Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1897-04-29
DISSATISFACTION Is GENERAL.
The Dansley rariR Bin Creates Das-

The DanxIey rariR Bill Creates Dts-
content.
Certain protectionist newspapers, in
discussing the Dingley tariff bill, apr
pear to think that they can stop all ar
guraent by advancing two propositions.
The first proposition is that opposition
Is useless; and the second, which iS
usually advanced in the same breath, Is
that there isn't any opposition anyhow.
As to the first of these propositions
opinions may differ; as to the second
opinions are unlikely to differ greatly
if the Dingley tariff should be suf-
fered to go before the people as direct
issue in substantially its present form.
Despite these assurances of repub-
lican newspapers, representative bush
ness men continue to exercise the right
of free speech with almost sufficient
energy and lucidity of argument to en-
title them to Dingleyite decoration as
nlugwumps and free traders. Anything
like a representative list of the inn
portant business interests protesting
would exhaust the space of an ordi-
nary newspapers, but few instances
may be added to those already cited.
Marshall Field, the head of the great
mercantile firm of Chicago, who is fight
ing the bill, pronounces il ''the worst
tariff bill / ever saw, not only as re-
CARDS the rates of duty imposed, but
in the complicated and ambiguous meth
DDS of imposing them. There is scarce
ly line in the bill that will not have
to be interpreted by the supreme court"
Mr.. Field finds the Washington hotels
full of people on the same errand as
himself, and says that a republican
member of the senate finance commit
tee told him that such is the universal
dissatisfaction with the bill that il
will be necessary for that committee
to amend almost every item-that "the
only persons who are entirely satisfied
with it are the eastern manufacturers
and the Ohio wool growers, and they
are fighting to prevent changes"
observation-disclosures William L.
Wilson is competent to speak for those
who, last fall, elected Mckinley upon
the currency issue, believing that the
worst that was to be feared would be
slight increase in the Wilson rates so 0s
to make up for the loss of the revenues
that had been expected under the in
come tax-whereby the present law
would at once produce sufficient rev.
enues. Mr.. Wilson is ably pointing out
in series of articles the unscientific,
prohibitory, and worse-than-McKinley-
lite character of the Dingley bill. How
it will affect the consumer he makes
clear by showing among other things
that under the present law the duties
on 100000 pounds of wooden goods
| would be $4,000, or $16,200-40 per
cent.-whereas under the proposed bill
they will be $54,5o0 or SGT, 100; that is to
say, 1873 or 165 per cent. On ten dollors
worth of cloth the present duty is four
dollars; the proposed duty will be from
$13 to $16.
As to the influence of the Dingley be-
trayal of popular rights and of the just
expectations of the people as an issue
in the spring elections, opinions differ
somewhat. 1.-THE tariff" remarks the
Chicago Tribune, "was not winning
card last fall; it does not seem to have
been one this spring. Republican sena-
tors may find food for thought in this
fact" The Dover Index thinks that
"the retroactive clause in the Dingley
tariff act has had it's answer in the re-
troactive vote from the big cities in the
different states" These are but few
of the interesting exhibits which might
be indefinitely multiplied, did space per-
NIT, to refute the impudent falsehood
that the Dingley tariff bill is nothing
worse than the people expected all
along.-Albany Argus.