, 1897-04-13

any kind OF a bill; but this, he says, will
not deter him from seeing that the west
is not neglected. Senator Stewart,
whose vote has been counted upon, has
asserted that II hides are not placed up
on the dutiable list he will not vote for
the bill. All the western senator's are
more or less interested in this item, but
as n Of them said yesterday, the
Yankee shoemakers have always beaten
us before and they will probably do 80
again.
DISSATISFIED WITH THE WOOL
SCHEDULE.
The main dissatisfaction Of The west
ern senator's is with the wool schedule.
They are vitality interested, for practi-
cally all of the sheep-raising is west OF
the Missouri. According to the Dingley
bill the duty is placed at II cents a
pound for class l; IL cents a pound for
class 2, and an ad valorem OF 80 per
cent on wool OF class 8, valued at 10
cents a pound. with an ad valorem Of
so cents a pound on wool over that
price. 1t is claimed thai the duties on
the first two classes is proper, but a very
large proportion of the wool imported
is OF class 3, under 10 cents a pound,
the duty on this being from IL t 4
cents a pound. practically everything
comes in as third class" said Senator
Mantle, "and by fraudulent invoices and
other irregular methods it is imported
at 10 cents a pound or less. Under the
Mckinley bill, 1875, OOO, 900 pounds were
brought in under this class. Under the
Wilson bill, when all woods were free,
only 9O,O0O, 900 pounds a year are re-
ported, showing that the other 8 ,00O,-
900 pounds were wrongfully assigned. l
have introduced an amendment which
proposes to correct this evil. The trou-
BILE is that the front door has been clos
ed and the back door left open" Sena-
tor Wilson Of Washington, puts the con-
dition in another way. THE top of the
sack is closed" said he, but there is a
big hole in the bottom. 1t is also claim
ed that the compensatory duties on
wooden manufactures are entirely too
high, amounting in some cases to 300
and 500 per cen
The western senators will also de-
mand that a duty OF l or 2 cents a pound
be placed on hides. This will produce n
revenue OF either 81, ZOO, 10000 or 2 .0OO,-
900 a year, and will also be a matter Of
vast Importance to the cattle growers
of the west. Protection against the i'm
portation of anthracite coal is also to
be asked, while the duty on smelted
lead, it is asserted, ought to be twice as
duty on lumber is also demanded, in or
der to protect the west and northwest
from the cheap labor and other advant-
ages enjoyed by the owners Of British
Columbia forests.
REPUBLICAN CAUCUS TO BE HELD
The finance committee will do its best
to meet these demands, and then the bill
will be submitted 10 a caucus OF the re-
publican senator's. Amy one who re-
members the three days fight in the
democratic caucus over the Wilson bill
can appreciate what this republican eau
Gus means.
1t has been the ambition Of Senator
Allison and his colleagues to bring out
OF The finance committee a conservative
tariff bill, which will be accepted by the
country and remain upon the statute
books. How far they will be able to
withstand the pressure that will be
brought to bear upon the committee ia a
question. The republicans are in a
worse straight over the matter than
were the democrats at the time Of the
Wilson bill. The latter had one vote to
spare over a majority, but even then
they had to make concessions in every
direction. The republicans lack two
votes OF a majority, and must not only
satisfy every member OF their party, but
secure the assent OF two outsiders.
Their task is a difficult one, and IL looks
as if the tariff bill had a rough road to
travel before it reaches its final vote.
NI1NrEJCJNNT CIEvr