Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-08-31

wood and myself, have spent half q
life time studying and debating the
tariff Many of us participated in. de
bate on the Dingley bill; many Of ne
participated later in the hearing and
debates on the -Smoot
bill, which the president has declared
is the best tariff bill ever passed and
which confidently assert is the worst.
"The service of some house and sen
ate members even goes back to the
Mckinley bill, the Springer bills, the
l.. Mills bill, and the Morrison bills.
Then why should we wait for the yer.
dict of the presidents board Of tariff
nonexperts?
1T will be noted while the presi-
dents conscience would not permit
him to sign a bill revising even one
schedule, the wool schedule, the rates
of which he declared to be too high.
and in need OF reduction without re.
commentator from his board of non.
experts, he promptly signed the out.
rageous Payne-Aldrich-Smoot tariff
bill without the counsel, advice or tut
ton of any tariff board whatsoever.
"That bill was so bad that in a
house with a republican majority, we.
lacked only five votes of killing It by
recommitting it. That day twenty-four
patriotic republicans voted with us
among them Hon. James R. Mann, the
present republican minority leader. |
was priviledged as democratic minor
ity leader to lead in that great and
righteous fight, which will be con-
ISOLATION to me SO long as life lasts.
ut might as well be understood now
as latter, that if the tariff board is to
be used as pretext for delaying tar
if revision downward as the president
Is now using it, instead of expediting
genuine and Statutory tariff revision
its days will be few for we will cut |
of It's supplies and this board has al. |
ready cost three or four hundred thou |
sand dollars and has not given con-
gress any information to aid in revis- |
ing the tariff.
"Mr Underwood and did say that
We would gladly receive information
on the tariff from anybody possessing
It; but we never did say and never
will say that we together with other
members we'll informed on the subject
must wait until the presidents board
,r any other board got ready to make
The president himself, is man OF
arge general information as we'll as a
nan of great ability but certainly he
$ not enough Of tariff expert to
Justify him in vetoing tariff bills,
7hich passed the house by majorities
more than two to one. It is not
fippant or unfriendly statement to .
ny that he possessed only the sur
ice information on the tariff as t,
overnor Dingley denominated it,
hich is possessed by every citizen s
ell Informed in a general way h
Wool Bill Not Hastily Drawn. Il
"The president implies that he re- !"
sed to sign the wool bill because it -
as introduced and rushed through -
thout due consideration. Let us
e. The caucus of democratic mem ~
RS elected to the sixty-second con- ~ ~
ess, met January 10, and selected ~ -,
e democratic members of the COM "a
ttee on ways and means, making
r. Underwood chairman. They per fiji
nally and with their helpers at once &C
gan to assemble information of the ia
,ol schedule. The bill was reported
the house about the middle OF
,ril, period Of three months, on the 81
eparation Of the one schedule out of ~ ~
lrteen. Whereas the hearing on the w.
yne bill with fourteen schedules be- 81 81
n November II, and the bill was re- VI
rted to the house March 10, period ne
a little over four months, devoted "
fourteen schedules. Any Tyro in "
themtic knows that as we devoted st,
zee months to one schedule and the sir
Imers OF the Payne bill devoted on ty,
, average only two-sevenths of one tn.
NTH to each schedule we devoted tri
! and one-half times az much time re
q schedule as did Brother Payne AS
d his republican coadjutors on ways al,
d means. Nevertheless, and not
the president signed the
yne-Aldrich-Smoot bill and vetoed PIC
rs. re-
In this connection it should not be Nc Nc
gotten that when Mr.. Underwood nc nc
ported the wool bill every line, para e. e.
aph and section was thrown open to -,
bate and amendment and that the ~ ~
bate continued until the members s e.,
cussed it all they wanted to. In 10 10
'ad of being slapped together hastily ~ ~,
thout due consideration, it was one 80
the most thoroughly and carefully We
1sidered tariff bills ever presented