Omaha daily bee., 1911-09-22

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late of January l. 1912, for its taking eff
feet would furnish strong argument
for delaying its passage until after De-
cember 1, when the tariff board could
report. The date OF taking effect was
thereupon changed to October Is, 1911.
Such care was not taken with the free
list bill or the cotton bill both Of which
were made to take effect January 1. 1912.
Schedule X is Too High.
Schedule X had been in force so long
and its percentages were so high in
many respects that l had not hesitated
in times past to say that 1t ought to be
reduced, and to explain how it came not
to be reduced in the Payne bill as it
ought TO have been. But 1t is one thing
10 know that schedule of this sort is
too high, and it is a very different thing
in such a complicated schedule to know
upon what items the reductions should
be made and how great the reductions
ought to be. II the principle to which 1
am committed, and to which the party is
committed in the strong terms of the
resolutions, which 1 have quoted above.
was to be observed as a policy at all
here was the occasion for following it,
II had allowed the wool bill to become
a law the progress made in public
opinion toward a better method of re-
vsing the tariff would have been en-
urely lost and the policy cast to the
winds.
Some defense is made Of the bill on
the ground that the committee on ways
and means had considered it carefully in
rpp
point is that the bill they prepared is
not this bill. It is changed in AL Of its
rates and materially changed to meet by
compromise a bill that was never in
committee at all, and the blending was
done, as we said. with "blacksmith's
tools" The house bill was a free-trader
or at least an antiprotection BILL what
the hybrid was who could tell? In view
OF the enormous value, Of the wool and
4 and WOODEN industry whioh--might be
disastrously affected by the. bill, was it
asking too much to delay the bill, under
the circumstances. for ninety days
meerly to secure accurate information?
/ thought not. Indeed, l could find no
argument which would satisfy my con-
science in signing the bill.
Free List Bill MisIeadLng.
THE free-list bill was called the farm
eTs' free list" for the purpose of giving
an impression that 1t was passed to COM
pensate the farmers for some sort of
Injury supposed to be done by the Cana
dian reciprocity treaty This reason was
finally repudiated by the leader of the
democracy on the floor OF the house Of
representatives, and is certainly not true
There was nothing in the Canadian reci-
procity bill that required any compensa-
ton to the farmers, for in a very short
period after actual operation it will ap-
pear that they, as wen as everybody else
have been improved in condition by our
larger trade with Canada. But the bill
was framed and came to me in a form
calculated to mislsad as to its effect. In
the first clause all agricultural imple-
ments were declared to be Free and a
great many were named. These same
implements were named in the Payne
bill and were made free in that bill from
any country which permitted our agrl-
cultural implements to enter it without
duty. This opened TO England the mar
ket Of the United States for agricultural
implements. As a matter OF fact. the
price of agricultural implements in Amer
the bureau of trade relations of the state
department, to the American farmers than
to any farmers in the world. England is
the one country that exports agricultural
implements to any great extent, and SO
successful Is the competition against 1t
in this country OF American agricultural
implements that practically very few
have come in from England This first
rln - L..
fers no boon to the farmers at all, al
though apparently drawn for the purpose
OF inducing them TO think So 1t does
contain some very general words at the
close OF the specially mentioned articles
which by Interpretation might be made TO
include l5O different articles used on the
farm, but used in other vocations also.
And these articles-the hammers, the
tools, the cutlery, and the machinery of
various kinds-are now dutiable under
the metal system. To admit them under
this clause would be to destroy entirely
the symmetry of the metal schedule ana
produce such a confusion as seriously 20
interfere with the administration of the
tariff act.
BaFbed Wire Section Too wide.
Another clause provides for the admis-
sion OF barbed wire fencing free and then
all wire and other material 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 framing OF the amend
ing clause is such that II II were TO go
into law Il would have a serious effect
upon the metal schedule and would ut
terly destroy the principle which was fol-
lowed 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 a
clause admitting jute and cotton bagging
free, and materials from which made.
which would allow the common cotton
cloth to come In free for any purpose. al
though 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 It did not
put on the free list except some kinds of
leather the materials which went into
shoes. In other words. II put ON the free
list the finished product and continued