Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-08-20

nounced when the contract IS IN re-
straint of interstate trade as d crlIn-
iual offenSe against the United States
punishable by fine and Imprisonment
and a conspiracy which may be re-
strained by injunction in civil SUIT.
The other form is denounced, WITH
similar remedies against it, as Il mon
opoly of Interstate trade, and covers
the union of the conspiring companies
into one company which. by owning all
the plants. or nearly all the plants. en-
gagged in the manufacture of the prod
net and bv use of other devices, con-
trolls THE prices. The supreme court OF
the United States has not delned what
MONOPOLY under this section of the
anti-trus law Is.
The Protective Tariff.
Mr. Taft then took up the question OF
the tariff and said;
The Dingley tariff was adopted M
mediately after the election OF MI NC
Kinley. Since that time we nave Passeo
thru, the Spanish war and nave mao
decade of prosperity and an increase
and expansion of trade uneXampieo IN
the history of this or amy other couh-
try. The republican principle Oh 1hs
protective tariff is, as l understand II,
that thru the customs revenue Jaw
tariff should be collected on al I'M
ported products that compete WIN
American products, which will at least
equal a difference in the cost OF pro-
duction in this country and abroad
and that proper allowance should be
made in this difference for the reason
"a, American ma0ulaC-
turer, The claim of protecionists, ana
lit has been abundantly Just'hed III .ne
past, Is that protection secures hlsn
rate Of wages and that the encourage
ment it gives to the home industry OPP
Grating under the influence OF an eher-
getic competition between American
manufacturers, induces such improve
mant in the methods of manufacture
and such economics as to reduce great
Ily the price for the benefit OF the
American public and makes 1t posslple
to reduce the tariff without deprlVlhs
the manufacturer of needed protection
and a good profit"
He said the business system rests
on a protective tariff and that Tree
trade revision would be disastrous.
ut is the duty of the republican
party, however, to see to 1t that the
tariff on imported articles does not ex-
coed substantially the reasonably per-
manent differential between the cost OF
production In the foreign countries ana
that in the United States and therefore
when changes take place In the con-
ditions of production likely to produce
a very large reduction In the United
States. ii is time that schedules be re-
examined and if 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 de-
termined.'
..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 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 eco.
Monies of production that competition
under a protective tariff should de-
velop.
49,
manufacturing plants and The improve
ment in methods which have been
brought about in the last ten years in
this country. there is the strongest
reason for thinking that in many in
dustries the difference between the cost
of production in this country and
abroad has been reduced. This is an
opinion of mine formed a priori be-
civ, holt i,,
efficacy of the protective system ulti-
mately to cheaper the cost of produc-
ton. The opinion has been confirmed
by conversation with manufacturers
and others who knew something Of
what they speak.
Il 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 change has taken place; but my
general conclusion formed as above
finds striking support in the action of
the National Association of Manufac-
turers of the United States upon this
very question. A committee appointed
by that body for the purpose, invests
gated the question whether the. tariff
had not in respect to many articles by
a change in conditions become excess
sive.
This National Association. of Man
ufacturers is composed almost wholly
of protectionists, and think We may
safely say, therefore, of republicans.
He spoke of the report OF this asso-
citation and said that the significance
should bring the matter before con-
gress for investigation.