The Washington herald., 1909-03-17

ing ''prodigiously great" He showed how
every country kitchen had its forge. where
all hands. big and little. spent the long
winter evenings making nails The diff
feTences were finally compromised by
placing a specific duty Of l cent a pound
on nails. &C. After this came salt. Here
again sectional interests were in conflict,
but a compromise Of s cents a busheI was
the result of the debate.
When the duty on coal came 10 be
discussed Virginia was at the forefront
in advocating II. That State then in
cluded the present State Of West Virginia,
and Mr. Bland declared that there were
mines in Virginia capable Of supplying
the demands Of the whole country IF
some restraint was laid on the importa-
ton Of foreign coal"
In those days legislative procedure
was not Up 10 its present state Of re-
finement, and after the House had
thrashed out the entire question IN Com
mittee OF the whole. It all had TO be gone
over again in the House itself Here
rum, molasses, and malt liquors again
came in for first consideration Massa-
chusetts was once more heard in Oppo-
sition. Mr.. Thatcher saying it would be
an impOst of $50 a head on slaves than
it was for the Southern members to sup
port the proposed duty on rum and mo-
lasses. He held that the effects Of Massa-
chusetts rum were no more pernicious
than South Carolina slavery. A fight was
made later for an impOst Of SO a head on
all slaves imported, but this PROPOSE
Jion was defeated.
After the House had agreed to the
terms OF the bill il was recommitted 10
the Committee Of the Whole to determine
how long il should remain il force On
this question the first yea and nav vote
in the American House Of Representa-
tives was taken. The date Of the ex-
piration of the law was for June l,
1896. by a vote Of Al 20 s. This action
was taken on May Is so that the House
had spent a month and eight days IN per-
fecting the measure. When it went 10
the Senate Il was debated behind closed
doors. and there is only the diary Of a
partisan Senator to tell what happened
there At one point he says that New
England men fought over the mOlasses
schedule, even down ~to the batting OF
the hook that caught the fish that went
to buy the molasses." In another place
he tells how Richard Henry Lee attacked
the loaf sugar business by saying II
was made Of lime and other vile comb7-
nations. lie said he had broken a silver
spoon trying TO dissolve and separate It.
and added that ne supposed he must go
on breaking his spoons. and a nation be
taxed TO make a few Philadelphians rich.
The Senate made numerous amendments
to the House bill. and passed It on June
IL As signed by President Washington
on July 4. after the Senate and House
had adjusted their disagreeirg votes, the
act provided for specific duties on thirty
six enumerated articles; an ad vaIoren
duty of Is per cent on carriages; Of 10
per cent on seven articles; IL per cent
on sixteen, and per cent on all others.
except seventeen, which constituted the
free list
Affairs In the youthful nation were
not all that could be desired when the
first tariff law went into effect The peo-
pie had an almost frenzied hatred OF
authority, having so lately thrown of
the power of King and Parliament. The
dominant note of the time was Opposi-
ton to centralized power, and insistence
upon the doctrine of State rights. How
far this was carried may be inferred by
the fact that when Virginia, which had
taken the leading part in calling the con-
stitutional convention. came TO ratify the
Constitution. II was with the express res
ervation that she could withdraw from the
Union whenever she regarded il as detri- !
mental TO her interestsA
Other States had taken a similar course ]
and il was with fear and trepidation that
the first tariff law was proclaimed 10
the people. II was a law that contained
the twice-rejected idea of customs duties. |
II the people did not like II, and refused
TO stand by II. the whole governmental |
structure so recently reared would faU
asunder. and the fruits OF independence !
would be lost But fortunately the peo-
pie did not reject II. It acted so silently |
and powerfully that the people were
hardly aware Of its existence. II had |
such magic effect upon the finances Of |
The struggling empire that everybody /
was satisfied for the time being.
The act was. OF course, an experimental /
No one could tell exactly what |
effect it was going TO have upon impor- J