The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-08-20

I come now to the question of the tariff, It's revision. and it's relation to the unlawful trusts. The Dingley tariff was adopted immediately after the cleo ton of Mr. Mckinley. Since that time we have passed through the Spanish war and have had a decade of prosperity and an increase and expansion of trade un- exampled in the history of this or any other country The republican principle of the protective tariff, is, as l under stand it, that through the customs reve- nue law a tariff should be collected on all imported products that compete with 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 reasonable profit to the American manufacturers The claim of protectionists and it has been abundantly justified in the past, Is that protection secures a high rate of wages ant. that the encouragement 1t gives to the home industry operating under the influence of an energetic competition be- tween American manufacturers, induces such improvement In the methods of man. ufacture and such economies as to reduce greatly the price for the benefit of the American public and makes it possible to reduce the tariffff without deprivlng the manufacturer of needed protection and a good profit.
 Free Trade Provisions Disastrous.
 The present business system of the country rests on the protective tariff and any attempt to change it to a free trade basis will certainly lead only to disaster
 It is the duty of the republican party however, to see to 1t that the tariff on imported articles does not exceed sub stantially the reasonably permanent dif- ferental between the cost of production in the foreign countries and that in the United States, and therefore when changes take place in the conditions of production likely to produce very large reduction in the cost of production in the United States. 1t Is time that sehed- ules be re-examned 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 i'm posed under the protective system is properly determined.
 Temptations to Monopoly.
 Whenever the tariff imposed Is largely in excess of the differential between the cost oe production In the two countries, then there Is formed at once a great temptation to monopolize the business of producing the particular product, and to take advantage of profit in the excessive tariff. This denies to the people alto gether the economies Of production that competition under protective tariff should develop.
 Other Subjects Omitted.
 There are other subjects I should like to dlseuss-Porto Rico, Cuba. the Philippines, Santo Domingo, the navy, the army and our foreign policy, the race question and the war amendments, and the order of the President dis missing one hundred and seventy men of the Twenty fifth infantry;
 Brownsville Disorder.
 The attitude of the President and the war department and the reasons for the action taken in respect to the Twenty-fifth infantry were sufficiently set forth in the communications by the President and by me. sent to Congress with the evidence then taken. Since that time the Senate committee on mil itary affairs has taken 3200 printed pages of evidence in the same matter, and the hearing is not concluded. un- til the hearing Is closed and the com mittee makes its report it would be premature for me, in view of my of- ficial relation to the matter, to express an opinion as to the effect of the Sen ate evidence on the issue which the President decided. The other topics must pass over for lack of time.
 Leadership of Roosevelt.
 cannot close without comment on