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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 24, 1902)
- (1 The Commoner. Oct. 34, 190a MMIMM4 ii Bow Did That Coal Tariff Get In ? Secretary Mody Saya It wa Smug gled Int th Dlngtey Law, but tfc Congressional Record Shows Dint it was placed thera after Warm Debate. i i i 4HfrHMfrfrfr'M v -J 1 - .v. On theovening of October 10 at Madison, Wis., Secretary of the. Navy Moody delivered a speech .in which ho apologized for-the tariff on coal by saying that the coal barons "felt secure in their independence as a result of the duty of G7 cents per ton on anthracite coal which had been covertly and In a cowardly manner smuggled Into the Ding ley bill." j.- It was necessary for republican leaders to malco some? defense for the tariff on coal at this time when the popular resentment against the coal trust ' is so strong; but it is amazing that a member of the president's cabinet should go so far a to ' actually misrepresent the facta. " The Dlngley bill was passed in 18D7. Mr. Moody, now secretary of the navy, was at that time a member of the lqwer house of congress. If any one will take tne trouble to look into the Congressional Record for June 30, 1897, and read from page 2144 to page 2151, ho will discover thai rather than being "smuggled" into the Dingloy bilfthe tariff on coal was placed in that bill after a very earnest discussion in which the proposed tar iff was defended by republican senators and in which it was bitterly condemned by democrats and populists. The Record shows that while the Dingley bill was under consideration on June 30 Senator Alli son, republican of Iowa, proposed an amendment to the bill, which amendment was as follows: - "Coal, bituminous, and all coals containing - less than 92 per cent of fixed carbon and shrfto 67 cents per ton of 28 bushels, 80 pounds to the . bushel; coal slack or culm, such as will pass . through a half inch screen, 15 cents per ton of : 28 bushels, 80 pounds to the bushel; coke, 20 cents ad valorem," The presiding officer announced that the ques tion was on-tne amendment submitted by Mr. 'Allison. A discussion then ensued, reference to which covers nearly seven pages of the Cpngres-. eional Rec6rd. William V. Allen was then a senator from Ne braska, and after Mr. Allison had presented this amendment Senator Allen asked: "I should like to ask the senator from Iowa what reason there Is for taxing coal?" - "What Is the necessity for that tax?" inquired Mr. Allison. , Senator Allen repeated: "What is the neces sity for taxing coal?" & Senator Allison "replied: "The same nocessity that there is for a tariff bill to protect and care for coal producers of our oWn country and pro yldo revenue from duties on the coal imported." Senator Allen then said: "Mr. President, I call attention of the son ator from Iowa and the senato to the fact that duty on coal does not proteot; that is, it does not protect tho class of people who are sup posed to bo protected by tariffs of this kind. Why exclude coal .from olsowhero and levy upon the poor people of tho Atlantic seaboard and other portions of the United States a tar iff in addition to tho original cost of tho coal and compel every flrosido in tho thirteen mil lion and a half homes of the United States to pay tribute to tho few owners of the coal mines? There is no sense in it There is no excuse for it There Is no reason for support ing it except the bare reason that Its friends are to bo rewarded in a bill of this kind.'-' Mr. Kyle, then a senator from South Dakota, asked: "Is it not true that tho soft coal, bi tuminous coal, is placed on board tho cars for about 90 cents or ?1 a ton at our eastern mines and sold in our section of the country at from ?7 to $10 a ton?" Mr. Allen replied: "I think that it is true, but that is simply a part and parcel of tho scheme by which tho people are to be fleeced; because tho transpor tation companies overcharge the peoplo living in tlie interior of tho United States for trans porting coal is no reason why tho man who owns the mine should be awarded a- higher price for his coal by reason of the tariff taxa tion under the false pretense that he wants it to protect the man who does the work. Wo do not protect him afrall. . .. Yet my good friend from Iowa saysall this is done because -the coal industry of tho United States, or the coal laborers of tho United States must bo pro tected. God help the laborers and their chil dren from that kind of protection!" Senator Jones of Arkansas made a speech pro testing against tho proposed tariff on coal and pre sented protests against the proposed tariff. Other senators participated in thft discussion. The roll being called the vote stood 31 in favor of adopting tho tariff on coal and 24 against it The thirty-one who voted for this bill wore as follows: Allison, Carter, Chandler, Cullom, Davis. Doboo, Elklns, Fairbanks, Forakor, Fryo, Gallln gcr, Gear, Haffha, Hawloy, Hoar, Jones (Nov.), Lodge, McEncry, McMillan, Mantlo, Nelson Pork ins, Piatt (Conn.), Prltchard, Quay, Sowell, Shoup, Telle, Wellington, Wetmoro and Wilson. Tho 24 who voted against this bill woro demo crats and populists, as follows: Allon, Bacon, Date, Berry, Butler, Chilton, Clay, Cockrell, Faulkner, Gray, Iloitfeld, Jones (Ark.)f Konnoy, Kylo, Lind say, McLaurin, Mills, Mitchell, Morgan, Pasco, Pottus, Rawlins, Turpio and Vest. Thirty-four senators were paired and did not vote. After this amondment had been adopted Sena tor White of California mado an effort to cut down tho advantago which tho coal barons wero to enjoy by republican favor and he moved to strike out tho C7 cents and Insort in lieu thereof 40 cents. Senator White's amendment was read and submitted, but was rejected by republican votes. In August, 1897, It becamo necessary for tho Now York board of appraisers to pass upon tho question as to whether an Importation of Welsh coal must bear a burdon of 67 conts per ton. Tho Importers of this coal refused to pay tho duty, but tho board of appraisers hold that tho duty must bo paid and In Justification of Its runng tho board mado this entry: "By roferenco to