otherwise specially enumerated
or provided for, twelve cents per yard,
and il addition thereto 80 per cent. ad
valorem with a blank provisol. Wom-
ems and children's dress goods. coat lin
ings, Italian cloths and goods of SINH
lar character or description, of which
the warp consists wholly of cotton or
other vegetable material, and the re-
mainder of the fabric is composed wholly
or in part of WOOL worsted, the hair of
the goat, alpaca or other animals, eight
cents per square yard and in addition
lDCIClO W pei CCHl an lNllu
blank rrovisol.
Reference being had to the new tariff,
as it passed congress and received the
approval of the president, it will be seen
that Mr.. Whitman's two clauses are lit
orally reproduced in paragraphs 1914 and
395. In the entire act there are few
items more oppressive upon the con-
sumner. and everybody is consumer of
wooden goods, than those which were
not formulated by any member of con-
gress, but by the president of the Asso-
citation Of Wooden Manufacturers. The
duties Oh clothing were increased to vir-
tually the prohibitive point in the same
manner and by similar influence. Mr..
Isaac n. Heidelberger appeared before
the committee wide Hearings, p. 2S)
sin behalf" as he states, "of the whole
sale clothing manufacturers" and sub
mitted schedule of increased duties
which he thought would meet the views
of his constituents. The old duty was
forty cents per pound and 35 per cent.
ad valoreIn.
The new duty is, as suggested by Mr..
Heidelberger, the committee having
made his proposal part of the act, 40f
cents per pound and 60 per cent. ad
valorem. In these two cases, inclusive
of nearly Or quite every kind Of wooden
goods worn OF used by men, women and
children, it does not appear from the
official report of the hearings that any
body appe AIRED in behalf of the con-
sumers, or that anybody on the commit
tee represented them, or that any other
interest save that of the manufacturers
was for single moment considered. A
single class, and that an insignifcantly
| small one, was consulted and had its
demands complied with. Mr.. Heidel-
berger's part of the tariff, made by the
makers of clothing, is to be found in
paragraph 396 of the Mckinley act.
With reg ard to the increased duty on
wood pulp, the foundation of nearly all
the paper that is used for newspapers,
magazines and books, it was not levied
by the ways and means committee or by
congress, but by Mr.. E. L. Embree, the
representative of the wood pulp manu-
facturers of the United States. The du-
ties proposed by him to the committee.
which, adde1 to the cost of printing and
other paper, appear as part Of the new
tariff in para graph Ais. The author of
the tin plate duty was not a member of
congress nor of the committee, but Mr..
William c. Cronemeyer, of Pittsburg,
the representative of the American Tin
| Plate association.
Acting upon the demand of this or
| ganization o. manufacturers, the duty
on tin plate was increased to 80 cents
per pound. By comparing report of
Hearings, p. SO, with paragraph 143
| Of the act, it will be seen how potential
Mr.. Cronemeyer was in inficting an
enormous tax on the people of the country
| for the benefit of his handful Of clients.
In the case of table cutlery the duties
We're more than doubled upon the de-
mand Of Mr.. Charles S. Sanders, of New
Britain, Conn. His schedule as sub
nitted was as follows wide Hearings,