The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1882-07-17
THE WORK OrTiIETARIFF COMMrS.
I.- SION. 3.
4 Tnik with Robert T.. Porter, lis Seer .
tnry-Thc SitfIncx nj Long l,rnurl,

s"fN ttS SttT
tnrJ-Thc Sitfinrs nj Long liranrli.
New YORK. July l5.-lIobcrt +. Porter,
Secretary of the Tariff Commission, recent
ly appointed by the President, is at the
New York Hotel. The remaining eight
members OF the Commission will arrive in
the city next week and will then proceed
to the West End Hotel, Long Branch, where
their sessions will begin on next Wednes.
day. In conversation on the subject Mr..
Porter said:
The commission chose Long Branch as
their tirst place OF meeting after organiza.
tion-this was effected last week in Wash.
ington-because OF its accessibility TO the
people Of both New York and I'hiladel.
phIa. We expect to sit In the ladies' par.
!or At the West End Hotel every day, be.
ginning at a. NJ, for about fifty Idays
BY that time weather will probably have
become cooler, and we can meet with com.
tort elsewhere. think that it il certain
that We will visit several OF the industrial
centres ot the country and hear testimony
from their representative men. A general
invitation has been sent out 10 the public
for all who wish to testify on the subject,
which the commission las In cons;iera.
,ion, TO come and be heard, but We shall, I
suppose, have TO exercise some judicial
authority, and draw n line between what is
testimony and what is Argument. have
no fear about a lack OF witnesses, the only
trouble will be to discriminate so as 10 yet
the best evidence. A great many OF the
commercial and manufacturer. organizs.
tlons will, AM sure, arrange to be heard
through representative men, and thereby
aid the commission greatly. The COM
mission have not determined upon their
course Of action after the Long Branch
session.
Your commission has been criticized as
being exclusively composed OF tariff
mem" -
That is understood. 1t is tariff com.
mission; not debating school, Ms it would
be il free traders were members OF il. As
| conceive il, and it is set down plsinly in
tile law creating the cofxmission, the pur.
pose ot our bodyis is 70 make thorough re.
vision OF the existing tariff laws, and il
consistent with our present policy ot na-
tiona! economy, to simplify them. We are
also authorized'to prepare and present TO
Congress new tariff law, but have no
power beyond that required to make IN in.
vestlsatlon and present the facts, with re.
port, TO Congress, backed by the published
testimony. Since the custom OF referring
the questions Of this character to commits
s!oners seems to be comm. in
vogue i'll this country it is
well 10 remember that all
the great reforms OF Engiand, from tile
Reform Act oi 1872 down 10 the present
time, were the results oi commissions, only
there they are made up OF members OF Par
lament. Even though Congress should
tear our work all to pieces, We will have
got the people 10 thinking about the tariff
with the fscts before them, and have
started ille newspaper press to discussing
it, and that will be gieat good accom-
plisliei.
at is fact which is not vet known that
the first communication addressed TO the
commission on the tariff matter was sen,
through 4 United States Senate, and was
Il request from the Bible Society that we
look into the mater OF the tariff on foreign
Bibles. So We have sometIin: TO think
about already, and have begun right"