The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1910-04-22
DOINGS At THE NATIONAL
CAPITOL.
Fordney a Greater standpatter Than
Ever; Praises Aidrich Tariff Act.

By Wells Harvey 10 the Saginaw News.
Washington, April Is. -Congressman
Fordney is ready for the tariff battle.
He proposes to go back home this
summer and fight it out on precisely
the lines drawn by the new tariff act.
He doesn't care for Canadian reciproc.
ity or anything else to change the issue.
Lets let the tariff alone now" said
Mr.. Fordney today. COZ course we
should all like to get the most conces.
sions possible from Canada, but l can't
understand how we can be helped by
reciprocity at all. The difficulty is
that our products are too nearly like
those of Canada. We have nothing to
trade on. l can't see any advantage
in our making bargain that we will
let ton of hay into this country, if
Canada will let ton of our hay into
her ports. Reciprocity works only
when some county produces something
which we do not and imports some
thing which we produce and which it
does not. That forms the basis for a
real exchange. And until 1 can be
shown that there is some such situa-
ton with regard to Canada, shall pre-
fer that the tariff situation remain as it
is.
II shall not dodge the tariff issue at
the next campaign. There is no reason
to do so. 1t is great measure-the
best tariff bill of which I have knowl-
edge. Of course it was built by COM
promise. If had the writing of it. 1
could have made a bill which would
have suited me better. Until the time
comes that every producer can have his
interests protected by good duty, and
every consumer can be helped by hav-
ing his articles Of consumption come in
free, we cannot please everybody with
tariff act. Obviously the producers
and the consumers are 80 mixed to-
gether, and so combined in the same
person, in most instances, that it will
always be out of the question to please
every person in all his interests. That
has been trne of every tariff bill here
tofore, and the new law gives the least
occasion of complaint is the fairest
and best for the countrv's progress.
II am not shaken little bit by the
much talked-of attacks by Senator
Beveridge. 1 have reviewed his speech
with facts and figures before me. He
was mistaken on essential facts. He
tried to make it believed that he stood
right with the president He said at
the Indiana convention: The presi-
dent wanted so and So so did l. But
he really did not stand with the presi-
dent, for Mr.. Taft signed the bill.
while Beverage voted against it.
That's pretty big difference.
I'm his speech Beveridge said that
the bill reduced the duty on only those
things that we export. His meaning
was that we were careful not to make
reductions where they would count.
How about iron ore? We never ex-
port that; we import great deal of
it. And yet the tariff on iron ore was
was reduced from 40 cents to Is cents |
per ton. How does Senator Beveridge
make that fact jibe with his state
ment? If he was mistaken in such an
important matter, isn't it reasonable
to suppose that he might be mistaken
rs to other matters? In my judgment,
he was greatly mistaken.
Senator Beveridge said that he
could not stand for the duty on struc-
tural steel, punched. The old law on
structural steel was that it should pay
4 duty of half a cent a pound, what
aver the value. The new law provides
hat If it is valued at less than nine
;enths of a cent per pound, it shall
Day duty of three-tenths of cent
Der pound; if valued at more than
,ine-tenths of cent per pound, the
luty shall be four-tenths of cent. /
loubt whether there is any structural
teel of the lower value. But granting
hat all pays the higher rate, still
here is reduction of 20 per cent
rom the Dingley tariff. Beveridge
ntimates that we raised the tariff on
tructural steel punched. Not so.
Punched steel isn't provided for at all.
t can't come in. We want the punch
ng done by American labor in this
country.
YES the new tariff is good. Let's
cave it alone and give business
nance to settle down"
II speak to an assembly of loyal Re-
III hlicana on, a,,ro .~1:~o