Daily Kennebec journal., 1908-11-26
AN INVITATION
To Carnegie to Appear
At Tariff Hearings
Is Declined, He Saying 1hat
He Is Out Of Business.
Large Attendance at Wednesdays
Session Of Committee.

chairman of the House committee on
| ways and means today received a reply
| to the invitations which he extended
| to Andrew Carnegie to appear before
| the committee at the hearing on the
metal schedule. Mr.. Carnegie asks to
| be excused from appearing before the
committee, saying that he has served
| his full term in Washington upon tar
| iff matters
4 am no longer in business and in
| my Century articles" reads the let
ter "Companion to that Of My eX-
perience with Railway rates and re-
| bates l have said all 1 have to say on
the subjects Manufacturers will ap-
! pear before you from whom you can
| obtain the required Details
| Mr.. Carnegie says that judging from
the comments upon his article by vari-
Gus distinguished gentlemen in Wash
ington as published in a New York
paper, he feels that they have not
read the article itself, but only few
striking extracts separated from the
| context.
When you read it, he continues,
you will discover that my faith in
protection wherever it is proved to be
| necessary is as strong as ever and that
| continue also to believe that the
| surest way to secure needed protection
| is to reduce protective duties from
time to time and finally abolish them
when no longer needed
| Mr.. Carnegie says that the Republi-
can party has reduced the duty on
steel rails from s2S to 81. He adds: The
| Mckinley tariff which made great re-
ducticns is case in point. 1t would
prove false to it's history and it's
pledges if it failed now.
| IN most critical times the protec-
| tive policy has received Indispensable
aid from patriotic Democrats in Con-
| gresS as l have shown. This is as ii
should be- Duties upon imports should
cease to be a party question. Only what
| is best for our common country should
Re thought of.
| II attach supreme Importance to the
maintairance of present duties upon
luNuries used chiefly by the rich, not
| from the protective but from the rev.
enue point of view. Special attention
| is required to the revenue needs Of the
| country in these days to meet increas-
ed expenditure and as far as | know
none can be obtained with so little
pressure upon the people as the two
hundred odd millions now flowing in
to the treasury from such articles.
Yours as True Protectionist,
| (SigneU
| "ANDREW CARNEGIE"
| In reply to Mr.. Carnegie, Chairman
Payne expressed the regret of the COM
l
ctpt the invitation.
| There was a large crowd in attendance
when the hearing on the metal schedule
| of the tariff was begun Zinc was then
| taken up ard S. D. Mitchell and AleXan-
| der O. Ihlsing, both of Missouri, asked
| that calarnine or zinc oxide be removed
| from the free list and assessed duty of
| IL cents q pound. Representative Boutell
brought out the admission that the prices
of zinc ore and sheet and pig lead would
| be increased if the duty should be i'm,
posed.
| Bourke Cochran of New York was en-,
| deavoring to show that the protection
asked was much more than was required
to equaize labor cost in this country and
abroad when Chairman Payne asked:
rs it worth while arguing these eco
| nomic faots?"
That's what I thought the purpose of
| this inquiry was-to determine who shall
pay the tax asserted Mr.. Cochran, but
| in view of the sensibility of the chair
man. 1 won't procede with my inquiry
| further"
| Willis L. King of Pittsburg who is a
| member of the committee appointed in
New Tork yesterday by the leading pig
| iron interests. was the first to speak on
| the iron and steel schedule. He asked
| that iron and steel bars be similarly
classified and that duty on steel bars
should he increased one-terth of a cent
Mr.. King suggested reduction of two
| tenths of n cent in the duty on iron bars
Mr. King asked that the duty of five
| tenths of a cent on manufacturers OF
structural material aud plates be re-
| tanned.
1T is generally believed that An
drew Carne gle knows something about
the steel Industry" interrogated Mr.
| Clark He says that we can make
steel in this country at less cost thar
it is made elsewhere. Do you agree
with him?"
| MIR. Carnegie has been out of the
steel business for eight or nine years
and has no interest in it, except for the
| money he draws from bonds"
Does that mean that he represents
or misrepresents the condition.
II want to be fair. l don't think Mr.
Carnegie understands the conditions,
was the answer
well, isn't it true that we can make
steel cheaper than anyone eiseo"
mo, we cannot"
Chairman Paine read an extract
from Mr.. Carnegie's article on the tar
if and had it inserted in the record O
the hearings.
"Mr. Carnegie says the cost of max
ing steel in this country is less thar
elsewhere" said the chairman. "Iot
deny it. Have you any information OF
statement which would aid the com
mittee in reaching a just conclusion
on this question:"
Mr.. King said he would be glad t
give all the information he could.
On behalf of New York importers, ]
f; Wilkinson asked that grades of iror
and steel to be manufactured in thi
country into products ready for con