Los Angeles herald., 1908-02-05
REPUBLICANS
DODGE TARIFF
LEGISLATION
NO HOPE FOR REVISION IN
PRESENT SESSION
GENERAL DEMAND MEETS WITH
REFUSAL
Chairman Payne and Speaker Cannon
Tell Prominent Business Inter-
ests That Issue Must Be
Sidetracked
BY Associated Press.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4.-The present
congress will not appoint a tariff COM
mission. Revision of the tariff may be
undertaken next winter in the short
session.
These announcements, in substance,
were made today by Chairman Payne
of the house committee on ways and
means, in the presence and with the
| tacit approval of Speaker Cannon, the
occasion being call upon those lead
ers by a tariff revision delegation from
/ various parts of the country compris-
| ing representatives of the biggest man
ufacturing and industrial concerns In
the United States and headed by James
! w. Van Cleave of st. Louise, president
of the National Association of Manu-
facturers; former Governor N. ].
Bachelor of New Hampshire, and H.
b. Miles of Racine, Wis, chairman of
the tariff committee of the National
| Association of Manufacturers.
The delegation spent more than an
hour presenting their case and listen
ing to replies by the two foremost Re-
publican leaders in the house which,
while they were cordially couched, were
practically a refusal of all that the
delegation had journeyed to Washing
ton to plead for.
Ask Reform
In introducing the subject of the
appointment of Tariff commission, in
line with the Beveridge bill recently
offered in the senate, Mr. Van Cleave
said the delegation was unanimous in
the belief that 1.-THE matter of the tariff
can be best handled by the application
OF a hard headed business BILL" which
would SO amend the tariff schedules as
to encourage the development of for
eign commerce by the producers of the
United States without at the same time
exposing their goods to the reactionary
effects of free trade.
lie said il was the fiS;fs belief ef the
vast interests represented by the MEM
bers of the delegation that a wholesome
reeissnn of f5e tariff coald be best got
by ? oi'n1 lss1aE tEoiptEdA u ascer-
tain the, costs of domestic production,
the relative profits Gerivable from home
and foreign sales and all the multi
tudinous facts appertaining to so COM
pick and important a subject.
I'VE want" be said, land we believe |
we can truthfully state to you that the |
whole country wants a sound and ra-
tional business consideration of the |
subject, and we believe after a long |
and earnest Study of the situation that /
the suggestion of the appointment of
tariff commission to stand between us /
ard you-to receive and weigh and |
formulate the mass of technical infor-
nation we have to offer, and to then
present it to congress In compact and
intelligent shape--embodies the best
means of arriving at that result"
Speakers Urge Necessity
ether speakers along these lines, each
of whom branched into concrete Illus
tire ton of his points by citing the con-
ditions existing in his particular bust
rc IS, were A. II. Saunders, representing
the Reciprocity league of Chicago; III.
70. Miles, chair man of the tariff COM
mittee of the National Association of
Manufacturers; N. j. Bachelor of
New Hampshire master of the Nation
al Grange; II p. Cohan, representing
the National i've Stock association
and the cattle raisers of Texas; G. A.
6 tephens of Moline, ILL.,, representing
the National Association of Agricul-
tural Implement Manufacturers; Mr.
Metcalf of the manufacturers of agri-
cultural impleme nts, and j. e. Wilder,
representing the Illinois Manufacturers
association, anc speaking for the sole
leather manufacturers of the country.
Speaker Cannon, interrupting Mr..
Metcalf, asked
do l understand that you favor on
The part of the United States an even
tariff with every other country in the
world, except that we shall enforce our
tdIliL against SUCH CQQllbliC o
as discriminate against our exports
thaa you favor a minimum and maxi
clum tariff with that application"
The answer was strongly affirmative.
Then" said the speaker, II am glad
20 hear your medicine, for that is pre-
eisely the KIM of tariff 1 believe in
myself"
Cannon Explains
In his general answer to the state
nents of the delegation Mr. Cannon
spoke in part az follows: LET me sug-
rest that should the house pass such q
eriff commission bill as you ask for, I
here is no certainty of what the SEN
ltt. would do. Three senators can, by
yirtue of their right to an unlimited l
of the floor, hold up any C
Measure for as long as two years with f
tut possibility of prevention. r
81 fear greatly that your tariff COM
mission would turn itself into debat- a
ng school, just as we do with ourselves T
lere in the house, and that there would
likely be a ma iority and minority re- C
,ort." C
The speaker here remarked that what h
roubled him far more than the nrnh- b
EN- of tariff revision VIZ Pro urasoll ell e
# "the period of liquida fl' ug Il
welve years "of such pr uercv 7a re D
world had ne, err sen in i' IiefrrY"
md he ventured that fine oor VI il
ould have the opportu regrn h
o it's status of six me ago ~ t t
nance would be hailed udt d %
~ every man within / rE 81 W
nestims 'ly worth mere is T II
evision hat the Skill eoud
rame.
Up to Conven Be s,
1.-THE national conven Hr cl1lm- b.
ed Speaker Cannon. s. le.ersine a,
hat the next congress r, lie p
arlff; for it goes witho ue L IL
he policies to be enunc eT hose ST
will be the governs di
az the two parties, and Dlma- d,
rats should be entrus ritr ina ia
over we know the tan @ wi ha re- ii
(Continu@d Pas NlHa.J Nv