The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-08-16
Hrlstow. pemacoaue.

Bristow, Demagogue.
Sioux City Journal: Senator Bris-
wipes out the last shred of the Rhode
Island senator's charitable theory
that the Kansas senator had been
cruelty misled by some designing
person" In trying to reassemble his
exploded charges" by means of ir-
relevant and misleading arguments,
Senator Bristow stamps himself as a
demagogue of the least estimable
type. In not single essential detail
is the adequacy of the Aldrich de-
tense disturbed by the Bristow 're-
ply" 1t is impossible to avoid the
conclusion that Senator Bristow knew
all along the hollowness of his tariff
graft scandal and that he was will
ing to make political capital in the
Kansas campaign. as now, by misrep-
resenting the facts.
The essential questions raised in
the original Bristow indictment were
these: Did Senator Aldrich, as chair
man of the senate finance committee.
promote the per cent increase in
rubber duties? Did he then interest
himself in the organization of new
rubber trust? Did this alleged trust
profit heavily by the increased duty?
We're the increased duty and the al
legged trust jointly responsible for the
ensuing rise in the price of rubber
goods? Senator Aldrich in his state
ment answered all these questions in
the negative, and submitted an array
of facts that made it unnecessary to
take his mere assertion for anything.
The per cent increase in duty ap-
piled to only a small portion of the
rubber goods manufactured in this
country or imported. 1t was made at
the request of the treasury experts in
order to bring in under uniform duties
all articles manufactured in whole or
part of rubber. The change was worth
while because the appraisers courts
had been clogged with cases from inn
porters who tried to secure the lower
of the two duties on rubber goods
named in the Dingley law, The same
uniformity might have been secured
by lowering the higher duty, which
covered the more important imports,
but this would cut down revenue. One
of the things demanded of the Payne
law was increased revenue. Senator
Aldrich submitted the testimony OF
Judge Sharretts, of the board of gen.
eral appraisers, as to these facts. 1t
was Judge Sharretts who appeared
before the senate committee to urge
the increased duty and who later de-
Tended it before the conference
committee. Both committees agreed
unanimously that his arguments were
good and that the change was desir-
able Judge Sharrett's testimony IS
lightly dismissed by Senator Bris-
tow as unreliable and having no
bearing on the case"
To many perhaps the most con-
vincing demonstration that Senator
Aldrich was not responsible for the
increase will be found in the show
ing that, although he was interested
in rubber, he was not interested In
manufactured rubber such as the
duty applied to. The Intercontinental
Rubber company, in which the Rhode
Island senator had been interested
since 1906, is a producer of crude
rubber only, and all Of It's products
are produced out Of the United
States, coming In free of duty The
output OF the company, according to
Senator Aldrich, is only 6 per cent
of the worlds output. The product is
sold at price fixed by supply and
demand In the world market, With
the central market in London auc-
ton room. 1t Is the height OF absur-
dity to intimate that the Aldrich con-
Germ, selling crude rubber In the
world market, could profit by FIVE
cent increase In duty affecting only
small portion of American importa-
tfoDs or manufactures. 1t Is equally
absurd TO contend that the new duty,
plus anything that could be done by
concern producing only per
cent OF the world output OF crude
rubber, could have any preceptible
Influence upon prices OF rubber goods
all oyer the world. Rubber prices
have been mounting steadily for
years, owing 10 increased demand in
automobile aud electrical appliance
manufacture. They continued to rise
after the Payne law was passed. and
they have only recently fallen in re-
gponse TO some fiuctuation of the
supply and demand.
Senator AIdrich may be planning
20 establish an international rubber
monopoly. but he certainly has not