Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-08-22
|B[ANE IS ON TARIFF
Jacob A. schiff Enumerates
Reason For Expected Trade
Depression
SETBACK NOT ON ROOSEVELT
Financier Says it Is Idle and Unjust
to Attribute Situation to President
Tariff Reform Needed to Adjust sit.
uation to Present conditions-Buai-
ness Practices Wrong.

| Bar Harbor, Me-, Aug. 22.-Jacob Fl.
Schiff of the International banking
house of Kuhn, Loeb & Co, who is In
Bar Harbor, ON being asked to ex-
| press his views upon the existing imam
cial situation, made this statement:
TO blame the federal administra.-
ton for the difficulties in which we
find ourselves is both thoughtless and
| unjust Even If the excuses Whlch
the great prosperity Of recent years .aas
| had in Its wake had been permitted 10
continue unchecked before long sit
| uation would have developed probably
far more difficult and serious than tine
crisis thru which we are now passing.
| In the first instance, IT. is result OF
| the tremendous railroad, Industrial ana
| commercial development of the last ten
| years. which has brought about caplta4
requirements largely in excess OF inc
ability of the country to supply. Eu-
rope, finding itself in a similar position
| to the United States has been unable 10
extend us any considerable credit or to
| place al our disposal surplus funds such
| as has been it's wont to invest so large
Ily in American securities in times OF
depression
Moreover, to great extent 1t has
been overlooked that the Russian-Jap-
anese war and the San Francisco
earthquakes have destroyed an enor-
nous amount of wealth, which sooner
or later had to make itself felt. Nor
has the fact that both Japan and China
have now entered into competition for
the surplus capital Of the world been
given sufficient attention.
mo other remedy for this state of
affairs appears to be possible thaa at
| least a temporary reduction in our &C
| tivites until the country's capital ana
| credit facilities again have reached a
point sufficient for its volume of bust
ness.
Il believe railroad managers in gem
eral have already recognized the n'sces-
sity for curtailment, butmanufa'rtur-
ers and merchants appear to be behind
in this The sooner these two r.cog-
nize the imprudence of continuing at
the present pace the more certain they
will save themselves from loss ana the
present unsatisfactory state Of aff:lirs.P
Asked whether he thought the at
tilude of the federal administration
toward corporations was justified and
had anything to do with present con-
ditions, Mr.. Schiff said:
President Roosevelt is certainly not
to blame for the many abuses in cor
porate management which have devel-
oped and which he has the courage to
| lay bare. AT present, it is true, we
have to suffer in consequence of the
presidents uncompromising attitude,
but posterity is certain to profit by it.
1t is regrettable. however, that no eff
fort has thus far been made on the
part of the government to reach an I'M
Outstanding with the corporations thru
which the necessity for these hs.rass-
ing prosecutions may cease.
THE abuses and illegal acts which
it is now sought to punish were COM
mitted in years gone by and resulted
as much from business practices which
at the time were very general as from
the intention to do wrong. To inflict
extreme punishment now for wrong
practices committed from two to five
years ago, looks too much like origin
ating in other motives than in the de-
sire to safeguard the future. which
should be, and probably is, thu. real
purpose
ut would no doubt tend toward a
establishment of better conditions If
prosecutions were to cease with the I'M
Outstanding that violations of the law,
on the part of the corporations will
hereafter be relentlessly punished, both
as far as the corporation and its ex-
ecutive officers are concerned; that es-
tablished concerns which for years have
carried on their business unmOlested
shall not now be sought to be dis
solved. but that hereafter no tncorpor-
ations will be permitted which, in the
opinion of the department of justice,
would even tend toward a restraint
of trade and commerce.
Nothing, however, will so thorough
ly prevent the building UP of great
|monopolies and the accumulation Of the
vast fortunes the existence of which is
at the bottom of the prevailing social
unrest than sound and sensible re-
vision of the tariff 1t is right that
American industry and the American
workingrnan be protected against I'M
due foreign competition, but it cannot
be right to compel the American con-
sumner to pay vast profit to the man.
ufacturer where the latter urder a
much lower tariff would be able to
maintain himself Herein lies the
principal remedy which need be APP
Piled if the causes which have brought
about present conditions are to be per-
manently eradicated."
His Aqueous Humor.
"How brightly Venus shines tonight"
Said tho sweet eir1 Graduate "Do Won