Barton County democrat., 1909-10-22
Practical Tariff Talks


new tariff law will find apparent
reason for cOngratulatiOn when
he inspects the wood schedule
thereof. Apparently there is a
total reduction of II per cent on
the entire schedule, but If he
probes deeper he will find the
fraud. When railroads desire to
raise rates that will certainly be
followed by a protest they do 1t
indirectly, by changing the class
ificatiOn. The tariff makers fol
low the same process. TimberS OF
varying sizes make up the build
ingS We erect. Under the Ding
ley law these bore a duty of a
cent a cubic foot, on timber
hewn, sided or squared" " The
new law apparently reduces this
rate 50 per cent by making the
duty half cent but-and here s
the joker; the new paragraph
reads: Timber, hewn, sided OF
squared otherwise than by saw
ing" the last four words being
new matter. As a cold matter OF
fact these timberS are not hewn
sided or squared in any Other
way than by saving. lIewing is
a back number method in lumber
ing. By the Interpolation of the
tour words. otherwise than by
saving" i" squared timber is pui
where the rate is an equivalent
in the boards" classification
of a 50 per cent raise over the
old rate.
The same trick of shifting class
ificatiOn is certain to make an
other department of building
more expensive. The duty OIL
structural steel, ready for use
in the Dingley law was $40 ton
The new law makes the duty
from Sc to So a ton, according tC
the value, but the wording ol
the paragraph has been so chang
ed that structural steel that has
been punched is not mentioned al
all, the new rate applying to the
material that has not been ad
vanced beyond hammering, roll
ing or casting. Until structural
iron is punched it is of no use tt
builders, and under the new law
the punched material carries
duty of As per cent, being includ
ed under the classification of "al
manufactures of metals not Spe
officially mentioned" p" This irOl
sells at an average of about SIS;
a ton, and a 40 per cent tariff
means $14 a ton, as compared u
$40 a ton under the old law. Ye
the senate finance cOnimitte'
calmly issues an estimate of re
ductions in which it include
structural steel and iron.
One of the complaints made b,
the fruit growers of CalifOrni
during the tariff debate was tina
railroad rates were so adJuste'
that, the tariff considered, tn
lemon grower of the Pacific SiOp
was barred from any market eas
of Pittsburg. East of that polr
the Sicilian lemon, slippin
through on a cent a pound taif
was able to undersell the Cal
fornian. As lemon growing is
varv nnofitable business an
thousands of new trees have bee
planted in the last few year
; the westerners wanted a wid'
market. So they went down an
saw Mr.. Aldrich, he tackled {
a so per cent raise on lemons,
a cent and a half a pound. Flo
ida pineapple growers felt thel
selves barred out of some mar
cts that a higher tariff wOu
open to them in this cOuntr
They didn't get as much Of an /
crease as they hoped for, b,
they didn't expect they wOul
But the maddeSt men in the cou
= try today are the lemon grove
of the far west and the pinea
ple planters of the southland. A
ter they got their tariff the ra
roads simply raised their rat
!. sufficient to enable them to q
sorb the tariff increases. The {
. casion, however, is not one tn
II r - Io.,olko,. E,.oyo \