The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-10-24

Washington, Oct. 2-(Special)-The his paper the following:
 President Roosevelts statement, made in speech some time ago. that the pro- ducts of the Standard oil Company were not protected by the tarif and Secretary Moody's more recent declaration that the coal schedule in the Dingley bill was "smuggled in in a sneaking and coward ly manner" tend to demonstrate that even the highest officials of the Republi- can party are not above attempting to influence voters by directly misrepresent- ing well known facts.
 The records show that the Standard Oil Company is protected as fully as are the other trusts and that the duty of 61 cents per ton on anthracite coal was allowed to go into the most recent tariff act only after it had been freely debated and af- ter Senator Vest of Missouri and one or two other Democrats had entered in effective protests.
 The manufactured products of the Standard Oil Company have been pro- tected by the tariff for years, although prior to the passage of the Dingley bill petroleum had been on the free list. Pe- troleum was originally placed on the free list in the Dingley bill with proviso that on all petroleum coming from coun- tries which charged an import duty an ad valorem tax of 40 per cent should be placed The friends of the oil trust suc- ceeded in having this changed so that the bill, as finally enacted into law, pro- vided that the duty on petroleum coming xx-bor hat prndurt protected should be equal to the duty levied by those countries.
 Since Russia is practically the only other country in the world which exports oil in anything like large quantities it will be seen that the Russian import du- ties on petroleum practically control those of the United States. Russia and the United States together produce about 94 per cent of the worlds total output of petroleum. The Russian production was largely in excess of that of this country until the discovery of the Texas oil fields. since which time the American produc- ton has been rapidly climbing up to that of the foreign country.
 The Russian tariff laws place a duty on kerosene and refined petroleum of one rubie per pood, or about 1.43 cents per pound. This would amount to about Il or F cents per gallon, which Is the ex- tent to which the Dingley bill protects the kerosene industry of the United States. This industry. as Is well known Is largely confined to the Standard oil Company and it's affiliated branches.
 The Russian duty on crude petroleum is a fraction over 9 rubles per pood, or about 19 cents per gallon. Since Russia is the only country which is in position to send petroleum to the United States. and since the tariff in the United States must be equal to that of the country sending the oil, it will be seen that even the crude product in this country Is pro- tected to a considerable extent-to such an extent. in fact. that those who con troI it's output in the United states need have no fear of foreign competition. The statements of neither the President or his Secretary of the Navy have any foundation in fact, but that of the latter is perhaps even more fallacious than that of the former. It is a well known | fact that there has always been duty | on bituminous coal and search of the records discloses the fact that for many years prior to 1869 anthracite was also | fully and directly protected. the duty