Western Carolina Democrat and French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1913-1915, 1913-07-31
SIMMONS AND THE TARIFF.

On May II. 1913. the UNDERWOOD
tariff bill, as it had passed the louise
was referred to the Senate Finance
Committee, of which Senator Simmons,
Of North Carolina. is chairman. Since
that time Senator Simmons and his
co-workers on the Committee have
had the measure under careful scru-
tiny and analysis and in presenting
their conclusions and findings to the
Senate the senior Senator from this
State stated that his committee de-
sired to give it's assent to the sound
ness of the general principles upon
which the measure was originally con-
structed. as we'll as the theory upon
which the revision of the tariff had
proceeded. In his Introductory re-
marks, the Senator went on to state
that while the principles of the pro-
posed revision were conceded, n
while the general line of their appli-
cation is believed to be beyond con-
troversy, there were other phases, Of
the situation which, i'm the Judgment
of the Committee, called for further
analysis; that in many particulars his
committee had confirmed the findings
Of the House Committee on Ways and
Means, while on quite a few it had
felt impelled to offer some modifca-
tons.
Chairman Simmons directed atten-
ton to a number of amendments to
the Underwood bill that his committee
had decided to propose and declared
the purpose of them to be the further
carrying out and perfecting the theory
of establishing a revenue-producing
tariff upon the basis of comparative
rates as a just and fair Interpretation,
in the light of existing conditions of
the latest authoritative utterances of
the party in power upon that subject.
The Senator reviewed the strenuous
work of nine weeks which the Finance
Committee had devoted to a careful
consideration of the measure, the con-
illusions of which he submitted with
the confident belief that the enact
ment into law of the House bill, as
amended, would result in a more
equitable distribution of the burdens
and incidental benefits of our system
Of customs taxation. The Senator
further expressed the belief that the
amended bill, if enacted into law, will
enlarge opportunity to individual eff
fort, reduct the cost of living, and re-
IieVe the people of the burdens of the
protective system fostered by the Re-
publican party for more than forty
years, and which the Underwood-Sim-
Mons bill is intended to s~upercede.
He pointed. out the changes in the
Gutiable list and the items transferred
to the free list proposed by his COM
niittee, to the House bill, and pointed
out that the in it's present
form reflects the collective opinion of
the Democratic Senators representing
the party responsible for the proposed
legislation.
Senator Simmons gave an exhaus-
tive review of every phase of the bill
and Incidentally called attention to
benefits the farmer would derive
therefrom. We quote from the Vir-
which followed his re-
port closely:
The Democratic tariff bill now be-
fore Congress does full justice to the
farmers of the country, and it is the
first time since 1S47, ifty-six years
ago, that impost taxes have been laid
with anything resembling fair con-
consideration of the rights AMI inter-
ests of the class which produces all
the wealth of the community. For
more than half a century the farmers
have shared with the great body of
domestic consumers all the burdens
of a protective system which enured
exclusively to the profit of certain
preferred classes of producers. The
agricultural products could not in the
nature of things be protected, for
their prices were fixed in the worlds
markets by the laws of demand and
Supp1y UuI 0fCIy IuIAS Tic ldLLuOI Adu
to buy increased in cost through the
operation of tariff-made m~onopolies
On the home markets. Now the pro-
position is to practically remove the
from everything that the farmer
and planter needs for the planting and
gathering of his crops, his cotton
bagging and ties his implements of
every kind, his wire fencing, his plows,
shovels, hoes, rakes. mowers, reapers
and planters, which go on the free
list, the protected manufacturer is to
be given his raw materials free of
duty in the general effort to
equalize the benefits. Also the blank
cts, clothing, shoes and other ~necessa-
'ies Of life will be cheapened to the
farmer by material decreases in the
mpost duties. Verify, may the tiller
If the soil rejoice, "The day of my de-
iverance from unjust burdens is at
1and." He will no longer be COM
oelled by Ubiquitous laws to buy in the