Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1897-05-11
Why the Rates Of Duty Can
not Suit All Sections.
But Despite Complaints the Bill Will
Pass After Long Fight.
Proposed Duty on Salt Herring and Mackerel
Threats Of Retaliation.

cussing the senate revision OF the VII anu
comparing il with the house measure
Wherever ono goes he hears talk OF tho
finance committee bill, the Dingley BILL
the Wilson bill, tho Mckinley bill, the
Mills bill and Of rates and schedules, ad
valorem and specific, till one s head has IA
tendency to ache There never yet was "a
tariff bill that suited everybody. II one
were to Judge by the expressions heard
about the corridors of the hotels and where
statesmen most do congregate, the present
tariff bill docs not suit any one. Or course
this is not strictly true. There are plenty
of people satisfied with it. They, as rule,
are gentlemen who have interest in only
one or two things, and the rates upon these
fcw things happen TO be fixed just right,
But senators whose constituents are in
tercstod in n wide range Of production or
manufacture find themselves in very hot
water.
Selfish Interests.
If one wants proof of the accuracy of the
somewhat famous saying of n famous man
that the tariff is local question, all no
has to do is to come to Washington and
spend II day or two among the statesmen
who are discussing the current measure.
Tho air is filed with sulphurous remarks.
Inquire what lies behind all the complain
ing and growing, and in nine cases out OF
ten you will find that it is because the
rates of dnty are not satisfactory upon
somG article produced in this city or that
county or perchanco In some state or re-
gion. The senator from ono part Of tho
country may be clatcd over the duty fixed
ON wool, for instance, while a senator
from another state may be predicting that
the country will go to the demnition bow
vows If that wool rate is not put up or
down, rs the case may be. This Is explain
cd by the fact that the constituents OF one
senator raise wool to sell while the con
stituents of the other buy wool to use in
their mills. SO it goes 1t would be ex-
ceedingly difficult to find any principle
that runs through the warp and wool OF
the whole business of tariff making. 1t
seems rather TO bo maze Of conflicting
selfshresses and interests, dependent in
every ease upon the point of view. You
can always tell what man is going to say
about n given rate Of duty by inquiring
the locality whence he comes.
heard an old senator who has had q
deal of experience in tariff making say the
other day there never would be tariff
satisfactory to everybody till tho United
States was subdivided into little lots about
500 feet square and rate of duty made to
suit the inhabitants of each lot.
Pulling and Hauling.
But there is ii tariff bill, and despite the
growing and kicking and pulling and
hauling it is going to be passed some time
or other. just when no one is able to say
but l should guess about the middle of
July. The senate will take up the bill on
tho 18th inst, and as there is no apparent
disposition to delay 1t couple of months
should see it pretty well out of the way.
There is no telling, however, how long q
senate debate will last, for, as u member
of the house put IL TO me today, "They
haven't any five minute rule over there,
but instead rule which permits man to
talk five days on the crossing of a t"
a most interesting study is that of the
manner in which the tariff enters into the
details of trade and consumption, affect
ing the trade and consumption of nearly
all the articles used by our people IL is
this which makes general tariff revision
such tremendously important matter to
our country and which excites such great
interest in all the details of the work in
committee and congress. An illustration
of this may be found in a visit which a
large delegation of fish merchants from
New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Chi
cago made to Washington while the tariff
bill was under consideration in the finance
committee of the senate. Their business
was to protest against the proposed in
crease in the duty on salt herring and salt
mackerel. They pointed out that herring
is IA staple article of food for the Danes,
Norwegians, Poles, Russians and Swedcs
who form II large part of the population of
the northwestern states. In view of the
fact that no herring that could take the
place of tho imported fish are caught this
side of Holland and Norway, it was con
tended that 1t would not be fair to increase
the cost of herring to the poor people who
use it on their tables There is no Amer
lean herring industry to speak of. and con-
sequently protection is not needed.
Threats Of Retaliation.
These visitors called the attention of the
tariff makers to the interesting fact that
the only countries in Europe of which we
buy fish are Norway and Holland. These
are, by an odd coincidence, the only conn
tries on the continent of Europe which ad-
NIT our pork, beef and -four without tar
i'll or other restrictions. Norway and Hol-
land have protested against the increase Of
our duties against their fish, and threaten
to retaliate by taxing our pork. 1t is said
only two votes are lacking in the Norwe-
gian parliament to carry an attack upon
our pork trade. Both Norway and Holland
buy very much more Of the United States
than we buy of them, and it is argued that
it is poor policy to cut off that market by a
scramble for little more duty on Nor
wegian and Dutch fish. We sell to Holland |
each year about 500, 900, 900 Of our prod |
ucts, and buy from Holland $1,000, 900 |
We sell to Norway 81, 100000 and buy
from her 100000.
The agitation of the duty on fish has |
brought out the interesting fact that her |
ring Is poor mans food, while mackerel |
is found chiefly upon the tables of the well |
to do. Therefore it is argued that 1t would |
be poor policy to tax herring and mackerel |
as if they were in the same class Boston |
Is the greatest mackerel market in the |
United States The dealers there handle |
over half of all tho mackerel brought to |
this country, and the average value in this |
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