The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1913-05-31


would be possible to force changes.
When the Democrats who spoke in
favor of public hearings changed
their minds under the power OF ma,
Jority persuasion, some Of the Repub-
licans re-adopted their old plan OF
saying only enough on the various
schedules to get a, party record Of op-
position with which to go before the
country one year from next fall in
case the law. as the Democrats pass
it, shall prove to be injurious to the
country's business.
The finance committee is taking its
time to discuss the measure before 1t
is reported to the senate. Eight
weeks will be taken up with the de-
bate in the open chamber, even II the
Republicans check their oratory. II
they fail to check 1t there probably
Will be three months Of debate, and
should these various "ifs" have their
way the country will be obliged TO
get along with the Payne-Aldrich tar
If bill until the brown October days.
and perhaps longer.
From the nature of the discussion
preliminary to the settlement of the
public hearings question it is per-
fectly evident that during the debate
on the various paragraphs of the bill
"pauperiZed labor" is to be used for
all ii is worth. Labor as paupcr
under reduced tariff conditions has
walked through the senate chamber
on many an occasion before this. 1t
knows every entrance and every exit.
and it knows the place in the senate
aisle where it must stand while high
protectionists point to 1t as the ghost
of the horrible example as to what
is to come in the flesh IF the down
ward revisionists have their fell
way"
Protest Against Rates.
Protests against some of the rates
of the tariff bill now in the keep
ing of the senate are still pour
ing in from all parts of the coun-
try. The fact that President Wilson
ordered Secretary Redfield to investi-
gate the pottery industry to see II the
cry of ruin which the pottery men
were raising came out of the lungs
OF fact" does not seem to have de-
TERED the chieftains of other indus
tries. notably cotton and wooden manu-
facturers, from continuing to inveigh
against the proposed rates. Members
of congress say that either the manu-
facturers are making a great bluff or
else they are telling the truth about
their fear Of business depression, and
are really inviting investigations to
show that they are telling the truth.
1t is said by Democratic senators
and representatives that the petitions
for higher rates than those which ap-
pear in the bill bear marks of concert
ed action on the part of the industries
which either dread the future" in
real earnest or which have yielded to
the pressure exerted by the most high
ly protected among them. 1t is virtu-
ally too late now for these protests to
be Of any service except to lead to in
quiries concerning their business with
view to determining whether or not
their cries for help are based on real
necessity
RedfieId to Investigate.
Secretary Redfield is going to in
vestigate the pottery industry under u
law approved years ago by President
Cleveland. This law seems to have
been overlooked during the Mckinley,
Roosevelt and Taft administrations.
Some Of the Democrats say that the
department of commerce under this
law can do Just as much good investi.
eating work as could be done under a
legalized stariff commission. In fact.
some Of the dominant party members
say that with this law on the books
there is no need of a tariff commits
sion. This law giving investigating
power to a department Of the govern
ment was written into the books in
1888, and this is the paragraph under
which Mr.. Rerfield will act:
ITO ascertain, at as early a date as
possible. and whenever industrial
changes shall make it essential, the
cost of producing articles at the time
dutiable in the United States, in
leading countries where such articles
are produced, by fully specified unites
of production, and under a classified.
ton showing the different elements of
cost, or approximate costs, of such
articles Of production, including the
wages paid in such industries a day.
week, month, or year, or by the piece;
and hours employed a day. and the
profits of manufacturers and producers
of such articles; and the comparative
cost of living, and kind of living; what
articles are controlled by trusts or
other combinations of capital, business
operations, or labor, and what effect
said trusts or other combinations of
capital, business operations, or labor
have on production and prices"
This power of investigation original
~ was given to the bureau of labor.
for at the time the law was passed the
of commerce and labor
was not in existence. When the de-
partment was organized the authority
under this law passed into the new
department and remains there today
~~0~N>~~-~~-~~~~
In the summer. if your acQuaint.
anceS tread on any of VOur net cOrns