San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1896-12-24
TARIFF COMMISSION.

II the members of congress sent to
the national houses Of legislation for
the very and express purpose of TAX
ing into consideration the wants of
the country and meeting them by wise
and intelligent legislation, If these
representatives of the people are not
competent to deal with the tariff
without a commission, then it is the
fault of the people who elect them. 1t
is not intelligently presumable that
the several states of the Union have
not within them the men every way
qualified to deal with the tariff sched-
ules of the nation. If these men are
not sent to congress, it is because the
people do not consider the tariff ques-
ton as affecting them of sufficient in
terest to make point of it in deter
mining the character of their congress
sional representative. The fact is
that the Republican congress elected
to take its seat after March fourth is
a tariff commission. 1t was elected
to revise and reverse the tariff action
Of four years ago. The people who
elected these representatives are alive
to the fact; that tariff schedules are
too low to meet the needed expendi-
lures of the nation, and they bad in
direct contemplation radical revis-
ion of the tariff when the last election
was held. There are two ideas Of tar
iff revision before the country. One,
tariff for revenue only, protection its
incidental feature; the other, tariff
for protection and revenue, the first
as important as the last. The criti-
cism that has been made upon tariff
revisions in the past has been that it
fayors certain classes to the detriment
of others, it's levies bearing harder
upon the agricultural classes than up
on the manufacturing ones. The Nc
Kinley bill was scarcely upon to such
objection, at least it protected the ag-
ricultural products Of the country
against foreign competition to much
greater extent than any former tariff
measure had. What is expected of
the new tariff measure is that it will
be framed with reference to the whole
body of the people, giving equal pro-
lection to all classes, fayoring none,
wide in all it's application as the
wants of the people for protection. A
tariff that has for it's real object the
prevention of such competition from
abroad as will drive our own produc-
lions out of home market, is the de-
mand of the people. Farmers. lum-
bermen, miners, millers, manufacture
ers of all classes, fruit growers, wool
and cattle raisers, and all others
whose products are threatened by for
eign competition should be protected
under the new schedules, by levying
duties upon imports to such an extent
as will adequately protect. The dan
ger of forcing prices too high under
such protection is out of the reckon
ing, for home competition will regulate
that, except in the case of trusts, and
trusts are outlawed under the laws
of the United States. All that is
needed is to make all trust-made
goods free. Markets will be greatly
enlarged by this policy, for it will en-
large the home production and thus
enlarge the labor in all the mills to
the extent Of purchasing all that Is
now sold in the foreign market. Con-
gress and not an outside commission
is what is needed to compile tariff
law that will fit. 1t is needless to be
on the lookout for a commission. That
commission has been elected. 1t will
take it's seat early in the year. 1t will
protect American production Of every
kind, and raise revenue enough to
meet the daily expenses of govern
ment. Its enactments will not be We
toed at the white house.