The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1908-12-05
TARIFF HEARINGS.


One after another the great indus
tries of the country are coming up for
the preliminary tariff hearings before
the house ways and means committee
in session in Washington. The last
word heard on the sugar question was
the rather surprising statement from
Spreckles and Stillman, the big sugar
refiners, that for the good of all sugar
should be admitted free Of duty. Still
man said that, while a duty might
benefit him as a manufacturer. the re.
finers did not need such help and free
sugar would be for the welfare of the
whole country. He believed that the
beet sugar manufacturers would sur
vive. Spreekles asserted that beet
sugar factories located in Colorado
Utah Idaho and oregon could produce
granulated sugar at 21s cents a
pound, and that the only Justification
of sugar duty was to enable men to
make sugar in unsuitable locations.
Michigan. he contended, was not the
proper place for the beet sugar indus
try. When he was asked if free
sugar would benefit American labor
ers, Speckles replied that 25 per cent
of the labor employed in the beet
fields was Asiatic labor
The next important industry that
came before the committee was lum-
Der. The lumbermen were divided into
two camps, some wanting free trade
and others wanting protection. but
both agreeing that there could be no
reduction in the price OF lumber 10
the consumer. The free trade Een
came from the northwest and appar-
emily had some interest in seeing
Canadian lumber admitted free. They
thought this would tend TO conserve
American forests All the witnesses
denied that there exists lumber trust,
but had no good explanation to offer
for the uniformity of prices over the
country.
Early in the week Chairman Payne
wrote President Van Cleave OF the
National Manufacturers Association
insisting that he appear before the
committee and explain the published
statement of himself and others in
the association TO the effect that some
tariff schedules. notably relating to
steel. wool and glass, are too high.
This was IN accord with the remark
made by President-elect Taft that Van
Cleaye ought TO be summoned to
make good his contention that duties
on many goods are TOO high.
Later several steel manufacturers
were on deck, and under the ques-
tioning OF Chairman Payne and other
members OF the committee they CON
tradicted the statement made By An
drew Carnegie that rails are much
cheaper in America than anywhere
else. They asserted that he cost OF
rails in this country is ninety cents a
ton more than German steel rails. not
counting the duty, and that Americ n
rails were exported every year at q
profit in foreign markets
r. c. FELTON, OF the Pennsylvania
Steel Company accounted for Car
negie's statement by asserting that the
cost of rails had increased 81 or IS
q ton since Carnegie retired. citing the
pricek Of ore, freight rates and labor
He did not however mention the ad.
vanced prices OF the finished product
The net earnings Of Felton's company
were shown TO have been over s per
+. cent OF a $4,000 900 investment. An
Of the steel men wanted either 70 leave
the present tariff undisturbed or 10
increase II on certain articles