Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-12-24
"Reams of Sunshine"

lated TO clear tIlt dtiiloSpii0io " "
unpleasantness with which it ma
been charged since Congress opened
calculated to neutralize the aHect
the repeated predictions that failur
of our food and fuel supplies, is i'm
minent or as the genial senator pu
tito spread upon the record, II
lmav. few beams of sunshine. an(
Ito prove, which l think can easily bt
done, that the American people have
before them as merry Christmas as
has ever fallen to their lot
Senator Depew then turns to tho
tariff situation, first calling attention
to the vicious assault that has beer
imade upon the provisions of the Payne
lRill and noting that the same tactics
| were employed by Democrats, free
traders. revenue theorists and dis
cruntled Republicans against the Me-
Kinley bill in 1890; the resultant cleo
ton of a Democratic President and
Congress; the enactment of the Will
SON G orman bill and the terrible pan
ic which followed. "Out of this dis
trcss came the triumph of Mckinley
said the Senator, with majority IN
both Houses and the passage of the
Dinglev bill, under which we lived
and prospered since 1897 During
that period American manufacturers
have increased 1000, 100000 with an
increase in the number of workers
from 26,35O,OOO to a4,OOOO0O, indicating
that 765O,oOO more individuals are now
finding remunerative employment than
was the case twelve years ago.
Senator Depew next took up the
Payne bill, submitting facts and fig
ures, showing that the new tariff,
wherever it has increased the tax
over the rates in the Dingley bill con-
fines these advances to luXuries and
predicts that these increases will fur
nish an additional revenue of $15,O0O.-
900, without any burden whatever
upon the average consumer or what
Lincoln called the plain people" He
then took I'D the five hundred reduc-
tons of rates which cover thousands
of necessary articles as opposed to
the increases in rates almost entirely
in articles of luxury. ''In agricultural
implements like wagons, mowers,
binders, harrows, rakes, plows, cultl-
vators, thrashers and drills there has
been a uniform reduction of 25 per
cent. In red and white lead for paint,
in varnishes, glazed brick, eartheh-
ware and china in common use, and
common window glass there has been
q reduction of from 10 to SO per cent.
Bar iron used by blacksmiths has been
reduced 50 per cent and so have steel
rails while on steel beams and grid
ers for buildings, hoop and bar iron,
barb wire for fences, bolts and nuts,
knives and forks for table use, spikes
and nails horseshoes, muleshoes,
tacks brads, saws, screws, sewing
machines, typewriters, all of which are
necessary for house-building business
ard domestic purposes, the duties nave
been reduced from II to so per cent.
The Senator goes on to enumerate and
reaches the conclusion that eff manu-
facturers and middlemen, whole
salers and retailers do not absorb
these reductions in the tariff these ar
ticles in common use should be much
cheaper to the consumer"
The people know that there has
been little reduction, in spite of the
tariff, and we know that this fact has
been seized upon by opponents of the
present administration as legitimate
proof that the tariff is detriment to
the ultimate consumer. Senator De-
pew puts the blame where it belongs,
citing the following example, saying,
| 'The National ClothierS Association
says that it must add So to s12 suits
and IS to 800 suits because of the in
crease in the cost of cloth on account
of the tariff. There has not been
| penny's increase in this tariff, either
in wool or in the cloth. The cloth
in a s12 suit costs 50 and the duty on
the wool would be SIS. The cost of
the cloth in a 500 suit is S. and the
duty on the wool is s1.25. AS there
has been no increase this year in
wages, rentals. buttons, thread and
other things which make up suit of
clothes, it is evident that if an ad-
vance is made it must be an addi-
tional profit to the manufacturers
and retailers of ready-made clothes"
The Senator's indictment Of the Ma
tional Clothers' Association is found
ed on fact and is typical Of large
number of cases in which the tariff
so far as it was possible for the tarlfl
to regulate prices. was reduced in an
ot