The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-12-02
STEEL TARIFF WILL Be
CUT NEARLY IN HALF
Friction Between Taft and Cannon Is
Said to Be Eliminated BY This
Move and the Speaker
Will Be Reelected.
BY wATTERsoN sTEALEY.

Washington, December 1-(Special)-s
The flop of the ways and means com.
mittee toward tariff measure carrying
a degree of reduction wholly unanticipaf-
ed less than a week ago has caused some
Senate members to sit up and take no
tice. The information of those senator's
who drffted into Chairman Payne's office
today, and there was a score of them,
was to the effect that if anything like
the Dingley rates was to be maintained
the Senate would have to do it. The
House leaders virtually told them that
he witnesses of the big protected indus
les were not making good; that men
were appearing before the committee de-
manding an increase of rates when the
present rates were prohibtive and that
it not up to them to pull the chest
nuts out of the fire. Incidentally it was
remarked that President-elect Taft was
extremely anxious for an honest re-
vision of the tariff and the House organ
ization which came in on his tidal wave
could not ignore his wishes. In other
words See Judge Taft was handed out
to the average kicker.
Senators Are Waiting.
The upshot of the matter was that those
senator's who are not satisfied with the
way things are moving on the House side
have about made up their minds that it
will be useless for them to take further
steps until the bill reaches the upper
branch. Then, it is intimated there will
be something doing.
Senator Piles of Washington said to-
day in commenting upon the report of a
free lumber schedule that he would OPP
tcgs any such programme. The senator
wants the present duties retained aid
believes it necessary for the lumber in
terests Of his state.
THE question of lumber trust does
not enter into the problem" said the
senator I'VE have hundreds of men in
our state who own shingle making ma
chimes which they have purchased for
about 5000 and they not dependent
upon the big manufacturers. The importa-
ton of lumber would ruin Them.
On this particular schedule there are a
number of senators who agree with SEN
ator Piles. IL might be said that some
of them are democrats. For instance.
Georgia is a big lumber state, and it
may be that Senators Clay and Bacon
would not be over-zealous in demanding
reduction of present duties. So it is all
along the line. the general principle of the
tariffs being a local issue meeting every
eXemplifcation When you get off of local
products, however, nearly every senator
is in favor of reduction, and 1t is this
fact that encourages the belief that when
the Payne bill gets through the Senate
and all the trading in the conference
committee is over the outcome will be
lower duties than was originally expected.
Steel Tariff To Be Cut.
The steel schedule in the forthcoming
tariff bill will likewise be cut out two
thirds according to information emanat-
ing from the ways and means commit
tee today. There is now duty of three
tenths of 1 per cent on steel rails, and
the cut may extend to one-tenth of
per cent Under the maximum and mini
mum system they are figuring on s2.24 for
the latter while the maximum may be
in the neighborhood of &.3. There Is
reason to believe that the 40 cents duty
on raw ore will be cut one-half
The friction between Taft and Cannon 10
recognized today as being eliminated by
the attitude of the ways and means COM
mittee 1t is true that Mr.. Taft could not
have defeated Mr. Cannon had he desired
to- and the speaker is well content TO Sc
cure his reelection without fight. Tht
"standpatters' on the ways and means
committee. or rather those who have
heretofore borne that appellation, say
there has been no change in their atti-
tude. that if it be true that they will
report a bill giving lower rates than ex-
nected bv the country, why the country
has simply been msinformed as TO what
~ ,,oild expect.