Evening star., 1909-03-11
TARIFF LOC-ROLUNC
Contest in Congress Com
menceS Next Week.
rINKERS COMING TO TOWN
Metal Schedule to Be Important
Feature.
VICIOUS FIGHT IS PROMISED
Steel Trust and Independent Manu-
facturers to Grapple-Ways and
Means Committee Opens Lists.

The clans are gathering in force for
the great tariff battle which commences
next week in Congress, and for the
next blank months Washington will be
very conspicuous on the map. The manu-
facturers are swooping down in hordes
upon a defenseless Congress. There will
be pulling and hauling, this way and
that; log rolling and swapping without
end: threats. pleadings. tears. lamenta-
tions and. of course. some one In the
end will get away with the goods" in
the opinion Of those theorists who only
look upon the tariff as the nurturer Of
trusts.
The advance guard Of the manufacturers
are clearly convinced from the informa-
ton they gather that they are in for a
considerable reduction in duties. The
new tariff IL to be revised downward.
without doubt. The concern of the pro-
the cut at q point below which would be
destruction of American industries. by
opening them to the competition Of cheap
foreign labor.
The coming session promises to furnish
the most interesting tariff fight the coun-
ton of the Walker tariff. 1t sounds wise
to refer to the Walker tariff because that
takes one back of the ready recollection
of present-day tariff tinkerers. Conditions
have changed so swiftly and materially in
recent years that many new elements are
entering into the making of tariff bill.
Some '.Cornfeld" Logic.
Just think of the amount of political
flap-doodle and buncombe a long suffer-
ing public will have to endure in the next
few months. as the "cornfield'' tariff tim
kers air their views in Congress on the
tariff schedules. One has only to read the
exhaustive hearings before the ways and
means committee to get an inkling of the
amount of misinformation likely to exist
in the congressional mind on this subject.
The pity of 1t is that the great industry
of manufacturing. geared almost as deli
cately as a watch, is to be thrown open
to political manipulation. investments ir
industries, wages of men now at work,
the welfare of humble little families scat
tered throughout the country: ,transpor-
tation and production in scores Of allied
ways-all are now in measure at the
mercy of the real statesmen ,n white
lawn ties and with ambroSial locks who
have speeches to make and seats in
Congress to conserve.
Hot Fight Indicated.
From now on the watchword will be
combination and log-rOlling. The possi
bilities are infinite and varied Party
ties will surely be strained if not frac-
tured in the tension to which they will
be subjected. Here friendship ceases.
and ii is night for blood and protec-
tion of local industries. fhe honorable
minority leader and the honorable ma
jority leader will get many hOarse hoot
of derision when the party whip is
cracked.
For the moment the greatest public
interest seems to be centered i'll the
metal schedule. steel, iron ore and pig
iron in particular There is every pros
pect of vicious fight over this sched-
ule between the steel trust and the in.
dependent manufacturers. The disposI-
| ton Of the ways and means committee
is to throw open the lists and tell them
to go to it.
There is indication OF a suggestion to
place iron ore on the free list. This Will
be direct drive at the steel trust. which
owns large portion of the iron ore de-
posits in this country. 1t will enable the
Independent manufacturers of steel to use
Cuban and Spanish ores. and will, in a
measure. compensate them for reduc-
ton in the duty on manufactured stee,.
which they will suffer in common with
the trust.
Some Expected Results.
Reduced duties on steel products have
been forecasted from the outset of the
hearings. How to bring this about with
out hurting the Independent manufacture
ers has concerned the committee a great
deal. Judge Gary the executive of the
steel trust, openly told the committee
that if steel products were placed on. the
free list the steel trust would eventually
drive all other manufacturers out of bust
ness.
He added that he did not want that
to come about. as the people would not
in the er:d stand for it.
Charles NJ. Schwab, at the head of one
Of the largest of the independent steel
concerns, contended that If duties on
steel products were reduced, the eastern
manufacturers would be at the mercy of
the western mills, on account of the diff
of the duty on ore will Offset this diff
ference. The fight will now come between
the trusts and the Independents, in sue
csssive stages of the progress of the
bill.
Proposed Coffee Tax.
The proposition that has given the
ways and means committee the most
concern, and which has been the most
difficult to determine. is the plan to tax
coffee. Some republican members de-
clare that the taxing of the breakfast
table would make it impossible for the
republicans to carry their districts at
the next election. The National Coffee
and Tea Association wrote to the COM
mittee that "A tax on coffee or tea would
be unjust to the consumer. detrimental
to trade. irritating 10 the masses and,
finally. will fail to produce any mate
rial revenue to the government for near
ly two years to come"
A duty of > cents upon coffee would
mean an immediate profit of at least SO. 20
per bag upon every bag in the United
States to the owners thereof" is the
claim made in the brief. There being
nearly 4.tDO,0O0 bags at present held here
by individuals. corporations and Wall
street speculative interests. such a duty
would mean profit Of $26,0Hl0OO. to the
owners and holders thereof. But 1t would
not mean one dollar paid into the United
States Treasury
Paper Men Alarmed.
Paper and pulp manufacturers have ex-
pressed great alarm over the report that
the committee would include In the bill
the changes in the pulp and paper sched-
ue recommended in the report of the
Mann committee which investigated the
pulp and paper question. The American
Paper and Pulp Association, through its
president Arthur c. Hastings. has sub
mtted lengthy brief. urging certain
CONTINUED on Second Page)