The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1909-02-20

not walk along PENNSYLVANIA Avenue
or go into hotel lobby without
stumbling over score of tariff ex-
perts. Some of them are helping
while others are hindering the gigan-
tic undertaking of preparing meas
ure, the object of which Is to AFFORD
sufficient protection to American in
dustries and at the same time an am
pie revenue to maintain the steadily
increasing expenses OF the govern
ment When one considers how diff
cult it is to harmonic these two ends,
it is not hard to understand why the
Republican party has postponed as
long as 1t was possible to do so, the
revision Of the Dingley schedules.
Everybody Is watching the Ways and
Means Committee rat hole wondering
what will come out No, one can tell
, now, even the members Of the COM
| mittee themselves. Chairman Payne,
| gray for years, has grown two shades
grayer during the past three months
studying over the problem of which he
I is an acknowledged expert.
: The schedules affecting the two
largest industries of the country
iron and steel, and lumber, naturally
have caused a great deal of trouble At
the outset it seemed quite probable
that there would be material reduc-
lions. If not actual free trade in these
commodities. Mr.. Carnegie came out
In favor of the abolition of the steel
duties and gave his reasons, which at
tract wide attention, but as matter
of fact the Committee is bit suspic-
ious OF his motives. They don't just
know what the willy Scot has up his
sleeve, and some Of Mr.. Carnegie's
steel associates are not in favor OF
, free steel, so 1t is likely that while
some material reductions may be
made in the steel schedules, the duty
, will not be wiped out entirely Then
came lumber, the second largest In
! dustry in the country. Average per
;. sons expected free lumber. That they
will not get it is now no longer sec
ret it is not probable that the duty
will be left substantially where 1t is al
present In the lumber question the
committee struck bigger snag thar
\ It struck in the matter of steel. In
designations developed the fact thai
those who were shouting loudest fol-
free lumber were the owners of large
Canadian timber rights and had al
Interior motive in wishing to have the
, product placed on the free list O
no 1,,y,o1 rar a ic
, en- howl, which began in the pine
/. forests of Maine and echoed in the
redwood of California. But for al
q that the committee might have gottel
, away with the lumbermen, and pu
timber on the free list, had not certain
e other contingencies arisen. Labor
4 came to the front and now the farmers
are beginning to put in their protest
J. Mention anything which affects labo
a to member of Congress and he list
ems at once; speak of the farmer
q cause and you get his attention. Thu
!. laboring men and the farmers hav'
the votes and every national legisla
tor is just SO anxious to do anything
r that he can for labor and the farme
that he sits up late at night studying
what he can do for them and get thei
votes in return. 1t has been pointe'
out to him that there are $4,000 say
mills in the country employing hur
= dreds of thousands of hands, that hur
hreds of thousands of others handl
lumber in the logging camps and o.
the railroads, and against the Japan
csc, Chinese and Hindu labor employ
II ed in numbering in Canada they car
not compete. Canadian lumber woul
. come in by cheap water transports
IS ton, while the American produc
must be handled on railroads. The
. the farmers comes in with his desir
g to sell his logs, taken from his littl
= patch Of woods, at the highest price.
AS If that were not enough, Their
arose the spectre of a disappearin
revenue. Whatever the duties ar
they must be enough to keep up INCL