The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-05-12

about the COrrlGurS az the hotels and WheN
statesmen most do congregate the present
tariff bill does not suit any one. or cours,
&is is not strictly true There are plenty
Of people satisfied with IT, They, as "A rule
are gentlemen who have interest in only
ore or two things. and the rates upon
these few things happen to be fixed just
right. But senators whose constituents
are interested in wide range Of prOduc-
ton or manufacture find themselves in
very hot water.
selfish Interests.
II one wants proof Of the accuracy % me
somewhat famous saying Of a famous man
that the tariff is local question all he
has 10 do is 10 come 10 Washington and
srend day Or two among the statesmen
who are discussing the current measure
The air is filled with sulphurous remarks.
Inquire what lies behind all the complain
Z ing and growing. and in nine cases out Of
ten you will find that il is because the
rates Of duty are not satisfactory upon
( some article produced in this city or that
[ county or Verchance in some state or region
] The senator from one part Of the country
may be elated over the duty fixed on wool,
I for instance. while a senator from another
state may be predicting that the country
I VIII 20 70 the demnition bOwwows il that
wool rate il not put up or down, as the
case may be- This j. explained by the fact
that the constituents OF one senator raise
wool 20 sell while the constituents of the
other buy wool 10 use in their mills. So 10
goes IL would be exceedingly difficult TO
fDd any principle that runs through the
warp and wool Of the whole business OF
taril making II seems rather TO be
maze ~ conflicting selfishncsses and inter
ests. dependent in every case upon the
point Of view.
You can always tell what a man Is going
10 s1y about given rate Of duty by in.
Quiriug he locality whence he comes
heard an old senator who has had a
deal of experience in tariff making say the
other day there never would be tariff |
satisfactory 10 everybody till tie United
States was subdiyidcd into little lots about
800 feet square and q rate of duty made TO
suit the inhabitants Of each lot
Pulling and Hauling.
But there is 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 isable to say. |
but | should guess about the middle of |
July. The senate Will take up the bill on |
the 18th inst, and as there is no apparent |
disposition To delay 10 a couple of months |
should see il pretty well out Of the way. |
There is no telling, however how long u |
senate debate will last, for, as n member |
Of the house put il to me today, "They |
haven't any five minute rule over there, |
but instead rule which permits u man 10 |
talk five days on the crossing of a t.
\ most interesting study is that of the |
in Ia, ;,,t
details of trade and consumption, affecting |
the trade and consumption of nearly all |
the articles used by cur people. 1t is this |
which makes a general tariff revision |
such tremendously important matter to |
our country and which exctes such great |
interest in all the details of the work in |
committee and congress. An illustration |
of this may be found in u visit which a |
large delegation of fish merchants from |
New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Chi |
cago made 10 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 n staple article of food for the Danes, |
Norwegians, Poles, Russians and Swedes |
who form a large part of the population of |
the northwestern states In view of the |
fact that no herring that could take the |
place of the imported fish are caught this |
side of Holland and Norway, it was con-
tended that it 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
consequently 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 coun
tries on the continent of Europe which
admit our pork, beef and -four without
tariff or other restrictions Norway and
Holland have protested against the in
crease of our duties against their fish and
threaten TO retaliate by taxing our pork
IL Is said only two votes are lacking in the
Norwegian parliament to carry an attack
upon our pork trade. Both Norway and
Holland buy very much more of the Unit
cd States than we buy of them, and 1t is
argued that IL is poor policy to cut off that
market by n scramble for little more
duty on Norwegian and Dutch fish. We
sell to Holland each year about SOC, GOO, 600
OF our products and buy from her 50, O00,-
600. We sell TO Norway 81, SOC, 900 and
buy from her $500, 900.
| 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
10 do. Therefore 1t Is argued that IL would