Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1894-01-20
POUNDING AWAY.
House Labored, with the Tariff
All Day Friday.
Mr.. Johnson's Personal Benefit Free
Steel Rail Scheme Defeated.
mr. Hsnderssn Pitches Into tie Democrats
Also into Inc Pfesiaent.

1rt0 committee OF the whole en- the wilson
bill. Pending the amendment proposed By
Johnson (Dem.) Of Ohio, putting steel
rails on TIE free list, Ua'zeli (Rep.) of
Pennsylvania attacked johnson. calling
lin 'rob5er baron" who paid his men
one-tLisd cash and two-thisds scrip, taking
advantage Of the sitter to drive Ills bar
gain with bis employees.
johnson defended himself. but acknowl-
edged that he tried to monopol'z. the tteel
rsii business by means of his patents,
though tine courts had not sustained them.
John, on said it was a question Of ciosih 6
the mills altogether or paying partly in
,c.ip, and he obese the tier. Ia his opia-
ion IL ives better TO do that than clese the
mill, as was done at Spairow's Point, and
advocated by the Steel Rail Trust. There
would be time enough to complain of that
issue Of scrip when his company failed to
redeem it.
Chairman Wilson appealed to the Demo-
cratic members not to adopt the johnson
amendment. The bill, he said was drawn
up carefully and consc;entIously, and he
did not thick it was wise thing TO put such
an important article as steel rails on the
free list 1t would be unwise to make such
a sweeping change without due elaboration,
il il seemed apparent, in view of the new
light turned on the question, that the COM
mittee put too high rate on steel rails, the
committee would reconsider the matter and
lay the case before The House. Under the
present law the tariff on tel rails is Sl3 Al
a ton and the proposed tariff % per cent.
ad valorem. which, at the present price of
steel rails is equivalent to 81 Al a ton,
q reduction of more that two
thirds. If steel rails were put on the free
list, there is just as much reason for put
ting pig iron and everything else in the
iron schedule on the free list. He wanted
to draw the fapgs Of The steel rail serpent
snd did not want to iojnre the industry.
Cannon (Rep.) of Illinois waited tariff
put on steel rails that would leave sniff
Gent margin of profit to those engaged in
the busness or who might hereafter enter
it. lie was not willing to lower the tariff
below that limit of safety. In the matter
of pools he admitted that probably steel
rail pools were just as combinations in ey-
cry other product. He upheld the policy
of protection on the ground that it enabled
smaller manufacturers to continue in bust
ness. s, ttEt
After further discussion a vote was taken
en- the johnson amendment. 1t was lost
on vote by tellers ayes, 10; nays, 100.
Henderson (Rep.) of Iowa, offered as an
amendment TO TIE agricultural schedule of
the Wilson till, the corresponding schedule
Of the Mckinley law. Henderson's speech
in support of the amendment was largely
directed to reply to the recent speeches Of
Cochran fDem. of New York.
He ridieuled the idea of Cochran posing
as reformer or liberator of the people
from the thrslldom of the tariff. He stated
that Cochran had denounced the Republic
can party because it was not wide enough
to take in the whole of humanity. But he
Henderson, did not understand that it was
intended to do so; all it was supposed to
take in was the people Of the United States.
Refersn nee had been made to the Repub-
lican policy of protection as 'fraud and
robbery" and TO the beneficiaries of that
policy as "robber barons;" "but," he
added, ''if we are robbers, We rob Ameri-
cans for the benefit of American; and the
purpose of the Democratic party is to rob
all Americans for the benefit of everybody
outside of America" Republican laugh
ter and applause.
Ia attacking the Presidents pension pol
icy he said: "You are sending ont your
after the poor crippled sol
ders." He said it could not be expected
that he would sympathize with the PROPOSE
ton to put another mortgage upon the
American people by selling bonds. Re-
publican applause "Give the country
chance" be said, cit will come around all
right; it is strong, powerful and rich."
Great arl lause was given Henderson as
knk .al no Aahato Irsffn1 alamo
in a desultory way for some time. Tawney
(Rep.) of Minnesota. addressed the com.
m,tee on the subject of barley, arguing
that the existing rate should be instituted
of that proposed in the pending
bill. Lockwood Dem.) of New York,
stated that Canadian barley fetched, in the
regular market, 10 to 90 cents bushel
more than American barley, and no barley
equal to Canadian barley could be raised
in the United States. These
statements were disputed by Tawney and
other members.
Blair (Rep.) of New Hampshire thought
the time coming when Canadian barley.
would be raised in America and American
barley raised in Canada.
Tawney said the Mckinley act practi-
cally excluded American barley. Ameri-
can farmers were growing and selling TO-
day from - 100000 to 100000 bushels
more barley every year that It had done
prior to the Mckinley act.
Bryan (Dem.) of Nebraska believed
that the bill would bring more advantage to
farmers in the reduction of duties on
things they had to buy than disadvantage
to them from the reduction of duties on
things they had to sell.
Bryan was asked to explain why the COM
mittee on ways and means left the duty at
So or 40 per cent. on wooden goods, after
putting wool on the free list. Bryan re-
piled that under the Mckinley act the duty
on wooden goods was about % per cent, SO
the manufacturer could charge on an aver
age 50 per cent. more for his
goois than he could without tariff. He
believed it good deal better for people to
have duty on wooden goods of 3S per
cent. than 9s per cent. He was willing to
admit that tariff even Of 10 per cent.
levied purposely for protection, was just as
indefcasibie as tariff Of 1000 per cent,
levied for protection.
lie said: 1.-The tariff on wooleu goods
was left in this bill for double purpose.
1t was left id to bring revenue to the gav-
ernmcnt, and their reason Was that the
Democratic party found il harder to DO JUS
tice to the consumer than the Republican,