Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1909-07-14
Washington. ID. c., !
July 10

| Washington. ID. c.,
July 10
The two West Virginia senators clos
ed the tariff fight in the senate so far as
West Virginia's interests were concern.
ed, in a blaze of glory. They secured
the adoption OF an amendment providing
for N countervailing duty on oil when
the bill was before the senate proper.
They were successful on yea and nay
vote by majority of thirteen This is
on of the most remarkable fights ever
made in the United States senate. Less
thana week ago beaten on yea and
nay vote on an amendment to impose n
duty on crude petroleum these two men
led fight to victory. Defeated, but
not discouraged, they picked them
selves up after their knockdown of last
week and went to work to secure the
adoption of countervailing duty. This
is the same feature in the present law
by which crude petroleum is protected
The fight has been kept up night and
day, though but little was seen on the
surface. When the amendment was
presented in the senate on. the Sth the
leaders on the democratic side, together
with the free trade" republicans claim.
ed that the countervailing duty was pre-
cisely the same thing as "a specific duty
Notwithstanding this the senators were
able to reverse the vote of n week ago
which showed majority of six against
them to vote in their favor by thir-
teen. They We're congratulated OH all
sides. The amendment adopted is as
follows:
provided, That if there be imported
INTO the United States crude petroleum
produced IN any country which i'm
poses duty on petroleum exported from
the United States, there shall in such
cases be levied, paid, and collected fl
duty upon said petroleum so imported
one half OF the duty imposed by such
country"
To this Senator Gore offered an
amendment that no importer Of crude
oil should be entitled to the drawback
provisions of the bill. This was accepted
by the committee.
Senator Scott at the last moment
also succeeded in getting an additional
duty placed on galvanized sheet iron
and steel,
During the debate on Tuesday the g.
Senator Elkins called up an amend
ment that he had introduced allowing a
reduction of five per cent in the duties
prescribed by law on all goods, wares
and merchandise, and articles of every
kind imported in ships or vessels of the
United states. This was an effort on
the Senator's part to start the bui ldinp
up OF merchant marine. The Finance
committee refused To adopt this amend
ment and Senator Elkins gave notice
! that he would introduce il in the fall as
a bill and have il referred TO the com.
mittee on commerce On the merchant
marine the two West Virginia sena-
tors are unit. Each have spoken i'm
favor of a policy to build this MP and
have voted for bill along those lines.
In presenting his argument in favor of
his amendment Senator Elkins pointed
out that the commerce of the United
States had been pushed off the seas by
some Of the smallest countries in the
world, He showed that there are now
fifty million Of shipping tonnage en-.
gagged in transporting our commerce and
that OF this amount 93 per cent is
foreign. His amendment he said offered
great ioducement TO importers TO
bring all their goods into the United
States in American vessels. Such a
proposition costs the government moth
ing. He thought that under such a law
American vessels would be sought by
shippers of import goods and spoke of
the change that would come as follows
1--WE would again see the American
flag In all the seas Of the world, and an
American would not feel lonesome
when travelling arous4d the globe. We
have everything TO make us the greatest
maritime nation in the world. Must we
let American shipping anguish and
die, and wait for another generation Of
statesmen to grow mp to do what we
fail to do?
This would Immediately tend 10
build up American shipping, in my
Judgment. The reduction of 3 per
cent in the existing tariff would be i'm
the direction OF revision downward,