Los Angeles herald., 1910-08-12
ALDRICH RESENTS
ATTACK MADE BY
SENATOR BR|STOW
SoIon Denies Tariff He Fathered
Added to His PeCuniary
Benefit
TAKES FLING AT INSURGENTS
Rhode Islander Declares Rubber
Concern in Which He Is
Director Not a Trust
TAXES FLING AT INSURGENTS
ASSOCIATED Press)

WASHINGTON, Aug. 11.-Senator
| Nelson w. Aldrich of Rhode Island,
enumerating the counts under which
he was indicted by Senator Joseph w.
Bristow of Kansas, in recent campaign
speeches dealing with the tariff on rub
ber. in a letter made public tonight,
denies the charges in their entirety.
Incidentally he pays his respects in
caustic language to Senator Bristow,
and what he terms a little group OF
men" who entertain opinions similar to
| those of the Kansan.
The letter is addressed to William
| B. Mckinley of Illinois, chairman OF
the Republican congressional campaign
committee, and was sent to the head
quarters of the committee in this city.
The explanation of rubber duties and
the denial of the charges made against
| him by Senator BristoW are based on
the fact that Senator Aldrich was
| called on by a Republican candidate
| for congress to furnish the facts con-
| nected with the changes in the recent
tariff act.
Referring to the charges made by
| Senator Bristow as absurd misstate-
ments," Senator Aldrich said the per-
sistent reiteration of them impelled
| him to make a full statement. At the
| outset of his long letter the senator
| divided the speeches of Mr.. Bristow
| into five parts, each of which contained
| a specific charge. He then dealt with
them in order.
INCREASE MADE FOR HARMONY
In the first place, the senator de-
| clared, the increase from 80 to 35 per
cent on a small number of manufac-
| tured articles of rubber was for the
purpose of making the tariff uniform
on kindred articles and facilitating the
| laborS of the customs officials.
| In that connection he made public q
letter to him from Gen. Thad S. Shar-
retts, a member of the New York board
| of general appraisers, asserting the
change was advisable, and had been
! agreed to unanimously by the senate
and house committees and by the con-
ferees on the tariff bill at the earnest
solicitation of the tariff experts of the
treasury department.
Laying particular stress on the
charge made by Mr.. Bristow, the chair
man of the senate finance committee
said that neither he nor any MEM
Der of his family ever has had any
| pecuniary interest as to whether the
rates on manufactures of rubber were
80, 35 or 300 per cent or whether crude
rubber was on the free or dutiable
! list"
Dealing then with charges that the
Inter Continental Rubber company, of
| WHICH ne Is q director, is d ITuSIs IudI
! it advanced the price of crude rubber
and controlled the worlds supply, and
that the company had paid enormous
| dividends, Mr.. Aldrich treated each at
great length.
| TAKES FLING AT BRISTOW
Without raising any issue concerning
the "progressives" campaign gener-
ally, Mr.. Aldrich referred to Mr.. Bris-
| tow and his immediate associates as
| follows:
"In the tariff discussions of other
days the advocates of the progressive
policy usually have been called to meet
in debate men with convictions on the
subject-Democrats of character whose
theories of government differed COM
pletely from those held by Republican
protectionists-men who had some re-
gard for the accuracy of their state
ments and some knowledge of the sub
| ject they discussed.
"NoW attacks on Republican meas
ures are led by men whose political
existence depends upon their capacity
and to this there seems to be no
| limit-for misrepresentation and the
! ignorance of their adherents. Strangely
enough, this little group of men-very
small in number-has arrogated to it
self the leadership of the progressives,
and it's members prate about the treat
ment of the tariff as a moral question"
LETTER TO CHAIRMAN
The letter, in part, follows:
| providence, r. l., Aug. 10, 1910
| "Hon. William B. Mckinley, Chair
man Congressional Committee, Wash
! ington, D. c.: Dear Mr.. McKinley-I
have been asked by Republican cam
didate for congress in an Illinois dis
trict to furnish him the facts with
| to obo in hn
duties in the tariff act of 1909.
"The persistent reiteration of the
! absurd misstatements of Senator Bris-
tow with reference to the tariff on
rubber furnishes such a choice illus
| tration of the nature of the criticisms
| and the character of certain critics of
the tariff act of 1909 that it seems
to be desirable that full statement
of the facts should be made in re-
| sponse to this inquiry.
Senator Bristow's statements were
| as follows:
81. That the senate committee on
| finance, of which l was chairman, in
| creased the duty upon certain manu-
| features of rub er from 30 to 35 per
| cent.
"2. That during the session, or i'm
mediately after the adjournment of
| congress, I, in connection with others,
had organized a gigantic rubber trust,
known as the Inter-ContinentalR Rubber
company, in which L was a large
stockholder and director.
CONTROLS SUPPLY
"3. That this huge rubber trust inn
mediately advanced largely the price
of crude rubber, the supply of which
| it absolutely controls
"a. That this vast rubber monopoly,
the er-Continental Rubber company,
was able, on account of the changes in
the tariff referred to. to advance
and did rapidly advance-the price or
every rubber product, from automo-
bile tires to baby rattles.'
SO. That the increase on the rate OF
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