The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1913-02-02
TARIFF WAR
BEGINS MONDAY
The House Ways and Means Commit
tee Completed All Hearings
Yesterday on Tarff
revisIon.
THE BIGGEST CUTS
Y e Reported, VIII be Made on the
Items Of Wool, Leather and
Agricultural lmpIe-
ments.
E BIGGEST CUTS

! limited Press Leasel Wire Service. ]
WASHINGTON. Feb. 1.--Althougt
woodrow Wilson will not be inaug
urated president for little over .
month, and the date for calling OF the
extra session has not yet been fixed
the real work of the extraordinary ses
sion will be begun Monday.
The house ways and means com
mlttee completed all hearings today
on tariff revision. Monday the demo.
cratic members will begin their fran.
ing OF the new democratic bill which
IS to replace the Payne ldrich law.
Ihey will keep steadily at the work
from now up until the sixty-third CON
sress convenes. Probably a few DAYS
after the new house is organized tho
revision bill will be ready for pre-
sentation.
from the statements made by com
mlttee members during the hearings.
u is certain the new bill will be a
consumers tariff revision" There
VIII be tremendous scaling down Of
the protection wall. Pleas Of manu-
facturers during the hearings that
they be accorded protection met
with scant encouragement from the
democratic members Of the commit
tee.
The general bill, it is said, will diff
fer only slightly from the various
democratic tariff bills passed by the
present congress, and vetoed by Pres.
ident Taft.
The biggest cuts, it is reported, will
be made on wool, leather and agri-
cultural products.
Raw wool, under schedule K" the
biggest item of the whole tariff revis-
ION, 1T is stated, will be put on the
rec list. This will be satisfactory to
The manufacturers, who declared be.
fore the committee that the present
duty did not now protect them from
Carded wool manufac-
,urers. however, declare that the duty
S necessary to their existence.
Leather is also due for revision
downward probably to the free list.
shoe manufacturers, without excep-
Ion, claimed that open competition of
-cre1gn made shoes would cause
evolution in the shoe manufacturing
industry in the United States and
'eduction of wages. All, however, adj
nitted that the United States, under
resent wage conditions, were export
ng to eighty-seven countries, with in.
'reasing exports every year, success
fully meeting competition in the
worlds markets.
On schedule ], cotton will. in all
probability, find a place on the free
list. New England manufacturers de-
clared such action would have but lit
Tie effect on their business, but south
ern manufacturers claimed that it
meant a possible diminuition OF their
industry, because of the increased cost
in selling their product.
Lumber, sugar and spice are other
articles destined either for the free
list, or for duty calculated to equal
lZe their cost OF production abroad,
protection.
Diamonds, gold laces, art objects,
rich articles of dress and all such i'm
ports classed as luxuries will either
be given an upward tariff or the pres
ent duty retained.
Representative Needham Of Cali
fornia, member of the committee,
admitted tonight that the democrats
will recommend greatly redced rates,
OF free list on citrus fruits, but he ex-
pressed the belief that they would be
defeated when the fight came on the
floor.
Needham hopes to negotiate an
agreement with the southern demo
Gratis SO that they will oppose any APP
preciable reductions on fruits.
Through this coalition of democrats
and republicans, he feels confident,
the committees recommendations will
be rejected.