The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-04-25
'KETT|G TALKS OF THE FREE LIST BILL Says Sugar" of Birming- ham District Is Coal,
 Iron and Steel

To the Editor of The Age-Herald:
 In Mir. Underwood's telegram, pub
 lished Friday, it is stated that house
 bill 4413 only affects the wire used
 for fencing, a small part of the wire in-
 dustry.
 The most casual reading of the bill
 shows that the items involvel are:
 'Barbed wire, fence wire, wire rods.
 wire strands or wire rope, wire woven
 or manufactured for wire fencing, and
 other kinds of wire suitable for fenc-
 ing, including wire staples"
 Also hoop or band iron, or hoop or
 band steel, cut to lengths, punched or | not punched"
 | The statement that this affects only a small part of the wire industry is rath CT astonishing when we remember
 that wire is made of steel, which in
 turn is derived from pig iron produced
 from the ores gathered on Red noun
 tain and coke made from the coal from
 the important coal fields of this dis | trict. From this it is evident that so
 far as the Birmingham district Is con- cerned, the manufacture of wire is but a small part of the many operations required to get it into it's finished shape.
 Anyone familiar with the business knows that wire is produced from wire rods The new House bill places wire rods on the free list. That is to say, anyone desiring to go into the wire business could do so right here in the Birmingham district, without the ne- cessity of operating coal mines, coke 1 inc f,,,, cta
 works or blooming mill, using instead the imported product (wire rods) as base. The far-reaching effect on
 the industrial life of this district un- der such conditions is readily apparent
 to anyone who stops to think just moment.
 Viewed in this light. and carried to | its logical conclusion, it will be read 1 ity appreciated that it's effect would | rot stop short of the farmer-the man producing the food supplies sustain ing the population of this district. | It is to be remembered that those | items are the free list and it is | not proposed to reduce the tariff to a point enabling the government to de- rive revenue or income through a tar If for revenue only measure-a prin- oiple long recognized as a fundamenta one in the teaching of democracy, but instead they are placed on an abso- lutely free list.
 This naturally suggests the inquiry Are we of the Birmingham district so anxious to assist the free trader that we are willing to sacrifice ourselves, so far as any self-interests are con- cerned?
 If this country was doing business on a strictly free trade basis on all items, the situation would be differ ent; but 1t is to be observed that vari- GUS sections of the country seem to see that the items which particularly concern them are fairly well cared for For instance, we all use sugar, but l dare say there are many of us who do not use wire fences. Why should
 we not be equally concerned with free | sugar, which interests every man, wom- an and child in Alabama? The districts in which sugar is raised seem to have TO difficulty In reconciling themselves | to a protective tariff on this commod- ity
 | The sugar of the Birmingham dis trict is not sugar, but coal, iron and steel. In this connection, l quote Mr.
 Richard Edmonds of Baltimore, editor of the Manufacturers Record, and an ardent friend of this district, in an in- terview in the Savannah Press two years ago, as follows:
 l Merely for sentiment, merely be- cause the politicians have talked free l trade and tariff for revenue only, while | ether sections have vigorously fought for whatever would develop their bus mess interests, this section Is still used l in the political game to pull the chest nuts out of the fire that others may
 like the monkey, feast on the chestnuts
 while we, like the cat, have only our | burnt paws to console us. | The story of the cat and the mon- key presupposes that the cat never | tried that game again; but whenever l the monkey comes around the south
 learning little by experience, is again | cajoled into pulling the chestnuts out | O. the fire. The monkey waxes fat and we keep sore from our many burns Nobody can blame the monkey for his | skill in using us | "Economic policies are not like the | laws of the Medes and Persians; they can change as conditions change, and
 in fighting for equal protection of southern interests southern represen- | tatives would not be sacrificing any moral principle whatsoever. 1 General Hancock said, the tariff is a local issue, and this truth is ever | growing clearer to every man who | studies the business problems of the | day.
 | ''rhe time has come when the south needs protection even more than any l other section, and the tariff is becom- | ing to us a live and local issue" l The handspring of the Birmingham | district is pay rolls. We are very much interested in pay rolls. We want pay rolls as large as possible. We want diversified industries. For the workman n we want wages based on rates as high as is consistent with the character of | the product of the industry. @ l This question of pay rolls affects the | banker, the merchant, the workman and | the faGmer. Without the pay rolls, Bir- mingham would be about as busy as the well known town of Squedunk. | When all the other fellows have list ed their products on the free list we will have less to say. Until they do we believe we are consistent in asking protection for the products of our local
 industries furnishing the pay rolls which supply our daily bread and but 1 ter. w. H. KETTIG Birmingham, April IA, 1911. |