The Lewiston teller. (Lewiston, Idaho) 1900-1905, 1903-04-07

was TO be abandoned. The bust
ness world, that is, the entire
American world. cannot afford, III
it has any regard for its own vel
fare, even to consider the advisa
bilily of abandoning the presen,
system.
Yet, on the other hand, we're the
industrial conditions so FIRE quently
change, as with us must of neces-
sitN be the case, it is a matter OF
prime Importance that we should
be able from time 10 time to adapt
our economic policy to The changed
conditions. Our aim should be to
preserve the policy of protective
tariff in which the nation as whole
has acquiesced, and yet wherever
and whenever necessary to change
the duties in particular paragraphs
vi SGuCuuiSS d. III ttSio VI iSSiSid
tive detail, If such change is de
manded by the Interests of the ma
ton as a whole.
In making any REIMBURSEMENT
there are certain important consid
erations which cannot be disre-
garded. If a tariff law has on The
whole worked well, and if business
ha prospered under it and is pros
pering, it may be better to endure
Some inconvenience and inequali-
ties for a time than by making
changes to risk causing disturbance
and perhaps paralysis in the in
dustries and business of the coun.
try. The fact that the change In a
given rate of duty may be though,
desirable does not settle the ques
ton whether it is advisable to
make the change Immediately.
Every tariff deals with duties on
thousands of articles arranged In
hundreds of paragraphs and In
many schedules. These duties
affect vast number of interests
which are often conflicting. II
necessary for our welfare, then OF
course congress must consider the
question of changing the law as a
whole r changing any given rates
of duty, but we must remember
that whenever even single SEIZED
ule is considered some interests
will appear to demand a change in
almost every schedule in the law;
and when it comes to upsetting the
schedules generally the effect upon
the business interests of the coun-
try would be ruinous.
One point we must steadily keep
in mind. the question of tariff re-
vision, speaking broadly, stands
wholly apart from the question Of
dealing with the trusts. No change
in tariff duties can have any SUBJ
stantial fleet in SOLVING the So
called trust problem. Certain great
trusts or great corporations are
wholly unaffected by the tariff.
Practically all the others that are
Of any Importance have, as mat
ter of fact, numbers of smaller
American competitors; and of
course change in the tariff which
would work injury to the large
corporation would work not merely
injury but destruction to its smaller
competitors, and equally of course
such change would mean disaster
to all the wage workers connected
with either the large or small cor
porations. From the standpoint of
those interested in the solution OF
the trust problem such change
would therefore merely mean that
the trust was relieved of the com
petition OF its weaker American
l
competition with foreign competi
tors; and that the first effort TO
meet'this new competition would
be made by cutting down wages,
and would therefore be primarily
at the cast Of labor. In the case of
some Of our greatest trusts such a
change might confer upon them