The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1905-05-13
WASHINGTON LETTER.
President Roosevelt Returns and Tackles
Important Business-Need for
Revision of the Tariff.

Revision of the Tariff.
The fate of Minister Bowen, the
measures to be adopted to remedy the
treasury deficit, the approval OF vari-
Gus naval construction plans, the
assignment of army officers, and,
probably, the inYestig of certain
charges against consular appointees,
are some OF the questions awaiting
consideration at the hands OF Presi-
dent Roosevelt, who returned to Wash
/ ington yesterday. The Japanese lega-
ton has made representations to the
state department with regard to French
neutrality which it hopes the president
will forward to France, and other d.
plomats are hoping, although with
| out much reason, that the president
may be able to do something toward
the promotion OF peace in the far east.
President Roosevelt will be a busy
nfrom th emoment he reaches w ASH
ington on the noon of May II, until
the morning Of June 20, when he is
scheduled to leave for his summer
home at Oyster Bay. Incidentally there
are numerous requests that he interfere
in the Chicago teamsters' strike await
| ing him at the White House. Some are
| from representatives of the strikers,
| who want him to arbitrate, more are
from excited citizens who want federal
troops and lots Of them. regardless of
| the fact that the president has no au-
thority under the constitution to send
troops into Illinois without the con-
sent of that state, unless the property
of the government is threatened with
destruction. It is unlikely that the
president will take any action in the
premises.
One Of the questions which the pres
ident will consider in his less busy
moments, and one OF secondary inn
portance only TO the treasury deficit,
| with which it is perhaps intimately re-
lated, concerns the advisability of
adopting the .ma1imum and minimum
tariff system. This subject has long
been discussed ia tentative way, but
Germany has given it new impetus by
its adoption of the system and it's in
tention of applying the maximum, or
autonomous, !, rates to imports from
this country. The new tariff system
in Germany will go into effect March
/, 1906. Some items Of the new sched-
ule are as follows: The present tariff
on corn is 10 cents bushel: the new
rates will be 81 cents and 10 cents. The
present rate on wheat is % cents. The
new rates will be 40 and SO cents. The
present duty on flour is S1.55 per
barrel. The new rates will be 81 and
S2.17. The present duty on salt beef
is S1.84 per 100 pounds. The new rates
will be Sc. 45 and So. 90. 1t will be I'M
derstood that of the new rates the
lower or conventional rate will be
assessed on imports which make rec
iproeity conventions with Germany,
or which grant German imports some
special privileges, while the higher
rates will be charged on the imports
from nations which grant Germany no
such concessions. For many months,
yes, years, reciprocity treaty with
Germany has lain in the hands of the
senate committee on foreign relations
untouched, and thereis no hope that it
will ever be ratified. It is largely to
punish the United States for this tn at
the new tariff has been adopted. If,
however, the United States had max
imum and minimum tariff it would be |
a simple process for the president to /
order the maximum rates collected on /
all goods made In Germany, ard it Il
would not be long before Germany |
was proposing a convention which |
guar anteed to both nations the min |
imum tariff on imports from the other.
Last year, Germany imported bread I
stuffs from this country amounting to I
over 16, 900, 900 and provisions amount |
ing to upwards of So, 800, 600. 1t does |
not take much calculation to see what |
the loss of this trade would mean to |
the American farmer and livestock |
grower.
The difference between the minimum, |
or conventional, rates and the maxi |
mum. or autonomous, rates in the 1
German schedules is considerably 1
greater than any advocates of the |
dual system in this country deem wise, |
but the principle has many advocates 1
and will doubtless have more in the |
near future. In 1903 Germany i'm
ported goods from the United States |
amounting in value to 1922, 414, 900,
and exported from Germany goods |
amounting to sll1 ,626, 600. OF course.
the United States enjoyed the best of 1
this trade, but that only emphasizes
the loss which the German trade |
would be to this country, and it would
seem that the maximum rates of Ger
many's new tariff are so high as to
render absolutely impossible the i'm
portatlon OF goods on which they are
assessed. On the other hand, there is
absolutely no way in which, under
our present system. the United States
can retaliate on Germany for this un-
just discrimination, unless congress
were to enact special law to be app
piled to Germany alone.
The tariff question is a perplexing
one. Speaker Cannon insists that the
tariff schedules cannot be altered at ALL
npsetting business and doing
untold damage. On the other hand,
senators present some
strong reasons why the tariff should
oe readIusted. For Instance, Sen ator
Iallinger. who has long stood in the
'front.' rank OF protectionists, as be-
come convinced that it is imperative
t@ra Al =. - !