Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1909-07-14
THE TARIFF BILL.


of weeks, is now in the hands of a
conference committee and it is
thought it will be ready to send to
the president within the next ten
days. The measure as passed by the
senate last Thursday night differs very
materially from the bill passed by
the house several weeks earlier, the
senate bill making hundreds of
amendments to the schedules in the
no Sc bill, details being shown upon
the first page of today's Herald.
Senator AIdrich has been we'll nigh
supreme IN the formation of the
senate bill and has aroused much
antagonism among such fighting
senators as La Toilette of Wisconsin !;
Beveridge. of Indiana; Cummins and
Dolliver of Iowa; Bristow of Kansas (;
Smith, OF Michigan and others, who
object that the revision of the tariff
has had an upward rather than a
downward tendency and is not in &C
cord with the pledges of the republi-
can party and its presidential candi-
date in the last campaign, nor with
the demand of the country at large
for a downward revision.
There are eleven men, five senator's
and six representatives, in the con-
ference committee that will have
charge of the task of so altering this
measure that when completed it may
most nearly meet the wishes of the
greatest number of people and at the
same time raise sufficient revenue for
the expenses of the government, and
it will be necessary that the advocates
of both the high and low tariff
schedules make many concessions if
bill satisfactory to the county shall
be the result. Senator Aldrich will
contend for the higher revenue rails
ing duties. Representative Sareno
Payne, leading the house forces will
fight for lower duties and President
Taft will bring his influence 20 bear
for a general reduction.
In the formation of a measure
affecting tariff duties there are hun
dreds of conflicting interests to be
taken into account. and which bring
all the influence possible to bear upon
the committee in the fixing Of the
schedule-each for its own selfish in
terests Importers naturally want
the duties cut down or removed en-
tirely to aid their business; manu-
factUrers want duties removed upon
raw material entering into the make
up of their products, wherever it will
enable them 10 buy cheaper. but do
not want it cut down upon their
finished products, which they have to
sell. For instance, the manufacturers
of shoes and clothing demand free
hides, lower duties on wool ard
shoddy, but want the duties raised
upun shoes and clothing, to keep out
the goods of foreign competitors.
Cattle raisers want the duty left alone
or raised upon hides, because it will
help their business.
Every state has industries which
will be materially affected by the
raising or lowering of the duties, and
its senators and representatives are
very determined to have the schedules
so adjusted as to favor those
particular things, but are very willing
TO listen to rhe demands of the people
for change in the schedules affecting
the things in which they or their
friends or their state are not PERSONAL
" concerned. Thus the northwest.
where lumber Is yet plentiful. wants
the tariff retained on lumber to keep
the plices up, and In the states where
the timber is practically gone or never
existed, lumber on the free list is
demanded in the hope that the prices
will thus be lower. This section of
Wisconsin is interested In having the
duty raised on zinc and lead ore, be.
cause it will advance the interests of
our lead and zinc mines; the paint
manufacturers would like the duties
reduced. SO that the cheaper raw
material might be obtained from
Mexico and their profits increased.
Thus it occurs that some of the
strongest democratic senators of the
south have forsaken the traditions of
their party in advocating lower tariff
duties, and have been the most
strenuous fighters for raising the
duties on sugar, cotton and other
things which their states produce.
Thirty years ago. in the Garfield
Hancock presidential campaign, Han
cock was laughed at from one end of
the country to the other for stating
that the tariff was a local issue, +"
but the events of later years have
abundantly proved that in many
respects he was right