The Washington herald., 1913-09-30

with best of feeling between the Presi-
dent and his followers in Congress the
new law will stand or fall absoiuteiy oh
its intrinsic merits 49,,
II will GO to the country free from any
suspicion and will be judged soieiy oi
what it accompanies. The ne" &c
tion is variously described. regular re
publcans denounce II as !. III
measure, and profess TO fear that u viii VIII
denress the industries Of the country.
Progressive Republicans find many good
features in the bill, while Chairman sim
mons and Leader Underwood describe the
measure as a f-for-revenue' and not
a free-trade bill.
Senator La Toilette, who moves IN q
sphere all his own in regard TO tarlH
matters. holds that the bill about to
become a law is mildly protective.
DutIes on Necessities Removed.
The men who made the new tariff law
spurred on by the President, worked on
a distinct plan to reduce the high cost
of living. They reduced duties on prac-
tically all of the articles that enter into
the necessities Of life, on the products
OF the farm, as well as upon manutac-
tured products. One Of the seVerest
criticisms against the bill as WhoIe
III
farmers by free-listing most OF the farm
PRODUCTS The Democrats replied that
the farmer had never received very much
benefit from tariff duties, because his
products are exported and because ne
has bought in a protected market ana
sold in competition with the Morlo-
Furthermore, the makers of the Dill say
that the farmers will get their compeh-
sation in the reduction of duties on the
things they buy.
II was mart of the policy of the Demo-
cratic leaders to free list raw material
wherever it could be done without WORK
ing a hardship and in that way COM
nensate the American manufacturer TOT
mis- losses due to the reduction OF duues
on the things he produces.
With an addition TO the revenues an
nuaIly of SS3OOO,O0O, as was estimated D!
The Treasury reports, from the operation
N the income tax, the Democratic lead
rrs found it possible to make much great
pr reductions in duties than would
otherwise have been possible. In the
making of the bill the constitutional re-
Juirement that bills raising revenue shail
originate in the House OF RepreSehta-
lives was adhered to, but following the
traditional policy in such matters the
senate had a large share in perfectinG
the legislation.
For example, the Senate made 6fo
amendments in the House BILL and OF
this number the House conterees &C
cepted 81 absolutely and ~ more win
notifications, leaving only Isl from "hich
the Senate receded.
The general trend OF the SehaUe
amendments was in the direction OF re-
5uco5 duties. When the bill was first
reported to the Senate Finance COMMIT
tee, the average ad yalorem rate, whlch
reduced to 2s67 per cent, as against
Is s in the existing law. These per
rentages represent the average rate OF
5Uty carried by the bill, computed on
The basis Of expressed ad valorem duties
,r the equivalent ad valorem duties OF
lhe expressed specific duties.
Expressed in percentage the senate
bill when reported reduced duties 2"S4
below the existing law and AZ per
.ent below the House bill as it had come
u tbe Senate. The result Of the confer
nee report was a slight increase OF the
lyerage ad valorem rate or duty car
led by the bill, but the net result was
still below the average ad Valorem rate
81 the House bill. Thus for the hrst
time in the history of tariff LEGISLATION
The Senate has gone on record IN tsVor
VI lower duties in tariff Dill than thOse
ldopted by the House
Wool and Sugar.
The most important feature OF the
,ew bill are those which led to the
rrestest struggle in both the Senate
md House Democratic caucuses. They
-eIated to the free-listing Of wool and
II sugar But for the strong insistence
n President Wilson, it is likely that
he Senate would have restored a rev.
,nue duty to both wool and sugar Raw
WOOL will go on the free list December
and sugar will be free after May l.
9ls. The existing duties on sugar, un-
Ger the Payne-Aldrich law, will continue
until March l, 1914, then the lower rates
carried by the new law will become ef-
rective and continue until May ], 1916,
after which date sugar will go on the
,ree list automatically.
The effect on the wool industry and the
-ane sugar and beet sugar industry OF
rree-Iisting these products will be
watched with interest The Democratic
leaders did not enter upon these two
distinctive tariff policies without some
misgiving. In the bills passed in the
ast Congress and approved by the Balti-
more platform, raw wool is made duti-
able at Is per cent and sugar re-
.ained a duty in the bill finally agreed
10 in the Senate, although the House
had made It free.
In restoring to the free list alizarin,
dead or creosote oil. anthracine, and an
thracine oil, the Senate followed the
existing law, which gives TO the manu-
facturers OF certain textile the benefits
Of free dyes used in the industry. The
House had made them dutiable for rev.
snue purposes. The Senate made them
free on the theory that the textile prod
ucts had been made to pay less duty
and that the manufacturers should have
the raw material free. The cyannides
were transferred to the free list because
they are used largely in mining and are
raw material for other American indus
tries.
Both the Senate and the House agreed
that tanning materials, such as extracts,
should 20 upon the free list, because the
products Of the tanneries, sole leather
and other feathers of the coarser kind
that enter into the manufacture of boots
and shoes, harness and saddles. and these
finished products were all free-listed.
The Democrats put cements and other
building material, including lumber and
shingles. upon the free list. Pig iron
and ferro-manganese, billets and ingots
for railway wheels, together with anti
n,onv ore. were put on the free list
automobiles will pay about 30 per cent,
which was a reduction of one-third from
the House rate. Cattle, sheep, and all
domestic animals suitable as use for
food. and wheat, flour, and eggs were
put on the free list This was to con-