The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-04-13
PLEAS OF WOMEN
ON TARIFF BILL
HEARD IN SENATE
CONTINUED From Page One.)

on those articles, which are now inn
ported freely. but which under the
house bill could not be brought into
this country at all.
1t should be understood. of course,
that the bill submitted by the senate
finance committee is largely tentative.
The senate has no ironclad rules
which can be applied to prevent am
endments. The result is that every
line and every paragraph of the bill
is subject to change in the open SEN
ate. The chances are, however. that
the committee draft will go through
in its substantial features.
The committee decided to leave out
for the present both hides and coal.
on which there is likely to be hard
fight with a general breaking down
of party lines. Mr. Aldrich also re-
serves the right to come in later on
with committee amendments fixing
new rates on wood pulp and print pa
per.
Petroleum on Free List.
The action of the senate commit
tee makes it certain that crude and
refined petroleum will remain on the
free list, but there is still to be a
fight over the products of petroleum,
which embrace a wide range of medi-
cinal and other articles. many of
which are not made by the oil trust
at all. They are the Installations of
coal tar which can be manufactured
by any one, and there will be de-
mand for duty on products which
are not actually controlled by the
trust or some of it's subsidiary corpor-
atoms.
Aldrich that the committee had in
tentionally withheld it's maximum and
minimum provision so that it should
not be mixed up with fight over
rates. So far as the general principle
is concerned, the senate prOviso will
not be essentially different from that
drawn in the house.
The house paragraph, however. was
loosely constructed. 1t fixed no one
upon whom should fall the duty of de-
Gliding when foreign country dis
eliminated against America and when
it did not. The senate proviso re-
quires the president to make an in
vestigation and a proclamation of re-
suits. He has no discretion in the
matter except in SO far as to decide
the question of discrimination and
then apply our maximum and mini
mum rates accordingly.
Bill Nearer Taft Plan.
The senate committee has withheld
action on this section, so that the
rates might be taken up on their
merits. 1t also will introduce later on
a new administrative plan covering
the collection of duties and the as
sessment of value.
Politically speaking, the senate tar
If bill is much more likely to receive
the approval of President Taft than
would have been the case If the house
bill had remained as it was passed by
that body. The people themselves,
and particularly those who wanted to
see real revision downward, prob
ably will prefer the senate measure
to the house bill, and it is undeniably
better from a general political point
of view, besides probably being more
of a revenue producer.
The house committee unfortunately
went on the theory that If it increased
duties it necessarily added to the rev.
enue. The treasury experts, and the
wise men like Senator Aldrich. knew
well that when the rates Of duty are
increased to prohibitive point the
importations necessarily cease and
revenue declines.