Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1905-04-14
rom our Regular CORES pendent.

or keeping prices down. The reason
able application Of the protective tariff
is to give the producer in this country
duty equal to the difference in the
cost of producing the article abroad.
But there are many articles upon
which the duty is 40 much higher that
it becomes factor in creating a mono
poly. The result is that. home manu-
facturers do not feel the competition
of foreign countries until their prices
are raised to the level of the unfair
protection afforded by the tariff. This
is indefensible. :"
Governor Cummins is believed to be
a candidate for the Senate to succeed
Senator Dolliver whose term expires
two years hence. When asked regard
ing the allegation he refused to affirm
or deny 1t, but Senators Allison and
Dolliver have no doubt as to the Gov
ernOr's intentions. He has become the
beneficiary of recent Supreme Court
decision which has the effect of extend
ing his term for two years, which will
keep him In Office right up to the time
of the Senatorial contest, although tho
Allison organization had hoped to re-
tire him to the obscurity of private life
a year in advance of that event.
Governor Cummins expectation that
the next Congress will pay no heed to
President Roosevelt's recommendation
that the tariff be revised agrees entire
ly with statement made recently to
your correspondent by Senator Hans.
brough. 1.-The House Is dominated by
an oligarchy of stand patters" said the
Senator, and he added, Tariff read
justment is dead" The situation is
indeed peculiar one. There is doubt.
less majority in the Senate, including
the Democratic membership, to pass
tariff bill providing for material read
justment, or revision. but as the Senator
says, the House is dominated by the
stand patters Under the development
of the peInicious Reed rules the House
has lost it's character as as delibera-
tive body and must invariably act un.
der the whip and spur of party dlsci-
pine. The committee on rules, which
consists Of Speaker Cannon and Rep.
resentatives Payne, Grosvenor. Dalzell.
Williams and Underwood. controls the
actions of the House as absolutely as
Caesar ruled Rome. Cannon, Gros.
venor and Dalzell are all ardent stand
patters and the Democratic members
of the Committee, being in the minor
ity, are mere ciphers. No member can
speak on the floor of the House with
out permission of the Speaker or the
committee On Rules. A member who
desires to make speech must first
consult the Speaker and explain what
he wishes to speak on and only after
such explanation will the Speaker con-
sent to recognize him. As the Consti-
tuition gives the House the exclusive
power to initiate revenue bills and as
all tariff bills are revenue measures,
the Senate Is powerless in the face of
opposition by the House.
The grave mistake made by Governor
Cummins and by Senator Hansbrough
is their belief that tariff revision can
ever be accomplished by q Republican
House. The people must elect Dem
ocratic majority to the lower chamber
of Congress and until they do there is
little likihood OF any tariff revision,
unless it be revision upward to suit
the protected interests.
II the Supreme Court discovers many
more as serious legal blunders perpe-
trated by the Philippine government
as that brought to light by the suit of
Henry W. Peabody of Boston and
Manila, the treasury deficit will begin
to assume alarming proportions. The
Court has just decided in this case that
all the duties collected on goods brought
from the United States to the Philip
pines, during the period of military
occupation, from April II, 1899, to
March 6, 1901, we're illegal and must be
refunded to the importers. That means
that the United States will have to pay
back to the importers sum estimated
at $1,000 900. This money formed the
revenue of the Philippines during that
period and was expended for admins.
trative expenses as fast AZ received and
make good the loss. The Government
will apply to the Court for rehearing
of the case which will postpone the
day of payment, but little hope is ex-
pressed that the Court will reverse it.