Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1907-02-06
IDEAL TARIFF BILL
CRITICS OF TsE PRESENT Law
HAVE A DUTY TO PERFORM.
Those Who Find So Much Fault With
the Tariff as u Is Should be Able
to Formulate improvements
That Viii Meet All Re-
quiremsnts.

In all sincerely and good faith. we
call for a tariff revision bill al the
hands of the progressive gentlemen
who are so strenuously insisting upon
immediate action by the dominant
party, lest through neglect thereof the
party that is in should be- displaced by
the party that is out If the exigency
is so pressing as all that. and If, as is
claimed. there is involved in the exist
ing tariff more of eNtortion and graft
than have been practiced in life in
surance since life insurance was in
vented. then il is up to the progress
ives to come forward forthwith with
the draft OF measure for the com
plete reform of this terrible tariff In
all conscience they ought not to stand
Back and wait for somebody else To
undertake the work. They. being the
ones who pick the flaws and find the
faults with the tariff as il is. are the
very ones to come promptly to the
foreground with plan of rectification.
They are the ones who know how bad
things now are; ergo. they are the
ones to remedy the condition.
Governor Cummins should by all
means step 10 the front He knows.
no man better, what a fearful ipstru-
ment of wrong and oppression the
Dingley tariff is. Naturally he should
be the head of a volunteer tariff com
mission. Governor Guild would of
course, be the vice chairman. Who
can speak so authoritatively regard
Ing the sufferings of the boot and shoe
millionaires of Massachusetts because
OF the atrocious tariff on hides? Mr..
Foss will naturally have controlling
voice in determining what To do i'm
the matters of free raw materials and
Canadian reciprocity. congressman
Mccall and Ames could help greatly.
for they are tremendously alive to the
pressing necessity for tariff reform.
There are others so numerous that
space is too short for mention In de-
tail who would be of signal usefulness
We do not include John Sharp Will
liams, Champ Clark and Bourke Coch-
ran in the category because of the fear
that their presence and cooperation
might prove somewhat embarrassing.
/ pphs NhNy hiltahA Dt NolSuilcu vi lilc
| quiet, for their help will be needed on
roll calls later on. The president of
| the Sugar trust, high authority on
| reduced sugar tariff rates, and the
| president of the Tobacco trust, always
| interested in lower tobacco duties
would make excellent members of the
| commission
These suggestions are purely tenta-
tive. Far be 1t from assuming TO die.
tate. But we do feel certain that we
offer "A valuable hint when we urge
that the volunteer tariff commission
| should take shape and activity at the
earliest possible moment The coun-
try Is looking to the reformers and
progressives for the ideal tariff bill
OF course, they can draft such a bill
| without the slightest difficulty. Know
ing, as they do. how utterly abomina-
BILE the present tariff is, 1t follows
necessarily that they know just how to
| improve 1t. All they have to do is to
utilize their proficiency as tariff max
ers and agree upon the bill to be sub
| mitted TO the house committee on
ways and means. No need to wait
for an extraordinary session of con
| gress to be called next spring Less
need to wait until 1909. The time TO
act is now. The volunteer commission
can be called together inside of three
days. and, once together, we don't
| suppose it would take more than three
hours for the experts to agree upon a
detailed list of the reductions to be
made in the Dingley schedules. So
easy 1T issfor those who have mastered
the tariff in all it's intricacies to de-
| eide as to what should be done.
Let the volunteer tariff commission
get together and get to work. The
| country wants this question OF altered
tariff rates settled. 1t wants a bill of
| particulars, bill that II can read, I'M
| derstand and admire. Delay is repre-.
hensible under existing conditions.
We might almost say inexcusable.
Bring on the ideal tariff reform bill.
Possibly it would strike congress so
| favorably that. instead Of ten months
| ordinarily devoted TO such matters. it
would pass both houses in ten min
utes! Who can tell? At all events.
let US have the bill right away.