The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-11-22
HOGS AND THIEVES
CHARLES T. ODOMs WRITES
 SPICY LETTER.
Declares That the Congressional Com. niftee is Locked in the Interest of Manufacturers who Profit by
 TarFfR.

Washington, special to- The N Y, World Charles Francis Adams of Boston, former President of the Union Pacific Railroad. gave a spicy expo sition of protection in letter to Rep resentative Mccall, of the Ways and Means Committe. He took as his text the advice of William Howard Taft, President -elect, that the consumers ap- pear before the committee and present their side of the tariff question.
 MT Adams said that he for one can before the committee. which is both prejudiced in advance and packed against them"-the consumers.
 Referring to the claim that those asking that the tarif schedules should remain as they are or should be changed only in the way of an in- crease are much in evidence at the hearings now in progress, and that the tariff reformer, so-called, does not ap- pear or is silent. Mir. Adams says:
 You, my dear Mir. Mccall. known perfectly well the reason of this. Those first referred to are directly and pe- culiarly interested. and as such natur- ally divided into two classes. Speaking after the fashion of men, they are either theives or hogs. I. myself. belong to the former class. am a tariff thief and I have license to steal! It bears the broad seal of the United States. and is what is known as the 'Dingley tariff stole under it yesterday; I am stealing under it to-day; I yropose to steal under 1t to-inorrow. The Govern ment has forced me into this position, and 1 both do and shall take full advan- tage of it. I am therefore a tariff thief with license to steal! And what are you going to do about it?
 rSI-
 The other class comes under the hog category: that is, they rush squeal- ing and struggling to the great Wash ingtOn protection trough. and with all four feet in it they proceed to gobbIe the swill. Well acquainted with those of this class, you know their attitude and their utterances. If Is useless for me to dilate upon either. To this class I do not belong. I am simply a tarfff theft but, as have said, with license to steal.
 But on the other hand I am also a tariff reformer. l would like to see every protective schedule swept out of existence, my own included. Mean while, what inducement have I to go to Washington on public mission of this sort? A-nere citizen, I represent no one If I went would receive from the committee scarcely respect full hearing, If any hearing at all; and I would have to go at a considerab ble expense both of my money and of my time. the last of which l can least afford
 My position in these) prospects is ex- actly the position of myriads of others. And they say we do not exist.
 Meanwhile I do know this. On every occasion when of late I have had oc- casion to address an audience any ref erence to protection run mad. or to the tariff as the mother of trusts has invariably elicited a more spontaneous response than any other utterance l could make. This feeling is abroad, be- coming stronger and will certainly soon or late be in evidence at the polls.
 What's the Uses
 Meanwhile the tens of thousands of persons who feel in that way, like my self. cannot afford either the time or more frequently the money to go to Washington to ask to be heard before committee which they know in ad- vance is both prejudiced and packed against them.
 q have in this letter set forth the sit- nation. so far as a revision of the tariff is concerned, as 1t exists within your personal knowledge and my personal knowledge. You are welcome to make such use of 1t before the committee, or elsewhere, as you see fit. l should have no objection even to seeing it in print.
 Meanwhile, have 1t well understood that my position Is exactly the position of tens of thousands of others scattered throughout the country. To ask us to nut aside our business affairs and at our own expense go to Washington on A desperate mission is asking little too much, whether the demand comes from the committee or from a Pres ident-elect.