Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-06-14
the Confirmation Of the Tariff Com
mission

that the United States Senate take action
upon the confirmation OF rejection of the
Tariff Commission with open doors, in
stead OF, as usual in such cases, in execu
tive session. has been defeated by de-
cisive vote. This result was to have
been anticipated To consider the fit
ness or capacity of the members of this
commission in public would really have
been to have opened the tariff debate in
the Senate afresh, and this the Radical
protection majority in Congress has al
ways been specially anxious to avoid.
In their minds, the peopleOf the country
already know too much about this tariff
question. and have already been insti
gated TO thinking too much over the
fallacies Of the stereotYped arguments
which the advocates of protection con-
stantly urge in its defense. For obvious
reasons the protectionist's main desire
is to keep the people in ignorance on this
subject as far as possible.
This is one reason why it hiss been de.
termined to discuss the confirmation or
rejection Of Mr. Arthur's commission in
secret. but there is another equally as
cogent The commission. as at present
constituted, as Senator Pendleton and
Mr. Hewitt, Of New York, have well
said. simply occupy before the country
the position of a packed jury, and what
their verdict will be, if they are ever
permitted to render verdict or report,
is as well known now. as it was known
from the movement of their appoint
ment, what the verdict of the celebrated
eight-tO-seven cOmmissiOn-created for
the purpose of stealing the Presidency
tor Hayes-wOuld be- 1t is a commits
sion Of prOte ctionists whose whole object
viii be to maintain our present high
tariff. aud, if revision is recommended
at all, it will be merely
revision in the interests of protection.
In this way the commission law
viii serve the double purpose of its
trainers and advocates. 1t will delay
action on the tariff until after the APP
preaching Congressional election. and it
viii also give the present Congress an ad-
ditional Dretext for maintaining the pres
ent burdensome protective system. All
these facts would have been presented to
the country had it been decided to have
discussed the question of tie conhrma-
ton Of Mr.. ArthUr's commission in
public, and naturally the protectionists
in Congress are particularly anxious that
the people should not be started on
course Of thought so fraught with dan
ger TO their pet schemes. They know
no surer method could be devised to
bring our existing burdensome and OPP
pressive system of tariff taxation into
! even greater odium even than at present.
While. however, these are, doubtless,
the main reasons why the pTotectiOnists
in the Senate voted against the PROPOSE
ton to consider with open doors the
/ question Of the confirmation of the Tariff
/ Commission, the decisive vote against
the prOposition-30 to 16-shows that
many who voted in the negative were
actuatcd by other motives. 1t is also
doubtless true that in the opinion of a
large portion of the majority against
| the proposition, it would have estab-
lished an unwise precedent to have, in
this instance, departed from the estab-
lished uses Of the Senate. This still
leaves some ground for the hope that the
nominations of the commission may yet
be rejected. and it will be fortunate if
this hope proves well founded, as, if
confirmed, the so-called investigation Of
this commission into the very important
subject of tariff revision will be de-
cidedly farcical. As a Northern con-
temporary very terselY and truly re
marks, large majority of the mem
bsrs of the commission have already
made up their minds as to what they will
recommend in their report, and what
ever investigation they may 60 into will
not be had with the intention of getting
at the real state of the case with the
object Of making a fair report, but
merely for the purpose Of substantiating
conclusions already reached. They are
men personally interested in protection,
sud no matter how fair minded they
may desire to be, must look at the sub
iect through interested spectacles. 1t
would be far more appropriate that they
should themselves be summoned to tes-
tify before an impartial and unpreju-
diced commission rather than that they
should receive and pass upon the testi-
mony Of others. For the dignity of the
country, therefore, if for nothing else.
the Senate should adopt the fundamental
principles of an ordinary court of JUS
tee. and refuse to consent that such
| judges as these shall sit IN judgment
uDOn a case il which they are so
thoroughly and specially interested.