The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1894-10-18

made. I have the honor OF being o
member Of the committee on finance
and was member Of the committee Of
conference Of the two houses, which
passed upon the bill In its Anal stages.
I was not consulted about the bill, while
my colleague, Senator Brice, who was
not on either committee, had, Il is said,
Q good deal to do with 1t.
The result of 1t all was the substitu-
ton Of the senate bill, sometimes called
the German Brice bill, for the Wilson
bill, and IL was agreed to by both houses.
It was that or nothing. Mr.. Cleveland
called it party perfdy and party dis
honor and refused to sign 1t.
Mr.. Wilson at the banquet given to
him in London expressed his REGRET that
he could not do more for our English
cousins on the road 10 free trade, but he
and all our Democratic leaders say that
the bill as it passed is only
The Beginning of the March.
He, no doubt, assured his hosts that the
reduction of the duty already
made would increase impoYta-
tions and lessen home production; that
the law already passed is only an evil
dence of what is to come.
The bill was certainly In q very pre-
900 amendments, some of which were
Inconsistent with each other. Some of
them created absurdities that must be
corrected. The whole character CT the
bill was changed.
It was incongruous, not satisfactory to
anyone, either in its principles or its de-
tails. Yet the condition between tae two
houses-both Democratic-wass such that
the conference committee of the two
houses utterly failed to bring about an
agreement upon anything. After hold
ing it In conference for two months they
agreed to disagree and the disagreement
was reported to both houses with every
prospect of the defeat of the bill, but the
Democratic majorities felt that they
must do something to redeem their
promises, and go the house, without even
q reading Of the amendments of the senate
adopted them in gross and thus secured
the passage Of the bill.
A measure so vital to the Interests of
the United States, which reversed the
policy of the government for over 30
years, and 80 hopelessly
Divided the Democratic Party.
was thus finally passed. This was Inn.
mediately followed by the introduction
of half dozen so.called pop gun" bills,
changing the law as 1t passed. The
President denounced the whole measure,
as l have said, as party perfidy and a
party fraud and refused to sign it. This
Is the measure that you are now called
on to consider and approve.
The consideration of these supple
mental bills was postponed until the
next session, and now the whole subject
of tariff legislation is open for revision.
Business men are at loss to know
how to conduct their business or what
shape this terror of legislation will take
during the next session. In the mean
time il is open for your final judgment.
The election of Republican house will
secure you from dangers that you have
so far escaped and will in all probability
secure the defeat of this crude, incon-
sistent and dangerous measure.
wish now to point out some Of tbs
Salient Provisions of This Law.
for, though II is upon the statute book,
1t is not beyond your reach. You have
the final vote upon it, and without your
consent it will not stand long as the
law of the land. The most marked fea-
turs Of this tariff law is its intense sec.
tionalism. Every leading production OF
the south ie protected by high protective
duties. II was revised almost exclu.
avely by senators from the southern
states The senators from Tennessee,
Missouri, Arkansas and Texas had the
bill in charge. They are avowed free
traders, but were very careful that the
principles Of free trade should not BE-
applied to the productions Of their sec
tion, while they were willing to sacri-
flee the great interests that have been
developed in the northern states to their
theories of free trade. The duty on i'm
ported rice is 1-2 cents pound. This
Is 90 cents for brishel of rice weighing
go pounds. On oranges the duty is 81. so
per ZOO in bulk. The duty on sugar is
40 per cent. ad valorem and on all sug-
ars above 10 Dutch standard an addi-
tional duty of 1-8 of cent and lilo of
Q cent upon sugar which has received a
bounty from the country from which it
IL exported.
imported articles used almost exclu-
sively in the south are
Made Free Of Duty.
while similar articles in the north are
subject to duty. Bagging for cotton is
free and 80 are cotton ties made of iron
and steel, while all other forms of iron
and steel used principally in the north are
subject to duty. Every little interest Of
the south. such as peanuts, sumac, mica
and many other productions are protected
by duties, and usually by specific duties
which cannot be evaded, while nearly all
the great AGRICULTURAL productions of the
north art subject to low ad valorem duties
which car bs and art easily evaded by
under valuation.
rhe Duty on Wheat,
corn, beans, rye and all the great cereals,
the products Of the north, Ia 90 per cent ad
valCrtm Wien we consider the low price
OF these articles aud the sharp competition
in them witn our neighbors in Canada, il
is very low duty compared with the
duties on rice, sugar and other agricul
tural products Of the south.
But the great wrong and injustice OF
this bill is in placing wool on the free list
Wool is one of the most valuable produc-
tions Of our country, essential to its inde.
pendence as d nation. Ever since 1915 II
has been protected and fostered by reason
able duties. Our farmers are compelled
to compete with Australia, Argentina and
all other new countries in the production
Of this importVnt staple. The pretext fol
this Is that wool is raw material, and
yet it Is the result of one years labor and
care by more than ,0OO. 900 farmers.
Iron ore aud coal are carefully protected
and chiefly because they have rscen i,