The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1913-07-31
WASHINGTON LETTER.

Washington, July 2S.-Specla
Correspondence The insistence o
President Wilson that haste be exert
ed in disposing of the tariff bill ha
brought gratifying response. Thu
bill has been taken up schedule b!
schedule and it is hoped to get i
through the senate and into confer
ence by August 20. Democratic
leaders in the senate believe that il
the light of the continual debate:
for years on the tariff question there
is not the slightest need for coptin
uing business uncertainty by debat
ing the same points over again. The
democrats went into power through
the protest of the people against the
Payne-Aldrich tariff law, and witt
practically a mandate from the peo
pie to reduce the tariff. The bill
now progressing in the senate meet:
this demand.
1--WE are not going to take up time
debating this BILL" says Senator Sim
mons, chairman of the finance COM
mittee, though, of course, the demo.
Gratis will defend the schedules when
attacked" eff the bill proves not tc
be for the benefit of the country,
Senator Simmons continued, lit viii
demonstrate that our ideas Of tariff
are wrong; if it proves to be vel
for the country, it will demonstrate
that the opposition is wrong that i!
all there is to that proposition, anc
we are ready and anxious now tt
pass the BILL
The Washington Times, republi'
can paper, indorses this stand. This
is precisely the attitude of the gen
eral public toward tariff revision,
it says, and there is gratifying evil
dence that it is the attitude Of many
manufacturers whose interests are
seriously affected one way or the
other" The Times quotes a state
ment given out by the Yale and
Towne Manufacturing Company,
whose chief products are locks,
builders hardware and chain blocks,
Until the new rates have been fair
ly tested says this firms statement,
mo one can know whether their ulti-
mate effect will be harmful or bene-
fetal. If they prove not to be in
furious, all concerned will be con-
tent. If experience shows them to
be seriously injurious, it may be fair
ly assumed that congress will cor
rect the error within reasonable
time and before any permanent dam
age has been inflicted.
This attitude is pleasing to the
democratic leaders who are work
ing hard on the tariff bill. They
know that the great body of the peo-
pie want the tariff schedules reduc-
ed. They will not. be deferred by the
old stock "soup house" and Coxey's
and Kelly's army scarecroWs which
the tariff standpatters lug out for
debate in every campaign and every
time a tariff adjustment in the in
terests of the consuming public is
WILDER w. Marsh, the Waterloo
and democratic politi-
cal leader, who was in Washington
last week, declared in an interview
in one of the local papers that In
Iowa and the other middleWestern
states the farmers have been too
busy since last April to give much at
tention to the tariff, the currency or
other subjects that have been given
political discussion. I'm Iowa. he
said, "the farmers have been too
busy for months cultivating their
crops. 1t looks as if we will have
the biggest corn crop in the history
of the state" With all the discus
sion of the tariff he held it to be
significant that the great
agricultural machinery manufacture
ers of this country have been doing
a record-breaking business this year.
'It is my belief that the farmers
are not going to suffer from the re-
vision of the tariff he said "They
have faith in the democratic party
Just as much as they had in the re-
publican party for so many years.
Public opinion is expected to sus-
tain the order given out by Post
master General Burleson for an ex-
tension of the weight limit of pack
ages carried by parcel post from II
to 20 pounds and a reduction of the
rates. The express companies and
the railroads are objecting to the or
der because they declare it will SER
iously reduce their profits. That
was what the parcel post was intend
ed to do, and the postmaster general
has the support Of the president in
and improving the service
along lines shown by experience to
be possible. If the express cOmpan-
les wish to compete with the govern
parcel post delivery, they will
have to reduce their rates TO g rea-
sonable figure! There will be no
more 81 per cent dividends for these