The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1906-01-20
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Meet the herman Situation.

OF q maximum and minimum tariff to
meet any DETERMINATIONS practiced BY
foreign governments against the prod
ucts Of the United States has resulted
in q conference between senate and
house leaders to determine where such
legislation should originate. This be-
comes an important question at this
session for the reason that the advo.
Gates Of such a measures are DESTROYS
of having it first considered in the
body most likely to accept it.
A tariff bill Of this character ordi-
narily would be construed as . mea-
sure affecting revenues and therefore
entitled to originate in the house. 1t
has been argued nevertheless, that
there is precedent for its introduce
ton in the senate. The precedent
brought forward is the meat inspection
act of 1890, which authorized the pres
ident to suspend importation of prod
ucts of other countries making dis
ordinations against those of the
United States.
5 The maximum and minimum tariff
bill, as introduced by Representative
McCleary, of Minnesota, provides that
the minimum tariff shall be the pres
ent schedules as fixed by the Dingley
act, and that the maximum shall be
25 per cent ain addition to these rates.
The maximum, it is believed, would
prevent any foreign country from
competing with countries receiving
the minimum rates, and only differs
from the act of 1890 in this, that one
provides for exclusion absolutely and
the other through the enforcement Of
prohibitive schedules against discrim-
mating states.
It is not proposed to make the legis.
lation retaliatoly, especially against
Germany, but it is asserted that the
need of such q measure is pressing az
regards our trade relations with that
country.
u Is Up TO Congress- Now.
It may now be stated that the ad.
ministration feels that it has exhaustd
every effort legitimately within its
power to avert the application in
March of the new German tariff to
American goods, and that if any relief
is to be had, it must come from con-
gress. Even the effort to postpone the
date of the application of the German
act through an arrangement in the ma
ture of a modus vivendi ameliorating
the irksome customs regulations com
,lo;~o1 80 hv Gorynouu hos foi1oJ
Secretary Shaw is still with his experts
considering some plan of relief in that
matter, but it is admitted that what
he can do by administrative order is
not of sufficient importance from the
German point of view to warrant the
hope that the date of the operation of
the German tariff act can be post
poned.
Already some of the large American
producers and exporting interests have
addressed >themselvessto the state, de-
partment in an appeal to be prepared
against v hat they fear is the certain
destruction of their vast business.
These people have been told, as was
ex- Senator Harris, of Kansas, the
otherday, that the executive could dc
nothing more, and that it was "up to
congress-. f"
Secretary Root for time contem.
plated the submission to congress Of
q German reciprocity treaty. He has
abandoned that project because he has
now definitely satisfied himself that
there is not the least ground for hope
that such treaty would be accepted.