The Montgomery tribune. (Montgomery City, Mo.) 1892-1910, 1907-04-12
LOOKS LIKE SCARE
TALK OF plvERTiNo FOREIGN
BLOWS AT OUR TRADE.

49, wv
Struck, Then the United States
Should Be Prepared to Return
Blow for Blow.
OF direct significance to American
producers is the official outgiving as
| to the threatened tariff imbroglio with
France. The fact that the announce.
| ment was made through the Associat-
| ed Press sufficiently indicates its au.
! thority and origin. There Is no mis-.
taking the purport and the intent of
| the opening paragraph Of the state
ment:
Washington, March 6.-The execu.
tive branch of the government has
abandoned all hope of finding any con.
| cessions which 1t can offer the French
government to prevent the application
of the maximum tariff rates on Ameri.
can products not specifically exempted
therefrom by existing arrangements.
| The situation as to France is there.
fore similar to that as to Germany;
in neither case can this government
at present meet the demand for a re-
| ciprocity treaty as the price of mini
mum tariff rates for American goods
and products. Through their embas-
sizes at Washington the two countries
named have been made aware Of this
fact, and also that it remains for con-
gress to decide whether it cares to di-
vert these blows at the American ex-
port trade by approving reciprocity
treaties with France and Germany"
If it had been framed by the Ameri-
can Reciprocal Tariff league, this pre-
sentiment could hardly be more sug-
gestive Of an intention to tamper with
our protective tariff system under the
alleged stress of a necessity Ito divert
these blows at the American export
trade"
How are these blows to be averted?
Not by the executive branch Of the
government, for it has abandoned all
hope" we are told.
BY the action of congress, then. But
congress has adjourned and will not
meet again in regular session until
next December.
So congress cannot divert these
blows" inside Of ten months. That is,
unless the country car be sufficiently
frightened to demand that congress be
called together in extraordinary SEES
sion to meet and avert this fearful
danger. Was the official PRONUNCIATION
through the Associated Press pre-
pared with this end in view? Posi-
bly, SO.
If the scare produces the desired
effect, if the American people can be
thrown into a panic merely because
Germany and France have threatened
to at some time or other do something
awful to our export trade, unless they
are permitted OF force a downward
| revision Of the American tariff, then,
of course, there will be a general dem
o%nstration in behalf of prompt action
through an extra session of congress.
Is this the object of the scare procla-
nation Of March 6? Is there nothing
to be done that will save the situation
except the hasty summoning of con-
gress into extra session and the hur-
ried passage of a law authorizing the
executive branch of the government
to allow foreign nations to dictate
what the American tariff shall be?
Yes; there is something else that
can be done to divert these blows"
The executive branch can assert its
dignity and its courage by calmly
awaiting the progress of events; by
not lodging before a blow is struck;
by not %squealing until it is hurt; and
then, when the threatened blows shall
have been dealt, by taking prompt
measures Of defense and retaliation.
If the emergency Of actual tariff
discrimination shall present itself
next June or July, or at any other
time between now and the first Mon.
day in December-and we have not
the slightest idea that either the Ger.
man or the French bluffs will be car.
ried into effect before next December,
II at all-then congress can be called
into extra session.
To do what? Certainly not to clay
down" to Germany and France. To
strike back and hit hard by the adop,
ton of a high maximum tariff that
VIII make the exporters OF $500, 900 ,000
worth of German and French goods
SILVER in. their boots.
If there is to be an extra session OF
congress to deal with threatened
blows at the American export trade
that is what it should be called for
and not to surrender the American
tariff system at the dictation of any
one or more foreign nations.
But meanwhile, as we have said
there is an apparent Significance in
the Associated Press4oficialy pronun
ciamento thatSthe industrial producers
will do we'll to take note of. DirecI
tariff revision has been pestposed un
til 19g9Sitt is AAaid; but has indirect
revision also been s~postponed7
Revision through reciprocity con
tcc'elsSsftoniis'"4 'ttd6~ germany and Franc.
IL WoAld. he an easy form of.revision! II