The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1913-10-29
Seymour Points
Out Benefits Of
New Tariff Bill
Prominent aWyerT ellis
Of Its Effect On Con-
nectICut Industries

resulted In 1eg1SlaQOn OF DoneAI u
the country at large and particularly
to the great middle class in reduction
ef living expenses was shown by At
torney John S. Seyomur of New York
and NorwaIk before the bridgeport
Business Mems association at last
nights meeting in the Newfe1d build
ing rooms
Connecticut and the Industrial Cues
tom was his theme and it was shown
that there is absolutely no need for
money stEngency or the dire happen
inEs that the Republican brethren
predicted, should the tariff become q
law To the contrary, ne SAID ana
showed why, the Legislation should in
crease prosperity and responsibility
should be fixed if there is any other
course. His argument was based on
facts, not theories. e.,
Farmer Congressman e. J. Hill, who
about two weeks ago caustical1y ar
raiRned the Democratic tariff bill be-
fore the local organization took the
trouble to come all the way from Nor
yTallx+to hear about the tariff. He was
given the opportunity Of questioning
or speaking but did not avail himself
of it
President Charles D. Davis of the
ORGANISATION presided and introduced
Mr.. Seymour. The address is we'll
worth reading. giving the real motive
ana looked-for results Of the tariff.
1t follows:
The Tariff and Its Influence Upon
Bridgeport and Connections
Industries.
fTrhe tariff bears on Connecticut in
dustrfes more. certainly than any other
subject of legislation. It is the most
interesting IN itself. 1t is political.
economic. and moral 1t is highly
controversial Will, therefore, try
to be sane and temperate, and keep
The Payne-A1drich tariff law has
passed away, because it taxed foods,
coal and raw materials and many 9TH
er necessar1es of life 1t taxed every
food known to the kitchen or the
table, the dinner pail or the market
basket. except tea and coffee. 1t
taxed every meat,-live, slaughtered
fresh saIted, smoked, cured or pack
ed; and all poultry and all fish. 1t
taxed butter, cheese, milk, cream,
eggs and lard 1t taxed all cereals,
rice. wheat, oats, rye, barley, buck
wheat, corn, and all flour or meal
made from them, and bread, crackers
and macaronf. 1t taxed all vegetables,
potatoes, beets. beans peas. -cabbages
and onions. Tt taxed all fruits,-ap-
pies, pineappIes, lemons, oranges, ba-
nanas, grapes. This was g, heavy tax
on life.
y 1t taxed coal, coke and fuels; 1um-
Der, lathes, shingles, telegraph poles,
railroad ties 1t taxed wool flax,
hemp, pig iron, scrap iron, lime
stone and brick.
The revised remedial measure, the
Underwood-Simmon bill, removes the
duties from all the ordinary foods,
and leaves them on the Iuxuries-
from meats, fresh beef. veal, mutton,
lamb. pork. bacon, and hams, from
fresh water fish, from wheat and
flour, buckwheat, from milk and
cream, from potatoes, from fruits and
berries, from corn and cornmeal, from
eggs and salt, from shrimps, Holsters,
and other shell fish; and reduces the
duties on practically all other foods.
Tt removes the duties from coal in all
forms, coke, lumber, wool, Roman and
Portland cement, copper, iron ore,
scrap iron, pig iron, and spiegeleisen,
from paper stock and wood pulp, from
tanning materials, from a wool of all
kinds; and leaves the duty off from
raw silk. cotton, raw rubber, hides
and petroleum
IT also puts on the free list the big
emicals-su1phuric acid, soda ash.
wood alcohol, things that are used
like raw materials, and are at the
base Of our manufacturing indus
tries.
1t also removes the duties from the
shoes, saddles. harnesses, leather
gloves, cut nails, wire nails, needles,
and 1t also removes the duties from
certain manufactured products sold in
large quantities cheaper abroad than
here, typewriters. cash registers, sew
ing machines, linotype machines, shoe
machinery, typesetting machines, and
agricultural implements, and from
some other fittings that enter into our
industries like raw materials, such
as bagging and binding Irvine for cot
ton, many kinds of leather, steel in
COTS blooms slabs and from artificial
manures
What fs the effect of this? Free
foods enancipate the home; free raw
materials emancipate the factory.
When the shop crew enter the factory
at one door, they are in competition
with the raw materials to be worked
on which enter at the freight door.
If the raw materials are high, wages
must be low, or else prices of the
products high; and the cost of the
material is twice the cost of labor in
the product.
= as well as for ourselves, OF the fac
tories must run on, part time. The
sea coast is the place to manufacture
for export, in part from our own raw
materials, and in part from the raw
materials which we bring in from
over the sea- When the product is
made up, it is ready for export with
out freight to the seaboard. The
freight from Pittsburgh to New York
on bar steel is S3-6ot ton The
freight to Pittsburgh en- the ore, coke,
and coal sufficient to make one ton
IF pig iron is $6.87.
These data furnish us with a solu-
ton of the freight problem for
Bridgeport, and the silent operation
of this new tariff law will make
Bridgeport and Norwalk more favor
able places in which to manufacture
for export and for ourselves than
either Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Cleveland
or Detroit
There is already talk of moving a
steeIsworks to tie coast. Then take
WOOL for instance, there is not half
enough wool in the world for the US
es OF the world Until the first of