The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1908-04-11
LICENSED TO ROB
TARIFF DUTY MEANS TO
STANDARD OIL TRUST.
Congressman kustermann One OF
Those Who Seem to Have Seen
the Connection - Democratic
Attempt to End MonopoIy.s

Attempt 10 GnO mOUOpOlys
Hon. Gustav Kustermann, who rep
resents the Green Bay district of Wis
consin, mas endeavored to enlighteI
the public in a speech in congress-
about the amount of the tariff protec
ton the Standard Oil trust has beer
granted by the benevolent Republi
cans. Like many other nOvices who
seek to discover the intricacies of pro
tectionism, he jumps at erroneous
conclusions and then tries to force his
errors upon the public. If it was not
that he appears to have imposed on
our good and great statesman Theo
dore Roosevelt, instead of combining
himself to the Republicans in con
gress and those of his Republican con
s~tituents who perhaps are easily de
ceived, it would hardly be worth
while to set him straight on the tar
if question.
In his speech he admits that him
self and other Republican congress
"en ami speakers have declared
that the Standard Oil Company, the
,reatCsl and ~greediest trust in the
world, had no protection" He gives
he reason for this as ignorance OF
the tariff, but says: "It came in handy
when we wished proof that there
was no connection between tariff and
trusts. 1t served its purpose and 81
fenced those who were constantly at.
tacking the tariff" Finding that the
voters were no longer to be fooled by
these evasions Of the connection be-
tween the tariff and the trusts, he now
admits, what has always been claimed
by the Democrats, that tho Standard
Oil trust is protected by a tariff duty
of lin some cases 100 to even 200 per
cent" as MI. Kustermann declares,
under the proviso in paragraph 626,
although included in the free list.
AS a means of escape from this pro-
longed attempt Internationally to de-
ceive the people, as Mr.. Kustermann
declares, he now charges that the
same paragraph was in the Democrat
ic tariff in 1894 "and our people owe
looked it." If "Our people overlooked
It," why did they increase the duty so
enormously? He must know, however,
for he says he has made "a thorough
study of the tariff" that instead of the
Standard Oil trust being protected by
from 100 to 200 per cent, the
Democratic tariff expressly provided
that there shall be levied, paid and
collected upon said crude petroleum or
its products so imported. 40 percen-
tum ad valorem." AS refined petrO-
leum was then worth in Russia about
six cents a gallon the ad valorem rate
would be but 2R cents a gallon. in
stead of gin some cases 100 and even
200 per cent" as Mr.. Kustermann now
declares the tariff duty to be. Con-
Rainey of Illinois, in a
speech in congress on February 10,
gave official and statistical proof Of
the Democratic contention, which can
be found in the Congressional Record
of that date on page 205G. In justice
to Mr.. Kustermann it must be said
ludI He udS lltl OuuSC d jill W iC
peal this tariff protection to the
Standard Oil trust, but he evidently
should know that our Republican con-
gress will give it no consideration.
But after all Kustermann is a blind
leading the blind-President
Roosevelt as we'll as other Republicans
it is reported in a Washington
newspaper that the president has be-
come much interested in the question
of the tariff on petroleum." and has
secured a copy Of Mr.. Kustermkhn's
address.
What the president needs is not the
Kustermann speech but Congressman
Rainey's speech, for the former tells
but half the truth, while the latter
the whole Infamous transac-
ton which has allowed the Standard
Oil trust to plumber the American peo-
pie, while at the same time selling
it's oil to other countries for much
less than it charges here.