The Saint Paul globe., 1902-10-26
WHO is THE sMueeLER?

| T e Clio be has already repeatedly Y
/ called attention to the delightful varia-
ton In opinion which prevails among
the leading spokesmen of the national
administration On subjects of current
| interest. The members of the cabinet
are evidently doing their best to cover
every possible point Of attack, and are
paying but little attention to the aues-
tion whether their views on any given
subject jibes. The situation is a des-
perate one; and desperate diseases call
for desperate renaedies
In one of his remarkable outbursts
on the stump, that redoubtable tar, the
secretary Of the navy, recently told in
terms of Hneon eealed anger that "the
duty of 81 cents on anthracite coal
was smugg1ed into the tariff act in a
sneakingEal cowardly manner" The
president himself had only little while
before reminded the country that there
was no 6arif on anthracite COAL It
may well be doubted, in the light of
what has since transpired whether the
president was any more poorly in
formed on the subject than was his Sec
retary of the navy.
! There is a tariff on anthracite coal,
the president of the United States to
the contrary; and that tariff was not
smuggled into the Dingley law in a
sneaking and cowardly manner nor, in
deed, smuggled into it at all, Secretary
| Moody, to the contrary.
The Congressional Record does not
furnish always the most entertaining
or exciting kind of reading. In this
case, however, it is quite readable. The
smuggle, of which Secretary Moody
complains so bitterly, is not apparent
anywhere in the report of the proceed
ings resulting in the adoption of the
| duty of SO cents per ton on the Penn
syIvania product
Senator Allison it was who introduce,
ed the provision for the duty. Does
Secretary Moody desire to have it un-
derstood that the old economic and
political juggler from Iowa is the
snuggler in the case? Let the record
answer. The Dingley bill has been
1897, was under consideration in the
senate for purposes of committee
amendment. Here is a leaf torn out of
the proceedings on that occasion:
Senator Jones' 'tI should like to ask
the senator from Iowa what reason there
is for taxing coal? What is the neces-
sity?'
Senator Allison: ''The same necessity
that there is for tariff bill to protect
and care for the coal producers Of our
own country and to provide revenue from
has, 1 believe, always been duty upon
coal. This: is, with the exception of one
or two instances, a lower duty than has
generally been imposed upon bituminous
coal. The present duty is 40 cents a ton,
which is here increased to CT cents
Where is the smuggling revealed
here? The. amendment was adopted, of
course, by solid Republican vote and
against the votes and protests of
Democrats in and out of congress. Sec
retary Moody should have told us
where the smuggling came in. Since
he has not, let the voice of the Con-
gressional Record again resound:
Senator Vest: Gas I understand this
proposed amendment it makes entire
revolution in the taxation upon coal: It
puts anthracite coal upon the dutiable
list, although a cursory examina ton OF
the paragraph would not leave that i'm
preston, I have not the amendment before
me, but my recollection of it is that there
is duty of 67 cents on all bituminous
coal having less than 90 per cent of car
bon, which would include anthracite
coal"
Senator Allison: "On coal containing
less than 90 per cent of carbon the duty
proposed is 81 cents per tom
Senator Vest: THAT puts a duty upon
anthracite coal"
That's plain enough.
The Glob e is deeply panied to OBJ
serve that Senator Allison, the pride
and glory of the contempory states
n1anship of Iowa, should continue to
rest under the charge, so poorly sus-
tained. and put forward by so eminent
a member of his own party as the sec
retary of the navy, of being common
smuggler.