Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1907-04-06
IlLtil In DEMAND
INFORMATION WANTED AS TO
TIE TARIFF SITUATION.
II Our Government contempiates En-
Iarane the Channels of Foreign
| Competition the Producers of the
Omitted States Have Right to Know
II.

Now that congress has adjourned
and a new hand is at the helm of the
treasury department, perhaps the
state department will deem it no
longer incompatible with the public
interest to make known the contents
of the report of the commission sent
to Germany to inquire concerning mat
tiers bearing upon the tariff situation
between that country and the United
States Some two weeks ago reSo-
luton asking for information on this
subject was under consideration by
thA house committee on ways and
means, but the committee found itself
unable to proceed further with the
question because of the unwillingness
of the secretary of state to supply
any details of the report in question.
This is an old habit of our state de-
partment, this Withholding of facts of
vital import to producing interests.
The same policy of secrecy was OBJ
served seven years ago when the Kas-
son treaties were} negotiated For
several months our government re-
fused TO furnish any particulars as to
tho tariff reductions provided for in
those drafts. Foreign governments,
however, we're not so secrei:ve. Infor-
nation as to the provisions of the pro-
posed French treaty was quite free
~ published in Paris and found its
way to the United States by cable, so
that by the time the veil of secrecy had
been removed in Washington the coun-
try was pretty will advised as to the
extent to which Mr. Kasson had con-
scented to assassinate certain OF our
domestic industries in order to get
upon reciprocity" basis with
France. 1t might be remarked, as a
fact in history, that no French indus
try was threatened with assassina-
ton.
It is to be hoped that. with no con-
gress In session to ask inconvenient
questions or make unpleasant COM
ment. and with a treasury department.
supposed to be favorable to what is
called "a broader trade policy"-that
is, larger competition from foreign
mills and factories-our state depart
public interest to tell American pro-
ducers what they have to expect in
tha, matter of concessions that are cal
ouIated to give TO German exporters
bigger slice of the American market.
If. for example, it shall be decided to
so relax or modify our customs regu-
latious as to make it easier for the
20 Inc moi
goods and thereby escape the pay
ment OF the tariff duties provided by
Law. that fact would be of great inter
est TO large body of industrialists
who have heretofore found it extreme
" difficult to hold the domestic mar
ket against undervalued 'conSignments
from Germany, and who are deeply
concerned in knowing how much the
gate TO differentiation is going to be
Wldened as the result of the new
dicker.
It is not by any means impossible
that q readjustment of the matter OK
PRODUCTION costa reduction alike "a
The volume and rate Of wages paid
would be necessitated. Such would
unquestionably prove to be the case in
many lines OF domestic production il
greater latitude for differentiation
should be granted in the shape Of
greater laxity on the part OF our APP
praising officials in the determination
Of values of imports. 1t is not, of
course. to be supposed that the new
secretary of the treasury would know
ingly strike such blow at domestic
production, employment and wage
paying. But there are, presumably,
some things which he does not know
as well as they are known by those
more intimately related to the bust
ness of manufacturing goods and EN-
plOying labor and he might make a
mistake in his judgment as to what
could be done in the way of relaxation
and laxity of customs collections.
He may not know. for example, that
even under the strictest of methods
differentiation is a giant evil most
that the aim should be not to increase
but to lessen the fraud. In order that
he may learn these and other things
closely related to the general subject
it would seem that the secretary of
The treasury Shout fbe among the first
TO solicit from the secretary of state
prompt and full publicity of the re-
port of the German tariff commission.
Certainly the American people have a
right to that information at the earli-
est possible moment