Evening star., 1909-04-23
NELSON'S EMPHATIC PROTEST
DOESN'T LIKE FINANCE COM
MITTEE SCHEDULES.
Dolliver Declares That He Will Vote
for Reductions Made by the House
as Far as Possible.

Senator Aldrich Of Rhode Island tariff
maker. had hard time in the Senate
yesterday afternoon. The lively tariff
debate which was precipitated early in
the afternoon and in which republicans
and democrats-but mostly republicans
had some mighty hard things to say about
Mr.. Aldrich's bill, kept up until late in
the afternoon. and got warmer.
Senator Knute Nelson of Minnesota,
who had started things going early in
the day and gave Senator Bailey of
Texas a fine chance to get in some hot
were carrying out their campaign pledge
about revising the tariff. stepped to the
center of the stage again. Mr.. Nelson
made a speech. He didn't like the way
til. finance committee had reported the
cotton manufactures, woolen goods, glass
and earthenWare schedules, and he said
so. emphatcally. No effort had been
made to pare these schedules down to q
fair size, he declared.
Mr.. Nelson's Protest.
Mr.. Nelson put 1t this way in the course
Of his speech:
To my mind-perhaps I may be here
tic on this subject-whenever we offer an
industry higher rate of protection than
t4.at industry is fairly entitled to have
we enable that industry to levy tribute
upon the American people; and indirectly
we do great wrong. We are all op-
posed to trusts and monopolies levying
tribute on the American people. While
that is the creed of all of u.s. we ought
in it's practical application to do what we
can to prevent the formation. directly or
indirectly, of such trusts and monopolies !;
we ought to prevent any class Of men, no
matter in what calling or profession, from
getting more than their just due and
their just protection.
Senator Aldrich and Senator Smoot Of
the finance committee answered back with
avidity, but they could not squelch the
man from Minnesota, who had got his
Norwegian Viking blood up and was out
for big game. He made it pretty clear
that he would do large amount of vot-
ing against Mr.. Aldrichs schedules. He
couldn't for the life Of him see why Con-
gress was in special session IL it were
going to leave the Dingley law unchanged
or raise the .Dingley rates.
Next came Senator Dolliver of Iowa
with more Of the same. BY a mere
change Of words. he said, the entire cot
ton schedule had been raised in a mys-
teriOus and unapparent way by the
finance committee. For doing such thing
he gave Mr.. Aldrich piece of his mind.
Mr.. Delivers Intention.
Then Mr.. Dolliver announced his pur-
pose regarding the BILL
I Il therefore suggest what / intend to
do myself, II l have the strength and the
grace" he said, land that is to SO vote
as to adhere as far as possible to every
reduction in the Dingley rate that was
made by the House committee, and to
adhere as far as possible to every .reduc-
tion that has been made by the Senate
committee. Wherever I find rate in the
bill pending here that goes beyond the
Dingley rate of 1897 / shall exercise the
right to inquire with very great care into
the question whether. after twelve years
of prosperity, with every industry ap-
parently satisfied. with every industry
multiplying its output and increasing its
capital and going on in an uninterrupted
prosperity whether after twelve such
years of industrial progress 1t might not
be possible. merely for the sake of the
advertisement and our popular repute in
the United States, to scale some of these
duties, so that when we come to read the
history of this extraordinary session Of
Congress we will not be compelled to say
that it was called not to reduce the
duties. but to confirm duties that had
been in existence for twelve years..
Wait chorused Senators Aldrich and
Smoot, in substance. land a little later
we will explain it all so that it will be
as clear as day"
And the republican revisionists are wait
ing