The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-11-16
LEATHER MEN CALL
 0N THE PRESIDENT
Roosevelt Pays His Respects to
 MT. Whitney
SAYS HE MlSQUOTED HIM
Shoe Manufacturers Ask Him to Use His Influence to Have the Tariff Removed From Raw
 Material.

Washington, November 16.-(Special)- Of course the shoe men who called upon the President today to advocate free hides will never get them from the ap- preaching congress, but tariff reformers are gratified at the fight they are mak- ing and incline to the opinion that they with the many other interests demand ing a reduction in the tariff, will more than ever concentrate the attention of the country on present tariff discrimina- tions with the result that at no distant day there will be created a sentiment which will sweep away the Dingey law.
 Apart from the interests which they particularly represent, large majority oi the men who called upon the President today are in favor of a general reduc- ton of the tariff, and several of them said that under the present laws 1t was only a matter of a few years before New England becomes desert The ways and means committee of the House may not even be courteous enough to the shoe men to give them a hearing at the approaching session, but the written arguments and petitions they will file with the committee will not be without their effects.
 Delegation Calls on President.
 President Roosevelt was asked to use his influence to have the customs du- ties on hides removed in the interest Of all the people of the country.
 A delegation of boot and shoe and leather manufacturers, headed by Gov. W. L. Douglas of Massachusetts, called on the President by appointment and discussed with him pretty fully the pro- posed repeal of the duty on hides. The delegation numbered twenty-eight men, the majority being from New York and the west and the minority from the New England states. Several brief addresses were made by members of the delegation and the President replied to them. In the course of the interview the President spoke so frankly and sincerely to his callers that they burst into cheers that made the executive offices ring with en- thuslasm.
 Subsequent to the departure of the dele gation from the White House, President Roosevelt authorized the publication of his remarks on the object of its mis- sion. In the course of these remarks he related an experience he had last winter with a committee from Massachusetts, of which Mir. Whitney, recently a can didate for lieutenant-governor of Massa- chusetts, was a member He said that MT. Whitney had misquoted him in the campaign which was closed a few days ago and declared he was constrained to believe that MT. Whitney had deliber- ately misrepresented what had occurred" With this experience in mind, the Pres ident declined to enter upon a discus sion of the subject of free hides at this time.
 Governor Douglass Speaks.
 In his address Governor Douglas spoke in part as follows:
 We are not here as representatives of New England only, but here to rep resent the whole of this great body Of manufacturers. representing the manu- lecturers of S300.000000 invested in shoes. It employs thousands of workrnen and pays something like s75,0OOoO0 to wage earners. We come here unanimous to ask and are united in favor of the re- ducton of the duty on hides. This duty not only handicaps our industry and pre- vents its proper growth and expansion. both domestic and foreign, but is an evil to the country as a whole With out as we believe, serving only good purpose, this tariff duty heavily taxes -~--~~------~~~---------
 (Continued on Second Paqe)