The morning journal-courier., 1908-02-05
Informs Delegation Seeking a Non Partisan Commission That No Action Will
 be Taken.
PANIC PERIOD TOO REGENT
Undiscouraged, Delegation Will Ask President for Special Message Demanding its Ap-
 pointmcnt.

These announcements in substance were, made to-day 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 CTS by a tariff revision delegation com prising representatives of many of the biggest manufacturing and industrial concerns in the United States ana headed by James w Van Cleave of St. Louis, president of the National Association of Manufacturers, and for mer Governor Bltchelder of New Hampshire,
 The delegation to-day called at the White House and paid thelr respects to the president Later they went to the capitol and were received in the ways and means room by Speaker Can non and Chairman Payne There they spent more than ain hour, presenting their case and listening to replies by the foremost republican leaders In the house which. while they were cordi- ally couched, were practically refusal of all that the delegation had journey cd to Washington to plead for,
 In introducing the subject of the ap- polntment of a tarifr commission, in line with the Beveridgc bill recently offered in the senate, Mrs Van Cleave said the delegation were unanimous in the belief that the matter of the tariff can be best handled by the ap- plication of a hard headed business bill" which would so amend the tariff schedules as to encourage the devel- opment of foreign commerce by the producers of the United states witn- out at the same time exposing theu goods to the relctionary effects of free trade
 Speaker Cannon asked; "Do under. stand that you favor on the part of tho United states an even tariff with ev- cry other country in the world, except that we shall enforce our maximum tariff against such countries as dis, eliminate against ou- exportsr-that you favor a minimum and maximum tariff, with that application?"
 The answer was strongly affirma. tive.
 Then" said the speaker. T am glad to hear your medicine, for that is pre-. eisely the kind of tariff l believe in myself"
 In his general answer 10 the state. ments of the delegation, MT. Cannon spoke in part as follows;
 You say the tariff ought to be re. vised. You have virtually said that it ought to have been revised. the day is was enactedtha it was wrong ir the beginning Well, it was not perfect and it is not perfect now Protection gentlemen it with God, not with hu. manity. and as our ninety millions o' people constitute sovereignty in this country and can exercise that sover eighty at the ballot box, they divide n, into majority and a minority. SD tha when you come to enact legislation some party has always been and al ways will be at least for genera tion and sometimes for longer respon sible for that legislation and the othe party will occupy the standpoint O criticism. That is as 1t should be. AnC now that the underhrush is cleare, away, as t were, let's got to the point Let me suggest that should the hous, pass such tariff commission bin a you ask for, there is no certainty Q what the senate would do In the sen ate there is no previous question | There three senators can, hy virtue Q their right to an unlimited occupanc, of the floor. hold up any measure fo as long as two years without possibilit, of prevention.
 We once, l remember had a tariff commission. And l am told that fl report was so voluminous that it wa never even read. It is one thing [ make suggestions into law and take tn consequences If you make a mistake l fear greatly that your tariff commits sion would turn itself into a debatln school just as we do with ourselve here in the house, and that there woul likely he majority and a minority re port. l never yet ran against an econ omic question of that sort which co,ll not have much said for it on eithe side"
 The speaker here remarked ths
 what troubled him far more than ta-
 if revision was the presence of "th
 period of liquidation" following ttwely
 years ''of such prosperity as the worl
 had not seen in all it's history" an
 he ventured that If the country couI
 have the opportunity to return to i,
 state of six months ago that cbanc
 would he hailed and embraced by ever
 man within his hearing as of inestIm,
 bly more worth than any tariff rev
 sion that the skill of man could fram
 ''The national conventions" continu, Speaker Cannon. may determine thi
 the next coingress shall revise the tar if, for it goes without saving that il ; policies to he enunclateG hy these col , ventions will be the policies gevernif ] the two parties. and if the democra
 should he entrusted with power. V
 know the tariff would be revised, ar
 if the republicans remain in the m;
 jOrity. We know the power 10 revi
 will he in the next congress veste
 But let me ask you frankly: In tn present time of financia depression al , liquidation, how far. in the hands of
 partisan commission would tariff il
 vestisation progress toward accor ! plishment?
 The representatives of the trad , bodies will tomorrow call upon Pres
 dent Roosevelt and endeavor to pc suade him. to send 3 special messal
 to congress on the subject