The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-13
BRANTLEY ON WOOL
By SAW 0YARD

Washington July 1e.-(Special.)- .)-William G. Brantley of the Eleventh Georgla dis- trict, is a man of talent and man ol chaarcter. In personal contact he al ways reminds me of Simon Bolivar BUICK ner who is the grandest and most Illus trious of living Americans. who puts the word duty before and above all other words, and who acts that prlheiple as faithfullv as he believes it implicitly ,rbare is a resemblance of build and of feature in the two men, though Buckners 5 is the larger physique and the stateiler' perhaps, because he is born soldier ana was long professional soldier
 I wish Brantley was as good demo- crat as Buekner, and he ought to be- Tor he is the successor in Congress of Henry c. Turner, one of the greatest men of his day, and I am sure the greatest man 1 ever saw He was lofty enough for lt and he ought to have been chief justice of the supreme court of the United States. If Henry G.. Turner had not been as modest as a woman, I make no doubt that the last 20 years of his life he would have held the place in the democratic party that James G. Blaine held for double decade in the republican party. But he was a sleeping lion, rarely aroused to action, yet when in action, as l twice saw him, he was as stern as a Cromwell as brilliant as a Rupert, as victorious as a Caesar.
 But to get back to my friend Brantley he is a sincere man from skin to mar TOW. He is persuaded that he is dem ocrat and will resent what 1 am going to say about his democracy, though mo- titied him, that I would say it, and he, gallant fellow. will not shrink from the criticism. I wish Brantley was on the bench, and the supreme bench itself IS not too big for him. I also wish he would follow the teachings of his great prede- oessor. Mir. Turner, who had less vanity than John G. Carlisle, who had no vanity at all.
 Mr. Brantley is member of the ways and means committee, not by my assent for I did some little advising against it, and there are others on that council nrotested against. But when the speak CT is a candidate for President every lit tie thing like tariff reform becomes, first secondary, and then insignificant. And so Brantley stayed on the committee and the committee was Randallized. Why seek to conceal the truth known of all men?
 MT Brantley made a very able speech on the Underwood bill from the protec- ton standpoint. On the quetsion of raw materials, he is in exact accord with Nel- son w. Aldrich, with Pig Iron Kelley, with Joseph G. Cannon, with John Dal- zell, with Joseph w. Bailey. His position in that particular is precisely that every standpat republican would have him as- sume, and it is the last ditch. as it is the first outwork, of a protective tariff. Look you, | know Brantley is a fanatically honest man, but error would have been banished the world ten thousand years ago had it not been accepted by conscien- tous men. Paul had persecuted.
 Brantley says: Every man knows that free raw material is protection to the manufacturers" That is flat Joe Baileysm. And 1t is a flat Aldrichism. The manufacturer is not a consumer of raw material. He cnly employees it, and the man who buys the product of that manufacturer to use in his household is the consumer who pays the tax on that raw material. The man who believes that a tax on raw material is paid by the manufacturer is ready to tell you that the foreigner pays the tariff .- One of those propositions is as true as the other, The foreigner does not pay the tax unless we democrats have been lying about it all the time-nor does the man ufacturcr pay the tax on wool The peo- rle pay. And they pay, pay, pay. Of course, I am with Brantley unless we re- duce the tariff on the finished product 10 a strictly revenue basis If 1 had time and spade, but of Rrantley's own speech touching exportations of finished products could convict him. Could crucify him.
 He was advocating Q. tax on raw wool. which is not only false in economy, but vicious in morality. Says this admirable man:
 Tor myself 1 do not possess the ability 10 go before the producer of raw ma teria-the wool grower, for instance-and convince; him that T law requiring him to sell bis wood at free trade prices to the nIanufacturer only to buy the same raw wool back in it's manufactured state, with value arbitrarily increased 25 or 30 or 40 per cent by tariff tax. is just and fair law to him s
 That is specious, and it is the devil of this whole -insidous protective tariff plea that has fooled so splendid a man as Brantley.
 He talks about the wool grower. Who Is the wool grower? He is a trust as cruel as it is infamous. The elan, wool