The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1902-10-17
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER..
WASHINGTON, D. c., October 18th.


and statute, paralleled only by his own
recent rulings in regard to government
reserves in national banks, has just been
perpetrated by Secretary of the Treasury
Shaw in his orders to the collectors OF
customs in regard to the importation Of
Welsh coal. Secretary Moody recently
stated in Wisconsin that the duty Of 81
cents per ton on anthracite coal was
"smuggled into the Dingley tariff law in
a sneaking and cowardly manner and
ought to be repealed at the short session
of Congress. Secretary Shaw, however,
does not seem to deem it necessary to
await congressional action. By his own
ipse DIRT he has practically repealed the
law. He has issued orders which are in
terpreted by Collector of the Port Strana-
han of New York to mean that Welsh
coal, much Of which is known to contain
less than 80 per cent. fixed carbon, the
limit fixed by the DingleY tariff bill, is to
be admitted free Of duty. In view of the
scarcity Of coal this action is likely to
meet with applause from the unthinking
and to make votes, the end for which Sec
rotary Shaw strives, but to those familiar
with the situation, the Secretary's action
seems worthy Of severest condemnation.
The coal strike has emphasized the fact
that there is practically duty on anthra-
cite coal, a fact unknown to the President
when he made his recent western trip.
There is general demand for the repeal
of that duty, but Secretary Shaw. acting
probably at the behest of the anthracite
mine operators, has, without the slightest
authority, determined to suspend the duty.
This will result in the public's forgetting
its existence. and when the strike is ended
the enforcement Of the duty will be re-
stored and the consumer will have to pay
nearly dollar more per ton, including
the dealers profits ON the duty, than he
would if the duty were removed. The
precedent established by the Secretary's
action is fraught with incalculable danger.
If u secretary of the treasury can suspend
n tariff law he can institute one, and in
the hands of dishonest man there is no
predicting what end the abuse might lead.
Mr.. Frank Campbell, chairman of the
New York democratic committee, has
made public statement in which he says
that the coal strike will insure democratic
victory in his State in the coming election.
He says the people will hold the republi-
Can party responsible for the scarcity Of
coal. Governor Stone first abstained from
sending the militia in sufficient strength
to prevent disorder and then when the
President had made proposition to the
union which would in all probability have
been accepted Governor Stone sent the
whole military strength of the State to the
scene so that the strikers could not accept
the Presidents proposition without ap-
pearing to yield to the show of military
strength. He further says that Governor
Odell has it in his power to disrupt the
coal trust in New York State by process
Of law, the trust clearly violating the
Sherman law. The efforts o. Governor
Odell and Senators Plat, Quay and Pen
rose to secure an adjustment Of the differ
ences between the miners and the opera
ators would seem to give color to Mr..
Campbelrs prediction.
Apropos of the coal strike, gentleman
at democratic headquarters has called the
attention of your correspondent to the
action of mine operator Markle. who Or
dered the militia to drive miners who
were playing football off of his property.
"Mr. Markle had perfect right to do it,"
said the gentleman referred to. "He was
simply exercising the prerogative Of every
property owner OF course, it may be
possible for the mine operators and their
associates, under the law, to acquire pos
session of all the property in the United
States and then order the rest Of US off
the country, or even for the great capital
lists to acquire possession Of all the habi-
table land in the world and order the rest
of US of the earth. That is one Of the
beauties of existing laws, but so long as
those laws are in existence the militia
officer who refused to obey Mr.. Markle's
order was clearly in the wrong"
Renewed evidence of the demand in re-
publican ranks for tariff revision is con-
stantlY being received at Washington and
is causing the greatest an xiety to the re-
publican leaders. Governor La Toilette,
of Wisconsin, had hardly finished his
statement that the time had come for tar
if revision and curtailment of the profits
of the trusts. when Governor Cummings,
of Iowa, went to Chicago and there told
the Marquette Club that mo intelligent
observer could doubt that upon some of
the most important products of the United
States the duties were too high" and that
lit is the duty Of the republican party to
reduce them so that they will again be in
harmony with the principle out of which
they spring" And again, lit is the duty
of the government to hasten their disinte-
grafton and downfall chat of the trusts
by every power within the scope of organ
lied society" And finally comes Secre-
tary Moody with the statement that the
duty on anthracite coal should be removed
at the short session of Congress. This
latter recommendation does not say much
in itself, but it means that the tariff ques-
ton should be opened at the short session
Of Congress and that, above all else, is
what the republican leaders desire to