Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-09-30
An Outline Of the Course Which
the Administration Will
Probably Pursue
10 READJusr WITHOUT REVISION
\ System Of Minimum and Maximum
Duties instead Of Reciprocity Treat
les and Tariff Commission to Study
Out the Adjustments-WouId Meet
With General Favor.

maximum and minimum duties, instead
OF reciprocity treaties, and tariff COM
mission to study out the adjustments OF
the present Dingley schedules to this
new system. will, in the opinion OF
many persons here who watch poiltical
developments closely. be the admins
tration's tariff program. This, 1t Will be
noted, would relieve the friends OF re-
ciprocity from making any attempt TO
get the Kasson treaties thru, task.
considering the two-thirds REQUIRE
ment in the senate. by no means easy.
Under such an arrangement TINS
1 country could give the nations Whlcn
allowed us their best rates, the penent
OF our minimum schedules, While All
Z others we should confront with our
maximum barriers. In the work OF this
adjustment the services might be ut1l-
ICED OF a commission of high grade ex-
perts, along the lines recently suggested
by S. N. d. North.
This plan would also offer readjust-
ment of the tariff without its revision,
and so would peculiarly fall into most
OF the needs within the republican par
ty at the present time.
This proposal has much to commend
II from republican point OF view. II
avoids the seeming necessity of driving
our best customer to fair trade" bas-
Is. The united kingdom would get, were
the Kasson treaties contaminated, less
favorable rates on such articles as she
desired to send here, altho giving free
entry to most of our goods, than would
the high protective nations of the con-
tinent; these continental nations would
be conceding us only little of their
high tariffs against our goods, and yet
would be favored above Great Britain.
Such an arrangement would be too radi-
cally unjust to last long. Nor would
Great Britain be without means of re-
dress, as has often been asserted. The
patience OF British free trade in the
face OF Determinations against her on
the part Of protective tariff neighbors
has been monumental, but 1t can not be
permanently relied on. The great
growth OF the wheat belt of Canada,
and of the meat resources OF Australia
STA make her factory operatives less de-
pendent on the free entry of Americas
agricultural products than at any time
I'm the recent past. With a system of
ma~-..l and minimum rates the
United Kingdom would get the minis
mum, provided she treated nobody else
better than ourselves, and SO one great
objection to Kasson reciprocity would
be avoided.
Another advantage Of this system
would be its uniformity. We would be
treating all nations alike. Under the
regime OF number Of special treaties,
there would be nothing to prevent our
having as many rates of concession on
each article. under 20 per cent. of the
Dingley duties AZ there were countries
with which we negotiated. There would
then be tendency for all goods to seek
to get In thru the country which had
our most favorable rate, and the task of
the custo-4 house In ascertaining what
articles were the growth or manufac-
ture of the country from which they
came Suld open a way to many vex-
: ations. The maximum and minimum
schedules plan would also satisfy the
dictum OF Washingt on-"friends of all,
allies Of none''-which Andrew Car
negie quotes in opposition to reciproc-
itys Of the kind proposed in the Ding
ley tariff. The commercial operations
OF the modern world are too intricate
4 to tolerate special schedule of dis
counts for each country with which
saour merchants deal. Nor could any
i thing short of omniscience decide,
whether, on such a basis. a particular
treaty were good bargain or not, with
\ no many articles and SO many rates.
While there would be no apparent OBJ
lection to having these maximum and
minimum rates for the generality OF
mankind, and also making special
exception In favor Of Canada and Cuba,
the probabilities are that the minimum
] schedules would be all the remission
which our manufacturers would per-
NIT.
Where should the line OF maximum
and minimum rates be drawn? 1t is
plain that no republican congress would
allow the minimum under such condi-
lions, the rate at which most goods
j would enter to fall much below the
present rates in any essential in which
the tariff was operative. Maximum
4 rates might be as much higher than
present rates as congress saw fit to
4 put them; they would, for the mos:
part. be prohibitive in effect. Mos,
OF the articles of the free list also would
be given a rate of duty for the max
imum schedules and remain free onl.
on the minimum. This would prevent
the South American countries, most OF
whose goods come in here free, from
playing any tricks on us.
ROOT MAY RESIGN
ssor.tary Of War viii Not Deny til.