Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-04-30
SLOAN TALKS OF FREE LIST
Not So Certain About Reciprocity
with Canada Being Good Thing.
WOULD HURT WESTERN FARMERS
President Taft Announces that He
Win He Unable to Attend Prison
Congress in Omaha Next
October.
CFrom a Staff correspondent }


WASHINGTON, April Especial Tele-
gram. lin discussing the farmers free
list" so-oalled, now under discussion in
the house, Congressman Sloan Of the
Fourth Nebraska distrca said to The Bee
correspondent, when called upon to outline
his position in this particular SCHEDULED
THE majority party has forced through
the house the reciprocity measure, which
opens without compensation to the Ameri-
can farmer our home markets to the
products of Canadian cheap lands
THE majority. goaded by the unreent-
ing protest which Is coming In from all
quarters, felt itself forced to do something
for the farmers. They hurriedly assembled
the ways and means committee and threw
together the bill they choose to call the
farmers free list Insofar as 1t is en-
| titled to that name, l am favorable to IT,
It being ominus bill, If vote as unit
is enforced, it must be measured by it's
total effect.
1.-THE articles proposed to be placed on
the free list are: u) Jute. (2) cotton ties
CD fence wire. a. farm Implements, 90
boots, shoes and harness. C6) meats of all
kinds, CD flour. meal. ETC.; (s) lumber. Cs)
sewing machines, CoD salt.
with the first and second factors my
people are not concerned, The avowed
purpose is to reduce the cost of each
article 10 the purchaser. This has been
the position taken by practically all OF the
advocates Of the bill.
Here Farmers Are Interested.
MY people are buyers of Nos. g. 4, 5, s.
Q and 10. They are sellers OF various grains
and live stock out of which the articles
mentioned in Nos. and 7 are produced.
| II their purchases exceed their sales in
the foregoing list, then might It be said
to be favorable to the farmer? II they
J are evenly balanced, then the, farmer has
gained nothing and the government has
lost some revenue. But II the sales under
J this list greatly exceed the farmers pur-
chases, then IL is a loss to the farmer.
As near as l can figure, the Nebraska
farmers purchases correspond to their
sales within the class in the ratio of about
one to five.
There is, therefore, but one thing for
the majority Of the house to do II the bill
should come up to its designation, and that
is to cut out Nos. 6 and I. If they do not,
then are they handing the farmers a poi
soned sandwich instead of the bread of
life. The majority party. ever since the
famous meeting at Baltimore, have been
assuring the country that when it revised
Under this pledge this bill cannot be fairly
forced through the house as a1pnit.
Vote ON Each Separately.
1--WE should be entitled to vote on each
OF the divisions separate and entirely In
dependent of each other. We have, how
ever, been given to understand by the ma
jortty that the bill is to be voted upon as
an omnibus log-roliing proposition.
ITO meet this condition have introduced
bills covering respectively lumber, boots
shoes, harness fence wire and sewing ma
chimes. These bills win he in the hands OF
the ways and means committee long before
this Underwood so-called free list bill will
be voted upon. Their presentation by the
committee, or their Withholding, will test
the sincerity of the majority in its pledge
TO oppose log rolling and revise the tariff
schedule by schedule"
LObeck Talks I'm Baltimore.
CONGRESSMAN Lobeck made his first
speech in the east on the Hastings" at
Baltimore last night, addressing a mass
meeting at Cross Market hall in support
OF the election of James II. Preston, demo
cratic candidate for mayor.
CONGRESSMAN Lobeck, touching likhtly
upon the local issues involved, urged the
! assembled voters to elect a democrat as
mayor II they really desired to entertain
the next democratic national convention.
He stated, should YOU have a republican
mayor we democrats would not be inclined
to come to your city with Gu nation Il
. convent On. We would y a. ly &c I've a
D chilly reception"
3 While upon the topic OF the next ma
? tonal democratic convention Mr.. l.obecS
. took occasion to suggest the name OF
! Champ Clark of Missouri, present speaker
: of the house, as of the very strongest
n candidates the democrats have u put
\ forward for presidential honors. The sug-
5 gestion of Speaker CLARK name in con
4 nection with the nomination Tor the presi-
6 dency in 1918 was received with great ap
? plause,
= win Not Come tO Omaha.
President Taft today declined an invi
tation rendered to him by Joseph p
; Byers. Fred Miller and T. Blair Patton
3 subcommittee OF the executive commit
z tee on the American Prison congress e
visit Omaha in October to open the meet
> ing OF their association 10 be held thii
s year in the Gate city. President Taft
= while in thorough sympathy with th'
y purposes OF the congress. finds that pub
nc business will prevent him from goinl
s TO omaha at this time. he suggested
that possibly Attorney General Wicker
: sham might be induced 10 so to omahi
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