The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-08-12
Answer Is Made to the Five Separate Counts In BriS-
 tOW's Charges
ALDR|CH DECLARES HE HAD
 AUTHORITY FOR ACTION
Letter From Member of New York Board of Appraisers Gives Reasons for Raising the Tariff on
 Imports of Rubber

| Washington, August u.-Senator Nelson | Aldrich of Rhode Island, enumerating the counts under which he was indicted by Senator Joseph L. Bristow of Karfsas in l recent campaign speeches dealing with | the tariff on rubber h a letter made public to night denies the charges in | their entirety.
 | Incidentally MT. Aldrich pays his re- spects in caustic language to Senator
 Bristow, and what he terms little group of men who entertain opinions similar
 to those of the Kansas man. The letter is addressed to William B. Mckinley of Illinois, chairman of the republican con l gress1onal committee, and was sent to tfze headquarters of the committee In this | city.
 | The explanation of the rubber duties and the denial of the charges made | against him by Senator Bristow are based upon the fact that Senator Aldrich had been requested to furnish the facts con nected with the charges made in the re- cent tariff act.
 Referring to the charges made by Sem ator Bristow as absurd misstatements Sen | ator Aldrich said the persistent reitera- tion of them impelled him to make a full 1 statement
 | At the outset of his long letter the senator divided the speeches by MT. Bris- tow into five parts. each of which con tained a specific charge
 Five Bristow Charges | MT Aldrch then dealt with the five di- visions in order. In the first place the senator declared that the increase from 30 to 35 per cent on a small number of | manufactured rubber articles was for the I purpose of making the tariff uniform on
 kindred articles and facilitating the la
 bors of the customs officers l In that connection MT. Aldrich made public letter to him from Gen. Thad, | Sharretts, a member of the New York board of general appraisers. asserting that the change was advisable and had been agreed to unanimously by the scn- ate and House committees and by the conferees on the tariff bill at the earnest | solicitation of the tariff experts of the treasury department
 Laying particular stress upon this charge made by Mir. Bristow the chair man of the senate finance committee said that neither he nor any member of his | family has ever>nad any pecuniary inter est as to whether the rates on manufac- l lures of rubber were 90. 35 or 300 per cent, or whether crude rubber was on the free | or on the dutiable list"
 | Dealing then with charges that the In- | ter-Continental Rubber company. of which he is director. is trust that
 1t advanced the price of crude rubber l and controlled the worlds supply, and that the company had paid enormous div | idends, MT. Aldrich treated each separate | ly and at great length. Direct Answer to Bristow Without raising any issue concerning | the progressive republican campaign MT. Aldrich referred generally to Mr. Bristow and his immediate associates as fol- lows. Tn the tariff discussions of other days the advocates of the protective policy have usually been called to meet in de- bate men with convictions on the subject and with democrats of character whose theories of government differed complete- ly from those held by republican protec- tionists, and men who had some regard
 
 subjects they believed in and discussed Now we have a republican President and republican measures. They are led by men whose political existence depends upon their capacity and to this there seems to be no limit misrepresentation and the ignorance of their opponents leads to many squabbles. Strangely enough this group, while small in number, has arrogated to itself the leadership of the progressives. Its members prate on the tariff as moral question in which they have been defeated" AIdrich's Letter The letter is as follows Providence. R. L. August 10. 1910. Hon. William B. Mckinley, chairman Republican Congressional Committee. Washington, D. C.
 Dear McKinley-I have been asked by a republican candidate for Congress in an Illinois district to furnish him the facts with reference to changes in the rubber duties in the tariff act of 1909.
 "The persistent reiteration of the absurd misstatements by Senator Bristow with reference to the tariff on rubber furnishes such characteristic illustration of the nature of the criticism and the character of certain critics of the tariff act of 1909 that it seems to me desirable that a full statement of the facts should be made in response to this inquiry.
 "Senator Bristow's statements were as follows:
 That the Senate committee on finance. of which I was chairman. in creased the duty upon certain manufac- lures of rubber from 30 to 35 per cent.
 2. That during the session or imme- diately after the adjournment of Con gress l. in connection with others. had organized gigantic rubber trust known as the Inter-Continental Rubber com pany, in which l was a large stockholder and director.
 "'3 That this huge rubber trust imme-