The Portland daily press., 1897-06-05
PROTECTION FOR WOOL.
Senator Mantle Says Growers Want
More.
RATES IN PRESENT BILL NOT AT
ALL SATISFACTORY.

the Income Tax-Says That Is ONLY
One of Many Things People Demand
Tariff Bill Went Slowly Yesterday.
| Washington, June 4-The Senate had
a period of speech making today and as
result little progress was made on the
tariff bill. The advance covered about 2
pages on seven paragraphs and brought
the Senate up to the wood schedule, the
first item Of which was considered. but
not completed.
| Mr.. Mantle, of Montana spoke for two
hours on the wool schedule, urging in
creased rate for wool growers and Mr..
Butler of North Carolina made plea in
behalf of an income tax.
| Mr.. Mantle was recognized at the OPEN
ing of the session.
The great majority of the wool growers
of the country, he said, are protectionists
and Republicans; most of them are be-
levers in the free coinage of gold and sill
yer Independently by this country, but
the question of protection and free coin
age having been divided in the last cam
paign the wool growers accepting the
pledge contained in the Republican ma
tional platform in favor of "ample pro-
lection for WOOL and believing protec-
tion to be the paramount issue, cast their
votes in the doubtful states for President
Mckinley and elected him.
| The tariff bill as it passed the House
and as now amended by the Senate, he
said, utterly fails to meet the expectations
of the wool growers and is regarded by
them largely as reputation of the Re-
publican pledge of ''Ample protection for
wool" The wool growers of the coun-
try, he continued, are indignant over the
treatment of their interests and warn
the Republicans that they must change
the proposed rates or they will lose the
support of this numerous element in en-
suing campaigns.
| He asserted that the Mckinley law had
not afforded the necessary protection to
the wool growers and quoted statistics to
prove the assertion. He charged that it
was full of loop holes permitting fraud
and evasions and was especially emphatic
in his denunciation of the ad valorem
duties proposed on third-class wools.
| Mr.. MANTLE was followed by Mr. Butler,
| who spoke on the income tag. Mr. Bus-
| Ter had no sooner started ttl,.n ne was IN
volved in a lively colloquy with Mr. Cul-
lom of Illinois. The North Carolina SEN
ator referred at the outset to recent SUI
preme court decisions ON the income tax
and on the antitrust law. He added
an expression of surprise at the indecent
haste with which the pooling bill was
being urged before Congress, Immediate
ly after the decision of the Supreme court
on the antitrust law This aroused Mr..
Cullom, chairman of the interstate COM
merce committee, now considering the
| pooling bill, to spirited reply. The
| Senator from North Carolina was making
| statements about which he knew nothing
said Mr.. Cullom. The pooling bill had
| been before Congress for months before
the Supreme court decision and it sought
to strengthen the interstate law. He re-
sented the statement of Indecent haste''
and said such Characterization was a
Misrepresentation of facts.
Mr.. Chiffon of Texas, another member
of the interstate commerce committee
here took hand in the controversy, join
said he had been on the committee for
two years and he had never been known
of the pooling bill being pressed until
after the recent Supreme court decision
against railway pooling. He differed in
toto, he said, from the chairman of the
committee that the pooling bill ought
to strengthen the law. In his Judgment
it would destroy the interstate commerce
law and the passage of the bill would
be fatal experiment,
Mr.. Butler, resuming, said, Mr.. Chill
toms statement had fully justified his
original assertion, and he would leave it
to the public to Judge whether there was
indecent haste. He would, he said, in
sist on the consideration of measure
authorizing an income tax, before any
pooling bill was brought before the Sen
ate. He declared that the pooling bill
was in the interest of the most gigantic
trust in existence, compared with which
all other trust are pigmies. The senator
then spoke on the merits of an income
tax. He pointed out the inequalities
of our present system of taxation and
declared that the tariff bill, when enact
ed, would impose it's burdens on the 9S
per cent of poor people who We're least
able to bear it, while it benefited the
two per cent who did not need assistance.
Mr.. Butler declared that if this ques-
ton of income tax could not be presented
W ULC poOpIc, IL was UlIllG Un6y
should know it in order that they might
adopt the remedy of q constitution
al convention to right the
existing wrongs. He warned the
elements of wealth that the income
tax was but a small part of the demands
of the people and that if driven to con-
stitutional convention there would be a
supreme effort to go back to the first
principles of a government by the peo-
pie.
The consideration of the tariff bill by
paragraphs was then begun. Lead ore,
lead dross and metallic mineral substan-
ces (179 to 181 inclusive) were passed over
The mica paragraph QS2) led to con-
test. Senator Pettigrew of South Dako-
ia, moved to increase the rate by adding
a specific tax of 10 per cent per pound
in addition to the rate in the bill of 40
per cent ad valorem.
Mr.. Pettigrew spoke of the mica de-
posits of South Dakota, which he said
could not be properly developed without
the increased rates proposed.
Mr.. Chandler of New Hampshire also
urged the absolute necessity of an ample
duty on mica in order to develop the rich
N, ica 6apocitc in this oouptr1r