Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-01-09
WANTS TO GET FACTS
Senator Beveridge Proposes a
Tariff Inquiry Commission.
WOULD. NOT FIX RATES
Its Duty Would Be to Collect In
formation.
TASK THAT WOULD TAKE YEARS
Revision Before the Presidential
Election Opposed-Desire to Avoid
the Unsettling Of Business.
TASK THAT WOULD TAKE YEARS

while think our tariff should be re-
vised to meet the new conditions that
have arisen and the changes that have oc-
CURED since our present tariff law was
enacted, eleven years ago. am enphat.
ically against any proposal to revise the
| tariff until after the presidential election,
| remarked Senator Beveridge to a Star re-
porter today.
He believes that the intervening time
should be properly and usefully spent.
He declared today that If a tariff
| investigating commission. such as pro-
vided for in the bill presented by
him the early part OF this week.
should get to work at once 1t would
be impossible to finish work for at least
a year.
The commission proposed by Senate,
Beverage. according to the terms of thu
bill. would be appointed by the Prest-
dent. It's duty would be to- investigat
| Immediately the cost and production OF al
articles covered by the tariff. the pricef
| paid to American labor in comparison
| with prices paid foreign labor. the cost Of
! raw material entering into the nanufac-
| ture of articles used. whether domestic or
| imported, and all other facts necessary in
| fixing duties on any article.
by the very terms of this biu,' SAID
| the Indiana senator. mo immediate re-
| vision is contemplated or Is possible. II
| the bill were to pass today 1t would taxi
| the commission at least a year, working
under the highest possible pressure, &c
| make the necessary investigations.
Sees No Reason for Opposition.
when the practical nature and limit
ed scope of my bill is understood by Con-
gress / do not believe that there will be
| any objection to it. I cannot conceive
how any man can take objection to hav-
ing the facts upon which our tariff must
| be revised carefully ascertained and laid
before Congress for its information.
Would it not seem that any person who
opposes such comnronsense and practi-
cal plan Is opposed to having the facts
themselves discussed and made known?
gress would earnestly object to a COM
mission to fix duties and tbs perform
the legislative functions Of Congress-; but
cannot understand how any man in or
| facts Investigated by an impartial and
responsible commission of experts and the
| result of those Investigations aid before
Congress for its Information.
ANY general revision Of the .arin of
any kind more or less unsettles business:
but tariff enacted just as the country is .
entering into a presidential campaign
would prolong that business disturbance
!
enacted such a tariff prevailed in the cleo
ton the country would know that that
tariff would stand for at least q short
term OF years; but II the opposing party
succeeded in a presidential election the
country would be certain Of another gen.
eral tariff upheaval. Thus, any tarirf re-
vision until after the presidential election
would seriously check business for an in
tolerable period of time.
Should Get Ready for Revision.
What we should do. and what this bill
| proposes. Is to get ready for tariff legisla-
| ton Immediately after the next presiden-
| tial election and have the facts ascer-
| tanned and prepared for Congress to pro-
coed with its work when it again assem-
| bles. Another thing to which I call very
particular attention Is that the work o:
| this commission does not prevent the ap-
propriate committees Of the House anf
Senate from having hearings and making
any additional Investigations on their owr
account. Indeed, the report of this COM
mission Of tariff experts would be an in.
dispensable aid to any hearings that eithe'
| it wise to hold.
"My bill does not authorize the commits.
| sion to fix any tariff rates or even to rec.
ommend any tariff rates or in any way
powers whatever. The commission pro-
| vided for by this bill simply finds the facts
| which Congress, for want Of time. can
| not ascertain. 1t Is conceded by tariff
students that the present German tariff
| Is the most scientific, carefully devised
| customs law in the world. unless we ex-
cept perhaps that of Japan. Yet it tool
| the German commission of thirty-two tar
III experts. working for six years, to get
| the facts ready upon which the Germa;
reichstag devised and enacted the presen
German customs tariff. The Japanese tar.
III was constructed in the same way.
Demand for a Commission.
THE demand for a tariff commission
| appears to me to be overwhelming, and /
| have given this subject careful attention
| The National Grange, with a membershi !
| Of several hundred thousand farmers; the
National Manufacturers Association, will
members; the Cattle Breeders and Stock
Raisers' associations and similar organ
izations have made 1t known to me tina
they heartily insist upon a tariff commits
sion as the only reasonable and practica
way of intelligently revising the tariff
But. aside from the general demand for
such legislation, a tariff commission is
demanded by the facts Of the situation.
There are nearly four thousand items
included in about six hundred paragraphs,
embraced in fourteen tariff schedules.
No matter how able. Industrious and ex-
perienced the appropriate committees of
the House and Senate which have to do
with the framing OF our tariff may be
land no one has a higher admiration for
those committees than / have), it appears
to me almost a physical impossibility for
them to find out the facts concerning each
of these items, then adjust duties based