The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1916-08-24
UNDERWOOD TALKS
|. ON REVENUE BILL
ATTACKING ITEMS
Defends Measure in Main.
But Opposes Tariff Board
and Tax on Cotton
and Dyes
u, HUGH w. ROBERTS

Washington, August .-(special.)-A
warning to the democratic party against
contemplated abandonment of the in
herent and historic principles as laid
down by Thomas Jefferson was, to all
practical purposes and effects, the speech
Underwood
The Albanian was inveghing against
at least three features of the revenue
bill-that which would create a tariff
commission, that which would impose Il
prohibitive import duty on dyestuffs and
that which would tax products entering
into the manufacture of munitions of
war.
According to Senator Underwood, the
tariff commission, on account of the I'M
paralleled upheaval in Europe, cannot
discharge the duties for years to come
for which it will have been created. He
advanced the further argument that in
the creation of a nonpartisan tariff conf
mission the democratic party would au-
tomatically abandon it's allegiance to the
principles of tariff for revenue only.
be tantamount to an apology for what
the party had done in carrying out the
platform promises on which it had been
returned to power
AGAINST DYE TARIFF
Senator Underwood was especially vim
dictive against the democratic plan of pro-
tecting American industries soon to be
enea god in tba roopufao+,,ra of 1xas+,ffo
He declared that when the democrats
were revising the tariff three years ago
cotton fabric manufacturers insisted that
foreign dyes be relieved of all import
duty. The tariff makers however, per-
mitted the republican duty of SO per cent
to remain unchanged, he continued, and
now the democrats, planning first of all
| to remove the duty, expressed the de-
termination to impose a prohibitive duty
of 66 per cent as soon as the European
war was concluded. He declared that
that policy was atrocious in the opinion
of democrats who remained faithful To-
the teachings of the party, inasmuch as
it represented the party as a party, like
the republican, welded to the protection
OF American industries.
AGAINST COTTON TAX
The Albanian insisted that cotton, en-
tering into the manufacture of war mu-
ntions, be untaxed. He declared that
| cotton, alone of all agricultural products,
had been declared a contraband Of war,
with the result that it alone of all ag.i-
cultural products had failed. through the
| abnormal demand created by the Euro
pean war, to make it's producers ricn.
He told of the crippled condition of the
southern planter through the depredations
of the boil weevl and the disastrous
results of recent foods. He charged that
it would be unfair. under the peculiar
circumstances, to tax cotton and permit
all other agricultural products to remain
| untaxed.
To sustain his argument and prove his
every point, the senator had armed him
self with voluminous and most effective
data On his efforts he was warmly
| congratula ted.
| Washington, August 23.-Debate in
the Senate on the emergency revenue
bill today brought forth long speeches
by Senators Underwood and Penrose
| the Alabama senator defending the
democratic tariff law, of which he is
author, and the Pennsylvania urging
industrial preparedness to safeguard
| the country against commercial war
fare at the close of the European war.
Senator Underwood approved the
pending bill in its main features, he
said, but did not concur in the recon-
mendation for tariff commission and
increased duties on dyestuffs After
reviewing the operations of the tariff
law and submitting a multitude of sta
tistics, he said that he had "conclu-
sively demonstrated that tariff taxes
now on the statute books do not jeop-
ardize American industry, or threaten
American labor" The law, he declared,
was written to provide revenue and lin
reputation of the republican doctrine
which levied taxes primarily for the
purpose of maintaining protective tar
lifts to foster and build up special in
dustries.''
FOR PREPAREDNESS
| The revenue bill, Senator Underwood
said, was necessitated by demands of
CONTINUED on Page Three)