The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-06-20
Come, civil night, Thou sober-suited matron, all in black. Romeo and Juliet
MT. Taft'S Tariff Plank

MT. TaltS Tdfl1 PldnK
 The new Taft republican platform declares unequivocally for revision of the tariff If the party that has as its house leaders Payne, Dalzell and Cannon is so hungry for revision why has it delayed it throughout the 12 long years in which it has been puis- sant to the utmost extent?
 Just at present it is telling the peo- pie that the way to get rid of the Ding ley shelter of monopolies is to elect Taft and republican House, for, so its leaders say, a democratic House and a republican Senate would not re- wise the tariff As a matter of fact democratic House would render any revision of Dingley rates easy and feasible. It would promote revision and it would cast the responsibility on the Senate, which is what the repub- uCdHS uTedu. 1HelI diSunSuJ pIoFcS too much.
 In order that the reader may see what kind of revision the republicans favor we give below their platform plan, as follows:
 "In all tariff legislation the true prin- ciple of protection is best maintained by the imposition of such duties will equal the difference between the cost of pro duction at home and abroad together with reasonable profit to American in dustries, and the benefits that follow are best secured by the establishment of maximum and minimum rates to be ad- ministered by the President under limi- tations fixed in the law, the maximum to be available to meet determinations by foreign countries against American goods entering their market, and the minimum to represent the normal measure of pro- tection at home; the aim and purpose of the republican policy being not only to preserve without excessive duties that curity against foreign competition to which American manufacturers, farmers
 
 maintain the high standard of living of the wage-earners of this country, who are the most direct benefciares of the protective system. Between the United States and the Philippines we believe in q free interchange of products with such limitations as to sugar and tobacco as will avoid injury to domestic interests.
 If the rule proposed were faithfully pnd honestly applied there would be few duties left. For example, take an article that costs to produce $1 abroad and S120 at home. Allow 20 per cent as a fair profit to the American manu- facturer, and parity in cost would be established at once, and no duty would be imposed under the terms of the republican platform. But only the ma rines will believe that the republican plank would be applied as it reads, for it was written to catch votes only.
 The proposed maximum-and-minim rates plan would be confusing, and it would keep manufacturers in state of uncertainty, but still it is better anything is better-than Dingley mo- nopoly rates.
 Even the last clause of the plank is objectionable. It offers the Filipinos husks only, for sugar and tobacco are among their large exports. Hemp is an export, but the Filipinos have a monopoly in the production of that article, and the tariff cuts no figure in it the one way or the other The only relief to them that is possible consists in free trade in sugar and tobacco, and the beet sugar growers of Michigan and Colorado, and the tobacco growers from Kentucky to Connecticut object The Philippine offer is, however, lik all the rest of the plank-deceptive in sincere and untrustworthy.