The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-05-10
Why the Rates of Duty
Cannot Suit Everybody.
Air At Present Time is Full
of BarkS and GrOWlS.
Despite Complaints Bill viii! Pass
After a Long Fight.

do not hear much in Washington these
days except tariff talk. Everybody Is dis
cussing the senate revision of the bill and
comparing IL with the house measure
Wherever one goes he hears talk Of the
finance committee bill, the Dingley bill,
the Wilson bill, the Mckinley bill, the
Mills bill and of rates and schedules, ad
valorem and specific, till ones head has
tendency TO ache. There never yet was n
tariff bill that suited everybody. If one
were to Judge by the expressions heard
about the corridors OF the hotels and where
statesmen most do congregate, the present
tariff bill does not suit any one. OF course
this Is not strictly true. There are plenty
of people satisfied with it. They, as rule,
arc gentlemen who have interest in only
one or two things, and the rates upon these
few things happen TO be fixed just right.
But senator's whose constituents are In
terested in wide range of production or
manufacture find themselves In very hot
water.
Selfish Interests.
II one wants proof of the accuracy OF the
somewhat famous saying OF famous man
that the tariff is local question, all he
has To do is To come 60 Washington and
spend a day or two among the statesmen
who are discussing the current measure.
The air is filed with sulphurous remarks
INQUIRE what lies behind all the complain.
ing and growing, and in nine cases out OF
ten you will find that 10 rs because the
rates of duty are not satisfactory upon
some article produced in this city or that
county or perchance In some state or re-
eion The senator from ono part or the
country may be clated over the duty fixed
on wool, for instance, while senator
from another state may be predicting that
the country will go TO the demnition bow
vows If that wool rate Is not put up or
down, as tho case may be. This Is explain
cd by the fact that the constituents of one
senator raise wool to sell while the con-
stituents of the other buy wool TO use in
their mills So it goes 1t would be ex-
ceedngly difficult 10 find any principle
that runs through the warp and woof OF
the whole business of tariff making. lt
seems rather To be a maze OF conflicting
selhshnesses and interests, dependent In
every case upon the point of view. You
can always tell what man Is going 10 say
about given rate Of duty by inquiring
the locality whence he comes.
l heard an old senator who has had
deal of experience In tariff making say the
other day there never would be tarih
satisfactory TO everybody till the United
States was subdivided into little lots about
500 feet square and % rate OF duty made To
suit the inhabitants of each lot.
Pulling and Hauling.
But there Is a tariff bill, and despite the
Ii nd
hauling il is going to bc passed some time
or other. Just when no one Is able 10 say,
but / should guess cbout the middle Of
July. The senate will take up the bill on
the 18th inst, and as there is no apparent
disposition 10 delay it couple of months
should see 1t pretty well out of the way.
There is no telling, however, how long
senate debate will last, for, rs n member
of tho house put 10 To me today, They
haven't any 1--WE minute rule over there,
but instead q rule which permits man to
talk five days on the crossing of {"
A most interesting study is that OF the
manner In which the tariff enters into the
details Of trade and consumption, affect
ing the trade and consumption of nearly
oil the articles used by our people 1t 10
this which makes general tariff revision
our country and which excites such great
interest i'm all the details of the work In
committee and congress. An illustration
Of this may be found in visit which a
large delegation OF fish merchants from
New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Chi
cngo made TO Washington while the tariff
bin was under consideration In the finance
committee Of the senate. Their business
.,,,rt hn In
crease in the duty on salt herring and salt
mackerol. They pointed out that herring
Is n staple article of food for the Danes,
Norwegians, Poles, Russians and Swedes
who form 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, II was con-
tended that il would not be fair to oincrease
the cost Of herring 10 the poor people who
use IL on their tables. There Is no Amer
lean herring industry to speak Of, and con-
scquently 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 wo
buy fish are Norway and Holland. These
are by an odd coincidence, the only coun-
tries on the continent of Europe which ad-
NIT our pork, beef and -four without tar
ifT or other restrictions. Norway and Hol-
land have protested against the increase OF
our duties against their fish, and threaten
to rctaliatc by taxing our pork. IL Is said
only two votes are lacking in the Norwe-
clan parliament 60 carry an attack upon
pork trade. Both Norway and Holland
buy very much moro of the United states
than We buy of them, and 10 Is argued that
Sc is poor policy tn cut off that market by n
scramble for n little more duty on Nor
wcgian and Dutch fish. We sell To Holland
each year about 500, 600, 600 Of our prod
ucts, and buy from Holland $4,000 600.
We sell 10 Norway g., j00,0 900 and buy
from her 500, 900.
The agitation OF the duty on fish has
brought out the interesting fact that her
ring Is a poor mans food, while mackerel
Is found chiefly uDon the tnblcs OF the we'll