The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-10-08
The C0MEDY OF PROTECTION
lNeM York Times.l


Something Of how-the tariffs are
made was told tine otheIsd day by Col
onel Wilkinson formerly a United
States general appraised, The Dingley
bin was largely written by the late
Colonel Tiehenor, then the president Of
the board of general appraisers and one
Of the leading tariff. experts in the
country. When he came to revise the
free list he found a provision on it for
brine. He went with it TO Congress
man Dingley.
"Dingley. what's brirae?' he asked.
Il never heard.o it and l can't find il
in any OF the dictionaries"
Dingley could not. tell him, but re-
minded him Of the axiom Of tariff max
ers that the free list was sacred. and
advised him to let il alone. Colonel
Tichenor was not satisfied, but hunted
up the law preceding the Mckinley
law, and found that ebrime" was on
the free list there. 1t did not appear,
however. in the law preceding that,
and Tichenor finally started 10 canvass
the congressman to find out if he could
what brine" was and how it got en-
the free list. Finally he discovered that
it was included in the list at the re-
quest of a former member of congress.
and TicheEor, whose curiosity was now
aroused. wentVto see him.
The statesman didn't know what
'brime" was but he did remember that
it was, included in the free list at the
request OF one Of his constituents, and
They found that he was interested in
the salt-fish trade and they asked bim
what brine" was.
/ Why, BRINE is what we pack the
fish in he replied, and the two tariff
makers looked mystifed. They asked
I TO see some, and the man knocked the
head off a cask and showed them a
barrel of brine.
But that's brine. salt and water. .
said Tfchenor.
Brine or brine. don't care what
YOU call it. but don't you go ard make
US pay duty on it" was the reply of
/ the fish dealer ---..
I During the framing of the same law
| Colonel Tichenor was bothered a great
/ deal by the representative Of special
4 Industries who wanted a good stiff. tar
Tiff on goods competitive with the prod
ucts OF their friends. One of the most
active of these was Nelson Dingley of
Maine, whose name the bill bore. One
day he walked in on the man who
I framed the bill.
"Tichenor, fix me up good stiff tar
IF on kindling wood he said.
| why, who in the world cares any
fthiHg about kindling YOod?" asked the
! tariff maker.
! Three hundred people in Maine
make their living by cutting kindlins
| wood" Dingiey said. and the result
/ was provision in the law for tax OF
$40 Of cent cubic foot on kindling
wood.
A few days later Dingley visited him
! again and saida
Il want good, heavy tariff on
| toothpicks."
/ "Who in the world is interested in
| toothpicks?" asked Tichenor.
Five hundred people in Maine make
their living by making toothpicks. fol
the New York market" said Dingley
and the Dingley law carries provis.oT
for a tAX.of 2 cents n thousand and 1;
per cent.
! Just before the bill was completed
Dingley appeared again. This time h'
wanted a tax fixed on skewers. In re
I ply to the usual question, Dingley in
formed him that fully 1000 people il
Maine made their living by making
/ skewers, but after talking the matter
over it was decided that as skewer,
4 were manufactured of wood. anyway
they would be dutfable at IS per cent
and Dingley let il go at that.