The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1914-06-12
CHANGES IN TARIFF
LAW AGAIN UPHELD
Pottery Industry Shows That Reduc-
tions Do Not Cause Business De-
struction as Congress Was Told.
SEBRING TAKEN AS EXAMPLE
Output of Last Few Weeks Breaks
All Records-Calamity Argument
to Have Little Weight in Future.

By Congressman C. H. Tavenner.
Washin gton, June 12.-The old
trick Of the highly protected indus
tries gaining additional protection
at every tariff revision by appear
ing in Washington and pleading the
destruction of their businesses if du-
ties were reduced has been most
thoroughly exposed by the operation
of the Underwood tariff bill, the first
entirely honest tariff enacted since
the Civil war.
It took an immense amount Of
moral courage to expose the trick,
to reduce. duties in the face of these
sworn predictions of the ruin to
follow. But the old superstition of
high tariff prosperity has been ex-
ploded by the new law The predict
ed ruin has failed to come. And
even some of the standpat Republican
senator's, who honestly believed the
arguments of the protected interests
and fought for them in the tariff
debate, are now becoming highly in
dignant and are charging that they
were deliberately misled by the
manufacturers.
Take the pottery industry in Ohio,
for instance. It's complaints against
the proposed tariff last year were
perhaps the loudest of any. In fact,
such general ruin was predicted that
the potters threatened to close their
factories or to reduce the wages be-
fore the tariff law was enacted.
There was almost panic among
the pottery laborers Tremendous
pressure by the potters' unions was
placed upon congress not to reduce
the pottery duties. The situation be-
came so grave that Representative
J. ]. Whitacre, who represents the
Ohio pottery district. went to Sec
rotary Redfield and induced the lat
ter to inaugurate his famous policy
Of sending federal Investigators to
those industries threatening to re-
duce wages on account of tariff re-
duction. The pottery industry was
the first to be Investigated.
In spite of this campaign on the
part of the pottery magnates, in spite
Of the anguish and anxiety in the
little mill homes in the East Liver
pool, Ohio. pottery district, the Ways
and Means committee courageously
reduced the duties on ceramic pro-
ducts as it had promised. The re-
suit of these duties on the industry
was told to the senate the other day
by Senator Pomerene of Ohio. Pom
creme merely read few newspaper
excerpts. mostly from Republican
newspapers Of the pottery district
One OF the pottery towns is Seb-
ring, Ohio. The Sebring Times said
in it's issue of March "a, 1914:
The past two weeks holds the
record for the biggest output of pot
terry in the history of Sebring. The
most gratifying feature is that the
ware is not going into stock, but is
being used t., fill orders. and is be-
ing shipped as soon as made
\ Pittsburg pottery trade journal
said on April IA, 1911:
''Ncver before in the history Of the
American pot'ting industry have
there been SO many kilns in use
o" 50 many potteries in active op-
Grafton. Shipments are greater
than ever before in the history Of
the trade
The East Liverpool Review, a Re-
publican newspaper, in it's issue of
May |, 1914, said: But there is