Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1913-05-20
MATTERS OF INTEREST TO SOUTH
M ERN FARMERS CONSIDERED
SOON. NO FIGHT MADE TO RE
TAIN ONION DUTY.
LITTLE CONTROVERSY
GARNER STILL FEARS MOHAIR
WILL BE PLACED ON FREE LIST.
RIGID MEAT INSPECTION FAVt
ORED BY TEXANS.
Especial STAFF Correspondent

washington, MAY ~. ihtCIVSI
here in Washington is largely confined
TO tariff lust now. The Underwood bill
has passed the house, of course, and is
pending before the senate Several mat
ters of rates in that measure, which con-
Germ South Texas people, are under dis
cussion. 1t grows apparent from day to
day that the senate will make many min
or changes i'm the bill and that in some if
not a majority of these, will be little
controversy over many of these prospec-
tive changes when the bill gets into con-
ference.
There will probably be no attack in
the senate over the duty on onions. 1t
looks as though the house rate on that
product would stand, and, while the rate
of 20 cents it not high, Texas growers
probably should regard themselves for
tunate that onions were not put on the
free list. There is an increasing cOnvic-
ton that cattle, taxed 10 per cent. on the
house bill, will be put on the free list.
The trend of senate opinion is that way
but there is a cOmpensating feature. in
that a movement is under way to place
in the tariff law a requirement that cat
tie and meat brought into this country
shall be subject to the same rigid inspec-
ton that we require under our federal
laws for meat and cattle in interstate
commerce.
Such a provision, Texas people here
cav xun,rlI Ia uuifn &c rood q 8 u tan nor
cent duty ON cattle, because ranchmen
and beef men i'm countries that could com
pete with the United States cannot cstaD
lish inspection such as the law would
require without an expense so large that
the sending of meat to the United States
nj lower prices han home producers
charge would not be worth while.
Representative Garner. as already tele-
graphed to The Herald, is ap~prehensive
that the senate will put mohair on the
free list. There has been SO much agita-
tien about the house duty of 20 per cent
that the Democratic leaders are wincing.
1t was hoped that when the bill was
through the house that would be he
last OF the Texas goat in tariff debates.
Not so, however, for in the very first
speeches, senator's began to harp about
that Texas goat and the ~favOring duties
imposed through the influence OF Rep
resenttiye Garner. The first of these was
made by Senator BristOw of Kansas. who
denounced the Underwood bill and made
a feature of the free wool provision, when
goat hair was to bear a tax. Represen-
tatiye Garner has been much at the sen
ate in recent days, watching the trend of
the tariff discussion, and happened to be
occupying one of the rear seats the after
noon that Senator BristOw launched In
to diatribe against him and the Texas
goat.
There is more quiet as to Texas post
masters, which has been such a burning
theme among the representatives. They
are vet hot under the collar" at Post
master BurlesOn and discuss him in Wig
curious language because he held up some
of their nominations. All this applies, of
course, to those who are not following
Mr.. Burlesn's. following. But the light
is nevertheless clear to them, that they
must dance to the Postmaster Generals
&. piping. 1t is beginning to dawn upon
them that they might just as well recog-
nize that first as last and fall into the
situation pleasantly.
And while there may be some sput-
tering and an occasional show of hOstil-
ity by these Texas anti's in the house of
Representatives, probably they will be
tolerably pacific from this time on. The
handwriting on the wall is very plain.
Mr.. Burleson will have his way. Pres
ident Wilson is with him. Mr.. BurlesOn
is disposed to be reasonable but draws
the line sharply at filling the Texas post
offices Cor postOffices in any other state)
with democrats who are hostile to his
official chief are not the proper men for
those places.
There is nothing particularly new
abou the general federal patronage for
the senators from Texas are rising to
a accommodation for a customs col
lectOr or other like official Onw and
then hut are very wary of making
such endorsements before the term of
the republican encumbent has expired.
As n matter of fact it is not entirely a
Kindness to a candidate for federal office
in Texas to give him senatorial endorse
ment far ahead of the time when he can
be nominated. His rivals and their friends
will pounce upon him for fair and make
his life a burden. He will have to de-
fend himself at Washington from charges