The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-09-03

not without profit in his own country.
The first words that fell from his
lips, or we might say the first golden
words that fell from his silver tongue,
were the proclamation that "the new
tariff act is the best thing for business
ina ever happened to the business in
terests of the United States" With
out pausing to on the mac
curacy of the idea that this tariff act
happened" we pass to the investiga-
ton of the reason why Mr.. Armour
should consider it "the best thing"
However it may affect for good or i'll
other business interests" there is no
room for doubt that it is the "best
thing that ever happened" to the
particular business in which Mr.. Ar
mour and the remaining big three are
engaged, AS to them, there is album
liant evidence that the act did not
happen" but obtained those features
that make it his best thing" through
very close attention to business on the
part Of the big Four"
Imprimis, hides. These are one of
the by-products of Mr.. Armour's bust
ness, but not at all an insignificant
that pass from the thousand hills
through his abattoirs and sells them
to the tanners. For several years Mr..
Armour's association has felt that it
-,o NJ orOt+;or -, +Lo ~oo++A sc L;I1r'
that encouragement for an infant in
dustry that it deserved. Seven years
ago he and they endeavOred to get
into the Mckinley bill a provision that
would take hides that came from Mex
leo and South America and other
~"abroads" from the free list and put
a tax upon them. He failed then, al
though the oscillations between the
free and dutiable list were very rapid;
but the tanners won out, helped by Mr..
Blaine, who wrote a very pointed let
ter on the subject. This time he and
they were reinforced by a lot of West
ern senators and representatives. who
were beguiled or persuaded into the
belief that a tax on hides would put
money into the pockets of the farmers
who raised the cattle that furnished
the hides. After much dickering the
demand of the Big Four for a tax of
2 cents a pound was compromised into
a Is per cent tax, all Of which is pure
velvet.
Then the same big Four" make use
Of large quantities of tin in dispos-
ing of that grade of cattle known as
Gamers" whose flesh is sent abroad
in tin cans. The tin plate infant was
having something happen" for it's
benefit which would increase the price
of it's product, and this would diminish
the profits of the big Four's" canning
trade. The tin plate ~youngster secured
the insertion of a provision that ex-
empted tin manufactures from the pro-
vision that allowed a return of SO per
cent of the duty on foreign tin i'm
ported, manufactured here and re-eX-
ported. This would make a hole in the
profits of the canning business. So it
happened" that this provision disap-
peared when the bill came back from
the senate committee and lie not sue
coed in getting into it again. And an
other feature served to make this tar
if act the 'best thing" for Mr.. Ar
mour. This was in the increase in the
tax on glue, into which Mr.. Armour's
association frugally converts the hoofs
Of the cattle it disposes of. Another
is albumen, free before, now taxed at
3 cents a pound. So there is good rea-
son, measurable and ~appraisable in
dollars, why Mr.. Armour halls the act
as the best thing that ever happened"
Ito his business.