tho Congressional Record, under date of July 30, 1897, It will be seen that tho proposition to impose tho duty of 07 conts per ton on all coals con taining 92 per cent 'of fixed carbon was ex pressly Intended to cover anthraclto coal." Thus it will bo seen that tho tariff on coal In stead of being "smuggled" Into tho Dingloy bill was deliberately placed there by republican votes, and the only reason for It, as Senator Allen said, was that In return for the political favor ot the coal barons tho republican party would' "compel every fireside in tho thirteen million and a half homes of the United States to pay tribute to tho few owners of tho coal mines." As Senator Allen also said, "There is no sense in it There is no excuse for it;" and yet tho republican party de liberately assumed tho responsibility, and If tho peoplo expect their representatives to give any concern for public interests in tho future thoy must hold tho republican party rigidly to account for its wrongdoing. ' The New YorkSituation. An enquirer asks whether I approve of the fight which is being made by various democratic organizations in New York, some calling them selves "Bryan democrats," against the democratic state ticket headed by Mr, Coler. The question can best be answered by a general statement of my position in all such cases. When t'-ie enmpaign of 1900 was over I asked all "Bryan cluba" to drop my name and take some name indi cating adhesion to d-nocratic principles rather ,than to any person. I stated that my reasons for doing so were, first, that I did not want the clubs to be embarassed by anything I might do, and sec ond that I did not want to bo embarassed myself by anything the clubs might feel called upon to do. Events have justified my tears, and it has sometimes become necessary for me to explain that no person or association Is authorized to speak for me either in indorsing or in opposing any ticket. This applies to all other states as well as to New .York. What I desire . say I say for myself, -and what I do not say myself, I do not care to have said for me. , , . 1 Belieying tho Kansas City platform is sound and that its principles must be applied to public questions, believing that the contest between the money changers and the common people is an un endiiiv one, and that the money question in one form or another will be before every congress (in tho first session of the present congress a bill passed the house of representatives giving the sec retary discretion to coin all tho full legal tender silver dollars Into .subsidiary coin of limited legal tender, and the Fowler bill is set for consideration at the next session) and also believing that those who can bo frightened away from the money ques tion can also be frightened away from any other question by tho same Influences believing thus, I have felt It my duty to criticize those conventions which have refused to Indorse the Kansas City platform. I have pointed out' that thoy not only weaken the party in the state but destroy the unity and enthusiasm of the party In the nation. But having done this, my duty has been performed and where good men have been nominated on a bad platform, as in New York and some of the other states, I have not as a rule felt It incumbent on me tourge either tho support of tho ticket or the de feat of the ticket I recognize that the voters in eacn state have to meet local conditions of which I can not fully Inform myself, and I am willing to trust the intelligence a? well as the fidelity of those who have been loyal to the national creed of the party. Being on the ground they can Judge wheth er for state reasons they should support good men nominated on platforms which arc bad on national questions or whether for national reasons they should refuse to support even good men who are willing to compro mise on national issues. Whether state Issues should be sacrificed to national ones or national issue-.- sfceriiied for state- issues Is a question so. largely determined by the relative importance of the issues at the time in tho state that ordinarily no outsider can assume to give advice. But this one thing Is certain, that the democrats who live in the .states where the national platform has been ignored must organize to protect the par ty from any more cowardly evasions. Our party is weak in the east because eastern conventions have been running away from tho party platform, and the republicans havevC.n advantage of th silence to misrepresent tho democratic posltlon and vilify those, stand for democratic principles." That Constitutional Amendment. Republicans are circulating under tho frank of Congressman J. W. Babcock a tract entitled "Rec ords of the republican and democratic votes on the anti-trust legislation in the United State house of representatives." In this tract It Is pointed out that In tho house on May 21, 1900, the joint resclutlon proposing an amendment to the constitution relating, to trusts and monopolies waa called up. Mr. Ray of New York asked unanimous consent that this resolution bo made a special or der. It is pointed out that "Mr. Richardson, th democratic leader, interposed an objection and thus defeated tho attempt to fix tho time for the consideration of this measure." A reader of The Commoner encloses this tract and asks for an explanation of tho action of th democrats. The resolution referred to proposed an amendment to the constitution which Instead of being intended to Injure tho trusts was Intended to take away from the states all authority over trust and monopolies and place that, authority exclu sively in tho federal government The resolution was as follows: Section 1. All powers conferred by this ar ticle shall extend in tho several states, the ter ritories, the District of Columbia, and all ter ritories under tho sovereignty and subject to tho jurisdiction of the United States. Sec. 2. Congress shall have power to de- fine, regulate, control, prohibit, or dlssolva trusts, monopolies or combinations, whether existing In the form of a corporation or other . t wise. The several states may continue to exer . ' "" ' .(Continued on Page Five.) .V ( "