The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-12-30
WHAT THE RICE MEN WANT.
THEY WILL INSIST ON A DEFINI-
TION OF ROUGH RICE.


Flour in 1t Has Been Brought i'm
Under the Rough Rice Clnssifica-
tion-COl. CIinch VIII Appoint the
Rice Association Committee To-
day-Representative From This
Section VIII Meet the Louisiana
Men in Washington MOnday-To
Appeal for Higher Duties.
Col. ]. H. NJ. Clinch, president of the
Rice Association, will appoint to-day the
committee which will represent the rice
growers of this section before the ways
and means committee OF the House in the
matter of the petition for higher tariff
on rice.
There will be two members on this COM
mittee, Col. Clinch says, and he would
have appointed them earlier but for the
fact that the gentlemen whom he wishes
to represent the association were not in
the city, and he could not be positively
assured that they would serve. The APP
pointments, however, will be made to-day,
as the committee will have to be in Wash
ington on Monday for the purpose of con-
ferring with the delegation of rice growers
from Louisiana. The cause of both dele
cations is a common one, and they want
to present the matter to the ways and
means committee of the House on Tues
day in the best possible light.
There are several concessions that the
rice growers are going to ask at the
hands of congress. They not only want
a higher duty on both clean and rough
rice, but they want rough rice properly
defined, as they have had considerable
trouble heretofore with regard to the de,
finition.
In the first place, they want the duty
on clean rice raised from cents, as 1t
stands at present to pa or 21A cents, as 1t
stood under the former tariff law They
hold that this is absolutely necessary to
the protection of the industry in this
country, which has suffered materially
under the reduced tariff as provided in the
Wilson bill.
The tariff under the Wilson bill might
have been smaller than it was had it not
been for the fact that the rice planters took
such a determined stand in the matter.
1t will be remembered that among other
sections Savannah sent a delegation to
Washington at the time that bill was up
for consideration, for the purpose OF ask
ing that the tariff on rice be maintained.
While they did not secure all they desired,
they succeeded in keeping the tariff con-
siderably above what it might have been.
In the next place the tariff on rough rice
lie Jnp,, 81 IF
this raised at least to one cent. Then they
want rough rice properly defined. Rough
rice is an English term in the trade and
is not considered there the same as 1t is
among the southern planters. with the
trade for the purposes of getting rice IN
at the lowest possible cost, rough rice has
been taken to mean anything from rice
with all the hulls on to clean rice with
little rice flour in it. 1t is generally the
latter class that is brought in under the
rough rice schedule, that is clean rice with
a little rice -four in it, and the flour can be
blown out of it with very little trouble.
This plan of many of the importers has
to a great extent defeated the object of the
tariff on clean rice, as nearly all of the
rice comes in under the rough rice sched-
ule through it's having mixed with 1t
little rice -four. The planters want rough
rice defined as rice having the inner null
left on it, and such rice as this of course
would require some mining lhStSou VI :"
little blowing before it could be put on the
market.
1t NAV be that Charleston will also send
a. committee to Washington, in which case
all of the rice men will hold a meeting to
advise together on Monday, and they will
then decide upon some concerted plan of
action. The ways and means committee
will take up the matter of rice on Tues
day. and there will no doubt be some strong
arguments made in favor of an increase in
the duty.