The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1905-12-15
SURE 10 BECOME AN ISSUE.
Speaker Cannon Will Do His Best to
Put Quietus on the
Question.
[wELLMAN IN CHICAGO HERALD.

WELlIMAN CdlCA0O hEhALD.
Washington, Dec. l2.-Speaker Can
non and the leaders of the republican
party in the house of representatives
will not permit such tariff duties as
amount to more than 100 per cent of
the value of the articles actually i'm
ported to be reduced to 100 per cent.
John Sharp Williams of Mississippi, the
leader of the democrats in the house,
has introduced a bill to do this, but it
has about as much chance of passing, oil
even of getting out of committee and
before the house for consideration, as
Mr.. Williams has to get Mr.. Cannon's
job as speaker away from him in the
present congress. As to what may hapi
pen in the next congress no predictions
are hazarded. Mr.. Williams may then,
indeed, get Uncle Joe's place.
In explanation of his bill to reduce
tariff duties running above 100 per cent
to an even 100 per cent, Mr.. Williams
said, as reported in these dispatches
last week:
"The president of the United States,
as l understand it, puts his advocacy of
protectionism upon the ground that it is
illSHC piOpCI tuclC SIoulu Dc d
duty on imported articles sufficient to
make up the difference between the
scale of foreign labor and right Am
erican wage standard. As this is the
last ditch, thought would see by the
introduction of bill in this congress
whether or not it was pretense or a
real conviction upon the part of those
who use it as an argument.
at strikes me that the labor cost of
no article will or can ever exceed it's
entire cost. l don't believe that any
one viii deny that proposition. l have
therefore introduced bill to reduce
the tariff duty, wherever it is over 100
per cent, to 100 per cent, thus leaving
taxation condition under which, un-
doubtedly,s not only the whole differ
ence between American labor and for
eign labor has been made up bye tax
upon the consumer, but where the en-
tire labor cost has been taxed to the
consumer"
Speaker Cannon and his lieutenants
think Mr. Williams bill nothing but a
joke. 'He things he is smart" said one
of Mr.. Cannon's aids, speaking of the
democratic leader. Evidently he be-
lieves he has us on the hip, talking
about his duties of over 100 per cent
and asking us to reduce them. But there
are no such duties. Mr.. Williams is
barking up the wrong tree"
Examination of the official records
shows that Mr.. Williams is right and
his critics wrong. There are plenty of
duties which run over 100 per cent;
there are duties which run as high as
81 800 per cent, and yet it is perfectly
safe to assert that the Williams bill to
cut them down will repose in a deep
and dusty pigeon-hole in the room of
the committee on ways and means
the remainder of this con-
gress. The republican leaders are de-
termined to do everything in their
power to keep the tariff question in the
They will permit no tar
if bill or amendment to get before the
house. Many members, even republi-
cans, would like to increase the rev.
enues by putting a small tax on cof-
fee. But the speaker and his little
squad who rule the house with rod of
iron are afraid to let the coffee ques-
ton come up lest it precipitate the
whole tariff question.
Though they may suppress bills, the
republican leaders have not the power
o close the mouths of the members, and