The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1913-10-01
START y., LAST
LAP OF TARIFF
Congress H}peS 10 Send Bill
to President This Week
LITTLE TROUBLE IN ITS PATH
Currency Proposition Likely to Cause
Considerable Discussion This Week
In congress-Severa Senators BaIky

In Congressional Senators Balky
Washington, Sept. 3O-When the
customs houses of the country open
for business on next Monday the new
tariff law will likely be in force. Presi
dent Wilson will have the bill in his
hands on Friday of this week, so the
Democratic leaders plan, and will prob
ably sign it on Saturday. The house
will pass the measure today and the
senate tomorrow if plans go through
satisfactorily and there is little danger
OF breakdown.
The bill about to become a law il
yariously described. Regular Re
publicans denounce it as a free trade
measure and profess to fear that il
will depress the industries of the coun
try. Progressive Republicans find
many good features in the bill. The
Democrats see the measure as tarin
for revenue. Senator La Toilette holds
that the bill is mildly protective"
The average ad valorem rate of the
present bill is very much low er than
that of the Wilson.Gorman act. The
average rate of the latter was 39.45
per cent while the estimated rate OF
the present bill ranges from q to rs
per cent. The average for the pres
ent Payne-Aldrich law is 4O.12 pei
cent.
Mr.. Wilson will sign the new tariff
bill under most favorable conditions
At the close of the long fight he finds
himself personally triumphant and at
the same time in the closest accord
with the party leaders. The bill has
come through with a loss of but two
Democratic votes and they were cast
chiefly on account of local reasons.
The men who made the new tariff
law, spurred on by the president.
worked from the beginning on a dis.
tinct plan to reduce the high cost OF
living. They reduced duties on
practically all of the articles that
enter into the necessities of life, on
the products Of the farm as well as
upon manufactured products.
They sought consistently to shift
the burden of taxation as far as pos
sible upon the luXuries and those who
are better able to pay. They have
tried to free list raw material
wherever it could be done without
compensate the American manufactur
er for his losses due to the reduced
duties on the things he produces.
With an addition to the revenues
annually of $S3 100000, as is estimated
by the treasury experts, from the op.
Grafton of the income tax the Demo.
cratic leaders found it possible to
make much greater reduction in duties
than would otherwise have been pos
sible.
The senate made 676 amendments
in the house bill and of this number
the house conferees accepted APT alb.
and 81 more with modifica.
tions, leaving only ISL from which the
senate receded.
The general trend Of the senate
was in the direction OF
reduced duties. Expressed in percent
age the senate bill when reported re-
duced duties 27.64 below the existing
law and 4.22 per cent below the house
bill as 1t had come to the senate. The
result of the conference report has
been a slight increase of the ad
valorem rate of duty carried by the
bill, but the net result is below the
average ad valorem rate of the house
bill
The most important features OF the
new bill are those which relate to the
'ree listing of wool and of sugar. But
or the strong insistence of President
Wilson it is likely that the senate
would have restored a revenue duty
% both wool and sugar. Raw wool will
90 on the free list Dec. and sugar
will be free after May /, 1916.
Lively Currency Debate Expected,
This week is likely to see important
developments in regard to the banking
md currency bill.