Mr. SHERMAN. The objection to the amendment is the uncertainty and ambiguity that will be created h its adoption. The bill now exempts nearly all kinds of cast iron from taxes, especially all cast iron used by railroads. The only rolled iron that I believen‘s exempted from the tax is railroad iron. This is a special exemption in favor of the railroad interest not probably defensible. If you were called upon to defend the exemption of railroad“ iron it would be very difficult to defend it upon the ground that it is an exception in favor of the railroad interest; and yet this exception is made in their favor. They want the exception to extend to the whole list. They might be well say that all the rails used in a freight depot should be exempted from taxation because you excm t cast iron, the nails, and the repairs of machinery. We have exempted looomotives and a certain class of repairs. It seems to me, the difficulty will be this: it is true that in the city of Detroit, where there is a ver large establishment for constructing railroad bridges, they may at that shop construct all the parts of a railroad bridge, and if they do, they are exempt under the general exemption made of railroad bridges; but in every railroad bridge there are component parts made' at other rolling mills. how, if you exempt all the ‘parts of a railroad bridge, when a part is rolls out in Pennsylvania, how can it be determined whether that will be used as a art of a railroad bridge or not? It may not lie. Very much of the iron' used in a railroad bridge may be used also for building purposes. It is therefore impossible for us to 0 any further than we have alread done. on have exempted the iron railroad ridge; and that will include all the work done by the man who builds the bridges; but when you extend the exemption to the parts of a railroad bridge, you 0 back to the foundery; you 0 back to the T’cuusylvania roller; you go ack to the man who manufactures the rails or contributes by his work to any portion of this railroad bridge; and you make uncer tainty and ambiguity. It seems to me, therefore, that this interest is sufficiently protected when you exempt the railroad bridge and the castin s, the materials that go into it. In tecase that I know the Senator wishes to provide forwthe case in Detroit n very intelligent gentleman came to me and spoke to me about this clause, and there is no doubt that as it now stands it will embrace all that he desires. because by the exemption of the railroad bridge you exempt all the work done by a man in constructing that bridge; but it ought not to go back and exempt all the work that has been done on the various parts by some one else.