The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-08-14
CREAM of the SPECIALS
REPUBLICANS PUZZLED.
Cabinet Member Says Demand for
Tariff Revision May Lead to
Disaster

Walter Wellman's Washington special to
Chicago RecordHerald.
ut is all nonsense to talk about re-
vision of the tariff. 1t cannot be done.
We may as we'll understand that at the
outset. Republicans who are demanding
revision are demanding the impossible
The speaker was member OF PRESIDENT
RooseVeltS cabinet In sober earnestness
this gentleman pointed out to me why
the Republican party is powerless to re-
wise the tariff. His proposition Is sucn
a startling one that ! was not surprised
when he declined to permit his name 10
be printed with the interview.
IN the first place, he continued
don't know that we want to revise the
tariff. But let us assume that we do
How are we going to do it? or course
there is no use of revising it unless we
can lower the rates. To revise by put
ting on more protection would not do at
all. Now / wish some of these people
who are talking about revision and lower
duties in the iron and steel and other
schedules would come forward and tell us
how we are going to get them
In the last session of Congress and
the one before that an effort was MADE
to revise some of the schedules by means
of reciprocity treaties. You know what
happened Nothing was done. The pro-
lection interest involved in~those treaties
were powerful enough to block the legis-
ed. and that method of revising the
schedules and getting slightly lower
duties came to naught.
Mark you know" continued this cabi-
net member that in the reciprocity
treaties it was proposed to sell the reduc-
ton of duties. For every concession in
favor of foreign goods seeking market
in our country we were to gain a COM
pensating concession in the markets
of the other parties to the treaties. The
representatives of American manufac-
lures would not sell concessions even at
fair price. How foolish. then, to sup
pose that they will give them away. Re
vision with lower duties means giving
away so much of the home market; and
you and l Will be gray before we see the
Senate. as II is now constituted, doing
anything of the sort
For example. it was proposed in the
French treaty to reduce the tariff on
knit goods from an average of about 63
per cent ad Valorem to an average of
about 55 per cent. But Senator Aldrich
and other Senators whose constituents are
interested in the manufacture of knit
goods would not stand this small cut. and
held up the treaty. So it was with other
trifiing concessions proposed. The Sen
ate is controlled by the friends of high
protection. and if you can't induce these
protectionists to sell little of their adj
vantage, how are you going to induce
them to give 1t away?
Let us suppose that Republican party
tries to revise the tariff, and tries honest
ly. We might get good bill through
the House, but in the Senate it would be
fixed to suit Mr.. Aldrich, the leader of
the high protection element. and his fol-
lowers. When we got a bill though we
might have revision. but it might be
revision upward. instead of downward.
Every one knows that it is impossible to
put tariff bill, big or little. through the
Senate if Mr.. Aldrich objects to it"
do you mean to say."I asked that the
the Republican party is impotent to re-
duce the tariff, no matter what the popu-
lar demand might be? Do you mean to
say that your great party is subject to
the will of one MANI
"I mean to face the facts as l find
Them" was the reply of the cabinet min
lister. Our party passed the Mckinley
law, and that law put the tariff higher
than it had ever been before. We en-
acted the Dingley law, and its average
duties are higher than the average OF
the Mckinley law. AS the Senate is now
constituted / see no hope for any propo-
sition to revise downward. We may
bring on an agitation, and that agitation
may unsettle business and interfere with
prosperity. 1t may possible result in some
revision. but l cannot for the HE OF me
see how it is going to be revision with
reduction. If we go through all this
turmoil and unsettling for the sake of
getting a tariff just as high or a little
higher l think we shall feel very foolish
when it is all over.
our lII6uuS OuL 1ONd my
want some revision of the tariff. So
do our other friends the retail butchers.
But Ill wager something pretty they
can't agree as to where the protection
Shall be taken off. The butchers want
free meats. but if the Iowa Republicans
want the tariff taken off cattle and other
live stock they have failed to make their
wishes known l venture the assertion
that a proposal to take off the live stock
duties would be very unpopular in Iowa.
The tariff is largely a local question. after
all One section won't have one schedule
touched and another won't have another
schedule fooled with and then there are
men like Aldrich who will raise hades
if the duties on dolls eyes are shaded a
hairs breadth, and who will log-roll and
make combinations and help everybody
who will help them to take care Of dolls
eyes,
Are we to understand then, Mr.. Sec
rotary. that the Roosevelt administration
is opposed to tariff revision?
Il do not pretend to speak for the ad-
ministration. but only for myself. There
is great danger that our people will work
themselves into a state of excitement
over the revision question without I'M
derstanding the difficulties that stand in
the way. If they force the Republican
party to do the revising they won't get
the sort of revision they want. If they
put the Republicans out and bring the
Democrats in they won't get what they
want. either Fortunately the Senate is
Republican for years to come, but if such
a thing were to happen as the Democrats
getting full control of the government
and they were to enact a tariff law like
the Wilson act we should have a dread
full panic in this country, probably the
worst we ever had. Do you know that
II we had today the customs revenue
which the Wilson law provided We should
have a deficit of 5000, 900 900 a year, with
gold exports. gold at a premium the
government forced to abandon the effort
10 maintain parity between gold and sill
yer and compelled to give two silver dol
lars for one of gold and this of course,
would spell disaster"
Your conclusion, then, Mr.. Secretary.
is that agitation for tariff revision Is
unwise at this time?"
Yes, agitation is the worst of 1t. One
agitation is worse than two revisions,
without having the other. l am well
aware that l may fall under the criticism
of people who say the protecuonlsts
won't have the tariff revised in good
times because they don't want check
to prosperity, and won't have it revised
in hard times because the country can't
stand it. But | am opposed to agitation.
the action of my party
friends in Iowa.
There is widespread belief that no
danger of panic or hard times exists In
our country now. Prosperity is so great
to see any end of it | am not an alarm
list. and / am not expecting trouble, but
ii is true that We have today all the
conditions for a sharp reverse. There
is general suppostiOn that both the
banks and the people have so much money
they do not know what to do with it,
and that therefore panic is an absolute
bilitN.