At the time of its passage nobody knew what was in the bill of 1883, such had been the juggling. But this was certain, everybody but the persons who had saved their duties was disgusted with it. Mr. Sherman went home to meet a political storm such as he had never met before—a storm which forced him to explain and defend himself. It was raised by the dissatisfied wool-growers. The Democrats went out with the story of the barter and trickery which had attended the measure. The Republicans everywhere were obliged to defend themselves for doing or not doing. Dissatisfaction was increased with the testing of the bill. It did not produce the reduction promised either in internal revenue or in customs. The bill went into operation July 1, 1883. In the first year of its operation it reduced duties only about $20,000,000 (from $210,637,293 to $190,282,836). The average reduction on iron and steel proved to be only 4.54 per cent; on clothing wool 10.73 per cent; on woollen goods 1.01 per cent. On many articles there was an increase: 13.11 per cent on earthenware; 1.48 per cent on glassware; 2.54 per cent on cotton goods. But there were more serious features still. Mr. Sherman says in his “Recollections” that the “Tariff law of 1883 laid the foundation of all the Tariff complications since that time.” The lack of “harmony” in duties, the failure to protect all interests equally—wool and woollens, iron ore and pig-iron, and their products—was what disturbed Mr. Sherman. If we are to have protection, his view was, all must be protected. “The dogma of free raw material is more dangerous to the protective policy than the opposition of free-traders.” There was something more serious than the failure to admit the claims of all to protection. It was the semi-official recognition of the organized business man in the making of tariff schedules. True, they had been more or less active in every bill since the war, but never before had their right to stand day and night at the doors of Senate and House, to sit in committee, to be closeted in every leisure hour with their representatives in Congress, been conceded. It was recognition they were not likely to forget. Moreover it was demonstrated clearly in 1883 that the size of the duty is according to the size of the organization. The quinine-makers, even with Mr. Kelley’s help, were unable to get their product off the free list where it had been put in 1879, but they were a feeble folk—only four of them in the country! The pottery people, on the contrary, received an advance of some 13 per cent on their wares, for they were strong in Ohio and New Jersey. Mr. Joseph Wharton, standing alone, had to submit to a reduction of 50 per cent on his nickel; standing with iron men he suffered a reduction of only 4 per cent on his pig-iron. It was a great lesson in the value of organization and numbers. CHAPTER VI GROVER CLEVELAND AND THE TARIFF