The San Francisco call., 1897-06-05
Mantle of Montana the
Advocate of High
Rates on Wool.
Growers Not Given Enough
Protection by the MCKin-
ley Law.
Favor OF an Am g ndment for
an Income Tax.

! though the Senate met at IL o'clock to-
day and did not adjourn until $50. the
! progress made with the tariff bill was
very small. That was partly owing to the
! fact that the first hours of the session
| were consumed by two long speeches, one
| in favor of high duties on wool and the
other for constitutional amendment TO
| permit an income tax, by Butler of North
| Carolina. 1t was nearly 3 o'clock when
the tariff bill was actually taken up. The
metal schedule was completed, except
| those paragraphs which already have
| been passed over ana except those relating
to lead, mica, nickel and watches, which
were passed over to-day. There were only
seven paragraphs finally acted on to-day.
Mantle addressed the Senate for two
| hours. He said that there had been no
opportunity for presenting the wool
! growers side OF the contention in the
other branch of Congress for the reason
| that owing TO the brief time allowed for
| debate the wool schedule had never been
reached by the body. He presented fully
| and supported with numerous tables and
statistics the wool-grOwers' side of the
! controversy, and showed the enormous
/ losses sustained by the wool-growers in
| the depreciation in value of sheep and
wool during the past six years
| He declared that by reason of the enor-
nous importations in anticipation of the
| enactment of tariff law the wool-growers
| would not receive much benefit from a
protective tariff for four years TO come.
/ He asserted that whenever a tariff law is
! to be enacted the powerful manufacturing
interests of the country, with their COM
pact and effective organizations, are al
ways on the ground and in the commit
tee-rooms pressing their claims and push
ing their interests, while :he farmers and
wool-growers and producers of raw ma
terlals generally are an isolated and scat
! tered class from the nature of their yoca-
| tions, and thus lacking in effective organi-
zation; hence in the past their interests
had been neglected and they had not re-
ceived their just share of protection.
The great majority of wool-growers of
the country are, he said, proiectionists
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 Repu blican Ma
tlonal platform in fav or of ample protec-
ton for WOOL" and believing the protec-
tion to be the paramount issue, cast their
votes n the doubtful States for Mckinley
and elected him.
The tariff bill, as it passed the House
and as now amended by the Senate, he
said, utterly fails 10 meet the expectations
of the WOOL growers, and is regarded by
them largely as a regulation of the Re
| Ia1 1f Ill L.
wool" The wool-growers of the country,
he continued. are indignant over the
treatment of their interests, and he
warned the Republicans that they must
change the proposed rates or they would
lose the support of this numerous element
in ensuing 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 loopholes, permitting fraud
and evssions, and was especially emphatic
in his denuneiation of the ad vaIorem du-
ties proposed on third-class woods.
The Senator quoted Senator Aldrich's
statement that the proposed Senate rate
would give from 10 to 20 per cent more
protection 10 the ool-grower than he had
ever received under any former tariff, and
produced statistics to show that the pro-
posed rates were much lower, instead of
being higher. He enumerated the obiec-
tions of the wool-growers, as follows:
First-To the skirting clause.
,Second-TO the ad valorem duties on
third class woods.
Third-To the admission of washed
woods on second-class without payment of
additional duties.
Fourth-To the admission of washed
and secured woods on the third class with
ont the payment of additional duties.
Fifrh-To the imperfect classifcations
which permit evasions.
Butler in the course of his speech on
the income tax referred TO the Indecent
haste" with which the pooling bill was
urged mediately after the recent deci-
sion of the United States Supreme Court
against the antitrust law.
Culiom, chairman of the Interstate
Commerce Committee, resented this state
ment, ssying that the pooling bill was not
being pressed with indecent haste and
that such a statement was a misre presen-
tation o! facts.
Chiffon, a member of the Interstate
Com merce Committee, in turn differed in
toto from Chairman Cullom, and said the
pooling bill had not been seriously urged
until after the recent decision of the Su-
pEeme Court on the trust law.
When the wood schedule D was reached
there was discussion of the first nara.
graph relating to timber hewn, sided or
i squared. which was not finished when the
Senate adjourned.
LEADERS IN CONFERENCE.
hepuoHcdns Agree Upon the Yor,o,,.