Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1910-05-26
POlNDEXTER and
LUMBER TARIFF
CONGRESSMAN FROM THIRD DIS.
TRICT EXPLAINS ATTITUDE.
Declares the Statement OF Stsndpst-
terS That He Voted for Free Lum.
Der Is False. Voted for Lumber
Schedule In Present Tariff Law
and Against Free Lumber.

The statement thatyI voted for free
lumber is simply false" writes Con-
gressman Miles POindexter in a letter
to friends in Spokane. Continuing, he
says: Il voted for the lumber sched-
ule contained in the present law, and
against the free lumber amendment.
This schedule reduces the tariff ON
lumber from 81 to $3.50. On the final
vote voted to recOmmit the bill, and
II this vote had resulted in the defeat
of the bill. SO far from bringing free
lumber, 1t would have left the Dingley
rate in force, which is so cents higher
than the present rate. All this is a
matter of record well known to those
making the contrary assertions; and
any statements otherwise are only the
result OF political malice and made
Tor the purpose of deceiying those in
terested in lumber manufacturing in
the state.
"The same thing is true of the
statement that / anne not in favor of
protection. I am thoroughly in favor
of \ protective tariff, but l am equal
ly opposed to the abuse of that sys-
tenn for graft and privilege. The AID
rich tariff is a fraud upon the people,
because it uses the governmental
function of levying customs to main-
tain citadel of monopoly and privi-
lege. / stand upon the Chicago Re-
publican platform, although in under
taking to guarantee reasonable pro-
ut in any private business l think
that platform goes further than it
should. The difference in the cost of
production between this country and
abroad is a fair measure of protec-
tiOn.
"One of the tariff wrongs from
which the people demanded relief
was the sugar schedule, under which
the ayariciOus trust has grown ex-
brilliantly rich and powerful by col
lectlng from the people a much high
err price for sugar than is obtained
for 1t abroad; and, while thus unjust
ly taxing the people for private gain
on the pretense of having paid the
tariff, confessed to having robbed the
government of at least $2,00000O of
these duties. Appeals and demonstra-
;tiOns, however, were ignored by Sena-
tor Aldrich, who was the whole thing
in framing this as well as other sched-
ules.
Decreases SO small as to have no
{efect whatever on the trust were
made in some steel and iron products.
These schedules were prohibitive be-
fore and are prohibitive now. In
many instances the tariff was enor-
mOusly increased; ais in the case of
fence wire not smaller than No. 6
gauge, valued at more than cents
the pound, which was increased from
an equivalent of 11.09 per cent to 40
per cent, being an increase of 26O.76
per cent of the former tariff.
x~kI@
tuers thereof were increased from an
ad valorem equivalent of 149O per
cent, 1907 per cent and 11.56 per
cent to 40 per cent in each case. And
not content with these specific in
creases, a blanket provision was in
serted that no article made from or
composed of wire should pay a rate
of duty less than 40 per cent. And
SO the farmers and other users of
wire and manufacturers of wire are
mulcted to pay dividends on the mil
lions of the steel trust. The trust
defies competition within, the tariff
stops it without, and the dishonest
profits thus wrung from the Ameri-
can people have made so many sud-
den milliOnaires in Pittsburg that the
whole city reekS with scandal and
corruption, both public and private.
While the inordinate riches of these
beneficiaries of tariff abuses, coupled
with lack of character, drive them to
insanity and degeneracy, the labor
ing men of their mills--the pretended
beneficiaries of the tariff-are COM
peting with little children and cheap
imported labor for barely decent
hours, decent conditions, and liv-
ing wage for themselves and their
families