Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-09-21
Saws Free List Bill Misled.

informationo / thought not. Indeed,
could find no argument which Wouid
satisfy my conscience in signing the Dill
Saws Free List Bill Misled.
The free list bill was called the farm
ers' free list for the purpose of giving
an impression that it was passed to COM
pensate the farmers for some sort of in
Jury supposed to he done by the Canadian
reciprocity treaty. This reason was final
" repudiated by the leader of the de-
mocracy on the floor of the House of
Representatives. and is certainly not true.
There was nothing in the Canadian reel
procity bill that required any compensa-
ton to the farmers for in very snort
period after actual operation it will ap-
pear that they az we'll as everybody else
have been improved in condition by our
larger trade with Canada. But the Dill
was framed and came to me in a form
calculated to mislead as to its erect.
In the first clause all agricultural fmpie-
ments were declared to be free, and
great many were named. THESE same I'M,
elements were named in the Payne blu
and were made free in that bill from any
country which permitted our Agricultural
implements to enter 1t without duty. rms
opened to England the market OF the
United States for agricultural lmpie-
ments. AS a matter or tact, the price VI
agricultural implements In America IS
cheaper, as shown by a report OF tne
bureau of trade relations of the STATE
Department. to the American farmers
than to any other farmers in the Wofiu.
England is the one country that exports
agricultural implements to any great eX-
tent. and so successful is the competition
against her in this country of American
agricultural implements that practicaiiy
very few have come in from England.
This first clause. therefore. OF the Tree
list bill offers no boon to the farmers at
all, although apparently drawn for the
purpose of inducing them TO THINK SO. II
does contain some very general WORDS az
the close of the specially mentioned artI-
cles which by Interpretation might De
made to include lao different articles used
on the farm. but used in other vocations
also. And these articles-fhe hammers,
the tools the cutlery and the machinery
of various kinds-are now dutiable under
the metal schedule. To admit them I'M
der this clause would be to destroy en-
tirely the symmetry of the metal Sched-
ule and produce such confusion as seri-
ously to interfere with the administration
of the tariff act.
Another clause provides for the
admission of barbed-wire fencing free.
and then all wire and other mate
rial which could be used for fencing, and
includes wire rods and wire rope. To let
in barbed- wire fencing alone would be
unimportant to producers. but the franz
ing of the amending clause is such that if
ii were TO go into law it would have a
serious effect upon the metal schedule
and would utterly destroy the principle
which was followed in its framing and
would make free of duty some of the
most highly wrought articles under the
metal schedule not used by farmers at
all. Then there is clause admitting jute
and cotton bagging free. and materials
from whieh made, which would allow
common cotton cloth to come in free for
any purpose, although under the cotton
schedule. even as proposed to be amended
by this Congress. cotton cloth is to pay a
certain amount of duty. The bill also puts
boots and shoes of all kinds on the free
list. Ii did not put on the free list eX-
cept some kinds of leather, the materials
which went into shoes. In other words
it put on the free list the finished product
and continued the tax on raw materials.
This would be such burden on our
manufacturers that it's injustice must APP
peal to every one.
THE fact is that under the Dingley
bill imported shoes We're taxed ~ per
cent adj vaIorem, while in the Payne bill
the duty vas reduced from ~ per cent
to 10 per cent the duty on hi:es was re-
duccd from II per cent to nothing, and
the duty on leather was reduced to > per
cent. No evidence was taken as to what
effect this putting of shoes on the free
list would have on the very highly i'm
POI, amt shoe industry of the country, and
as it violated the frs, principles of jus
t!ce in i tariff. namely, of putting the
finished product on the free list and tax
commend itself to one who was pledged
tariff