The Democratic advocate., 1908-12-04
DEEP CUTS IN TARIFF
HOIsF Committee WILL OFFER RAD
ICAL REVISION
leather, Iron and Steel, Coal and
Lumber on Free List

Washington. November 3o.-House
,,oJers which in this connection
uus ls"uu chiefly Ways and Means lead
have determined on tariff pol
eis' # means. as far as the bill
Nii;cb the Ways and Means Commit
',a will report, free steel and iron
:e .oeo lumber. free coal, free leather
troo shoes, free hides, provided the
,idonce stands as it is now. The
Iaaders have talked the situation over
!, can be announced authoritatively
II tbot they propose to abide by the rec
ord of evidence gathered by experts
and Of evidence presented by reliable
witnesses.
This is their answer to Hot Springs
:, narticular and to citizens in gen.
nrsi who have been clamoring for a
,borough revision. Even the Chicago
nlsform declaration for a reasonable
proft" NAV be disregarded:: 1t is an
incident of hitherto unwritten history
rhat Chairman Payne and Represent
sriye Dalzell. both of whom were
members Of the resolutions commit
100 at Chicago. had reasonable profit
eliminated from the Republican plat
form at one stage of its making. 1t was
rut hack ''on orders from Washing
ION
No Duties on Steel.
Andrew Carnegie recently advocat-
a6 the abolition of the duties on steel
The Steel Trust has shown practically
no interest in the Ways and Means
hearings It's officials. the Ways and
Means Committeeman conclude, are
in accord with Mr.. Carnegie's attitude
# no one cares to come forward for
the manufacturers OF steel and iron
PRODUCTS and present sound evidence
for the retention of duties, the com
mittee leaders propose to let the duties
60 by the board.
There were hearings Saturday on
hides and leather. Manufacturers
from New England and from the West
asked for free hides, and the prepond-
erance OF evidence was for free shoes
and free leather. If no one comes
forward with convincing testimony to
the contrary-and at this stage nc
such testimony seems to be forthcom-
ing-hides. shoes and leather will all
be Incorporated in the free list of the
Payne bill The committee proposes
10 absolye itself absolutely from pos
sibilities Of popular censure or from
possibilities of presidential censure
for duties on any of those three ar
ticles.
Free Coal and Lumber.
They now intend to let the bars
clear down on cOal-both anthracite
and bituminOus. No evidence has yet
been presented to them showing why
N0va Scotia coal should not come III
10 New England free of duty or why
other Canadian coal should not come
across The boundary without let or
Aindrance If any other authority in
congress wishes to continue the duties
on fuel brought from Canada Or any
oiAer foreign country, the Ways and
Mems Committee proposes that such
authority or authorities shall take
The full responsibility therefor. They
insist there will be no trimming or
evasion whatever about it.
They 90 quite as far about the lum-
ber schedules. The conferences of
- 'S'EH anu -'iFCSllS 1ccuSl ., w III llClN z
Dten weighing the facts and the con-
GuonS within the last day or two,
decide that. as far as those partici-
pStlng IN 1t are concerned, there is an
tAtlre Willingness to take all the lum-
DER duties off. They favor, however,
some provision safeguarding such ac-
Coh. They would frame clauses to
discourage the imposition of export
Nanes by Canadians.
Cut and Slash
Inc policy of cut and slash has
Deen outlined even more extensively.
II Is based on a determination to go
raitler perhaps than prospective ad-
HinlSIfatlon authorities have suggest
sU provided in each instance there is
~ ~ weight OF convincing evidence to
the contrary.
nul the formal hearings before the
ttvIHnllttee are now nearly completed.
a,vofdlng TO the program they will
las. IsoSe Ihls week. These hearings have
"' ~seu more comprehensive the COM
bnt bnsIee leaders say, than were ever
tale oTlofe granted on a tariff bill. Invi-
Tq TsiohS nave been issued far and wide.
aM ne committeeman have questioned
d.. Sn.,o VINO cared to appear. They are
tbSol"llhg tboI'h that the record on which
boS' bs' propose to write the Payne bill
co c~s Oeen built up publicly in the big
rSPiiinlttee NJ ~ auditorium, whereas much
- .ne hearings on the Dingley bill
sedrs ago consisted of private con-
Che!es CCyh,ehces and conversations in the late
Hanhan HarliInan Dingleys apartments at the
~Titon ml Hotel in this city.
cor me program thus outlined by the
Nronaee Nunllltee leaders before they begin
nobbStauon nrobataon of the bill, which will
rooS'y rTtOGSaoiy be in the course of a few
PseAs,. PsrAs, covers that measure as the
Honso HnSoicans an plan to report it to the
NAL" lhelr purpose will be to
eyar II the most sweeping revision
Home paced before a Republican
,hon"l oy Republicans. 1t looks as
msta mtsl the leaders were minded to
nnaS .le question of adequate reve-
tection ana even that of adequate pro-
/ ssuS sn, as viewed from the standpat
i is M polht, secondary matters. There
4 Of R tSo concealment among these men
direoteaiIl dlspleasure of the criticism
ters 'VT u, toward them from high quar-
gran,;nhe lhey say they will retaliate by
Nbst ing lH IN full measure, heaped up
se critics seem to want.