New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1907-07-27
WDYCTING TWO NATIONS.

The American Protective Tariff Leagues
latest manifesto against the German reciprocity
treaty will hardly fire the popular heart. Nor
is it likely TO force an annulment by Congress
of that mutually helpful and advantageous con
tract. The Tariff League holds the agreement
to be usurpatory and contrary to law, because
it subverts by construction the intention Of
the customs administration act of June 10, 1890,
as amended by Section b of the Dingley tariff
act. Yet such contention is itself Of the badly
constructive order. since Congress simply laid
down certain principles u be followed in
asccrtaining the valuations on which to assess
duties. and left those principles to be applied
adminstratively by the Treasury Department.
The Treasury Department drew up regulations
to govern its agents and i'll its discretion has
now chosen to modify them. 1t is customary 10
assume the good faith of officials sworn to
support the Constitution and enforce the laws
If the Treasury Department, the State Depart
ment and the Department OF Justice agree that
certain regulations carry out the intent of the
law, il is wise to wait until the courts have
passed adversely upon them before condemninS
them as illegal, arbitrary and conceived in de
liberate bad faith. They should not he de-
nounced priOri as an underhand effort to
annuI the law and defeat the will Of the legls-
lative department.
1t is entirely cratutous, moreover, to assert
that the new regulations do defeat the lnten-
ton of the legislative branch. Congress has full
authority TO prescribe rates of duty and to in
struct the Treasury Department to make APP
praisements of foreign goods In such n manner
that the duty collected Will represent the pre-
scribed percentage of real value. Duties are
To be collected theoretically on fair and honest
valuations. II is a fraud on the revenues and
an injustice to the protected producer when
dutiable commodities are undervalued. But it
Is equally unjust to the purchaser and the con
sumner here if goods imported are overvalUcd.
Congress having fixed 4 rate, that rate should
not be raised or lowered by excessive or insult
ficent valuations. The Treasury Department
is entitled at any time to modify its appraSe-
ment methods So as to do more exact justice
all round. 1t must exercise some discretion and
enjoy some latitude; and it is Uncomfortable
outside a Protective Tariff League meeting
that the whole machinery of the customs service
should De employed by any Secretary Of the
Treasury 70 defraud the revenues and injure
American producers. solely to give some foreign
manufacturer al arbitrary and Illegal profit.
Burke said that ii was impractcable 10 in
diet nation. But the American Protective
Tariff League is not ut all chary about in
dieting two governments and two nations. The
State aud Treasury departments have recog-
nized in the new German agreement tYe comfy
and ACCESSIBILITY of consulting German boards
of trade-ofticial or semi-otficial bOdies-in
making up primG facjc statements Of value.
But the league seems 20 hold that these boards
are not TO be trusted, and that our own spe-
cia agents sent abroad and accredited 10 the
German government are certain to be. willingly
or mwilnGly. duped IN appraising merchandise
for export. II says that the modified regula-
tons will result in reduction Of 10 TO -
''por cent in the al valorem duties assessed on
German products" If the league really he
lieves that the duties hitherto collected on Ger
man products were sacroSanct and absolutely
normal. and that under the new regulations
duties are unlawfuIly and arbitrarily dimin-
ished. its course ought to h. clear. Certain Of
its officers have already announced that no
one connected with the present administra-
ton can ever hope for further political prefer
ment. But future punishment IS not enough.
II ought TO set to work to check the crimes Of
all the cOnspirators concerned by impeachiug
them. beginning with President Roosevelt, Sec
rotary Root and Secretary CoTtelyou and run
ming down the whole roll Of the customs ser