The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1913-06-26
WASHINGTON LETTER.

having the tariff restored to sugar,
the sugar trust, and the men back
of the sugar Hobbies, would each
year draw down dividends amount
ing to millions of dollars.
But where would this money come
from? The answer to this question
is the milk in the lobby controversy
cocoanut. The millions that would
go annually to the sugar magnates
would drop from the blue sky, but
would come from the Consumers
the men and women and children of
the United States who use sugar.
The lobby issue is plain. If the
lobbyists win out in their fight to
persuade members of congress to
forget their promises to the people
and slap the tax back Oh sugar, the
consumer must go on contributing
to the officers of the sugar trust by
paying artificially high prices for
sugar And if the sugar lobbyists
do not succeed, these millions will
be saved to American consumers.
Thus it will be seen that the con-
sumers have something at stake in
the framing of the tariff bill, rs we'll
as the sugar barOnS.
If the sugar lobbyists should sue
coed, one of the principal benefici-
aries would be the same old sugar
trust which not so very long ago
stole some 100000 from the gov
eminent in customs duties by DELHI
erately placing steel springs in four
teen pairs of scales, SO that their
Importation of sugar would be un-
der-weighed and the government
Ii, handed
trust was forced to disgOrge most
of the plumber, and a few under
lings were sent to Jail, and released
after serving a small portion OF their
sentence. But none of the million
aire sugar magnates into whose
pockets the stolen millions would
have gone had the crime been undls-
covered, were even called to the par
of justice, let alone prosecuted.
| Conducting a lobby in Washing
ton by the sugar interests is busl-
ness proposition strictly. The null
ti-millionaire sugar magnates who
are every year adding to their col
lossal fortunes by millions through
the kindness of Uncle Sam in giving
them a protective tariff which guar
antees them monopoly Of Ameri-
can markets with power to charge
consumers what they please, can
we'll afford to spend few hundreds
of thousands in the form Of s. 900
month to salaries to slick tongued
| lobbyists, if by doing SO they can
prevent their monopolies and profits
from being interfered with.
To hear the wall now going up
from the 900 month men, one
would imagine congress had not CIV
en- the sugar people any opportunity
whatever to be heard. The fact is
a committee of twenty-one member
of the House Of Representatives.
the Ways and Means committee
sat in session for weeks listening to
the arguments of those desiring pro-
lection. The sugar people were per-
mitted to say any and everything
they desired. The members of the
rWays and Means committee sat
somewhat as a court They consid-
cred all the testimony, and then
brought in their verdict in the form
of the Underwood bill. After hav-
ing had fair deal in open court,
the sugar trust is now trying to
win as usual by the underhanded
method of approaching members Of
congress in private, and working in
the dark.
The people are at a disadvantage
in the face Of this kind Of warfare
because they have no knowledge of
the pressure and kind of arguments
brought to bear on congressman by
special privilege, nor lobbyists to
present the viewpoint of the con-
sumers or to disprove the false
statements which may be poured in
to congressman ears by the able
and resourceful representatives Of
the sugar trust.
The trusts and com binations-
the communism of pelf, whose
Vaccinations have prevented us
from reaching the success we de-
served, should not be forgotten nor
| forgiven
! These are the words of Grover
| Cleveland. He was referring to the
| tariff Hobbies which prevented the
democratic party from living up to
it's campaign promises of 1892.
President Wilson no doubt had in
mind what the lobbyists did to the
| Wilson democratic tariff bill in the
senate in 1894 when he recently de-
nounced the Hobbies operating in
|
Washington.
| A review of what happened to the
last democratic tariff bill as result
of the work of the Hobbies while the
measure was in the senate, is espec-
tally interested at this time when
special privilege is trying to perform
the same old trick of robbing the
| consumers of the fruits of their vic
tory at the polls.
On December 10, 1898, Chairman
Wilson of the democratic Ways and
Means committee reported his tariff
provision downward bill to the house
of representatives. 1t was fulfill
ment in nearly every particular of.
the promises made by the democrats
in the campaign of 1892, which
brought about their election. AL
though denounced by the more par
| tbs an republicans as free trade