The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1907-08-20


Of wages and that the sncours cement
II gives to the home Industry operating
under the influence OF an energetic
competition between American manu-
facturers, induces such Improvement
in the methods of manufacture and
such economics as to reduce greatly
| the price for the benefit of the Ameri
can public and makes It possible to re
duce the tariff without depriving the
manufacturer of needed protection and
a good profit.
Free Trade Revision Disastrous.
"The present business system of the
country rests on the protective tariff
and any attempt to change 1t to a
free trade basis will certainly lead
only to disaster.
ut is the duty Of the Republican
party, however TO see to it that the
tariff on imported articles does not
exceed substantially the reasonably
permanent differential between the
cost of production in the foreign coun.
| tries and that in the United States.
and therefore when changes take
! place in the conditions OF production
| likely TO produce a very large reduc.
| tion In the cost of production in the
| United States, II is time that sched.
| ules be re-examined and IL excessive
that they be reduced so as to bring
them within the justification for the
| rule by which the amount of tariff
to be imposed under the protective
system is properly determined
Whenever the tariff imposed is
largely in excess of the differential be.
tween the cost of production in the
two countries, then there is formed at
once a great temptation to monopolize
the business of producing the particu.
, lar product, and to take advantage of
| profit in the excessive tariff This de-
| MES TO the people altogether the econ
omies of production that competition
under a protective tariff should de-
velop.
Action Of Manufacturers.
'I am not myself tariff expert and
am not sufficiently familiar with the
cost of production Of the various arti.
cles covered in the many schedules
to point out the particular ones in
which such a change has taken place;
but my general conclusion formed as
above finds striking support in the
action of the National Association Of
Manufacturers of the United States
upon this very question. A committee
appointed by that body for the pur.
pose investigated the question wheth.
er the tariff had not in respect 10
many articles by a change in condi.
tions become excessive.
This National Association of Manu-
facturers is composed almost wholly
OF protectionists, and | think we may
safely say, therefore, OF Republicans.
| am advised that the association rep.
resents all classes Of manufacturers IN
this country and that majority of the
manufacturers of consequence are
members. The committee reports.
1--WE are all pTptectionists-there are
very few brilliant exceptions, but so
few that we may repeat the statement,
we are protectionists.' The com.
mittee lays down in its report the fol.
lowing doctrine, which seems to me
of the orthodox Republican type:
Protection, as the word implies, re-
quires that the tariff schedules he
such as protect our manufacturers
against undue pressure from foreign
competition, and maintain our high
wage scale and standard OF living.
The minimum measure of protection
is, therefore, as President Roosevelt
said, The difference in the cost of pro-
duction in this country and abroad"
These protectiv schedules, this figured.
must carry with them a very ample
margin for safety. Il must make full
allowance for the possibility of hard
times abroad and good times here:
for dumping, and all other contingen-
cies. This done, it is truly protective;
and 1t is only So as 1t covers these
features and nothing more"
Many Schedules Excessive.
After referring to the fact that there
were some articles in which the tariff
was hardly high enough, the con.
clusion of the committee was stated
as follows:
'Confining ourselves 10 the protec.
tive principle, we find many schedules
some of them upon the prime
necessities Of life-returning the gov
ernment no revenue of consequence,
and yet under the claims of the pro.
tective theory, bearing a tariff schedule
mot merely equal to the difference
in the cost of production here and
abroad with all reasonable contin.
gencies allowed for-but decidedly in
excess of the total wage cost of pro.
duction in this country.
I'VE find some of these schedules
many times in excess of the difference
between the cost of production here
and abroad. We find that individuals
who are at the top, both in stock hold
ings and in management in some of
these same industries, declare private.
ly that these schedules are wrong, and
that the best interest of those indus
tries themselves, as well as the In.
terests OF the country at large, re-
quire adjustment at the earliest posi-.
blp moment ThaV CIV that non, ;s a.