The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1909-09-18
TAFT DEFENDS PAYNE
Concluded From First Page.)

DDS not heretofore obtained. am
unable tonight to go into further de-
tail, I've simply stated the case as
il seemed to Tawney in his vote AMI
to me in my signing the BILL"
I'm the main congressional cam
paign of 1906 | ventured to announce
that Twas a tariff revisionist. and adj
ded that ii was time for reimbursement.
In 1907, my position was challenged
and | discussed the matter more fully,
pointed OFT the danger of excessive
tariff rates in the temptation they
created to form monopolies and in
crease prices, and stated that it was
wise at regular Intervals 10 examine
whether conditions respecting the
cost of production here had so chang
ed as to warrant reduction of the
tariff, making a lower rate truly pro.
tectiye of industry. The object OF the
revision advocated by me and prom.
ised in the Republican platform was
not to destroy, but to continue to pro-
tect where lower rates offered suffi-
cient protection against foreign com
petition.
Free Trader Objects.
THE free trader opposes any pro
tective rate because he thinks our
manufacturers. farmers and miners
ought to withstand the competition of
foreigners or else quit business
Hence. these who contend that the
Republican platform promised to re
duce prices by admitting foreign com
petition, are contending for free trade
not for anything they could infer from
the Republican platform
The house ways and means com
mittee spent year of investigation
in the tariff rates. The Payne bill
was reported, passed. later amended
in the senate by increasing the duty
in some things and decreasing it in
others. The difference between the
house and senate bills was very much
less than the newspapers represented
The reductions in the senate were
about equal to those in the house,
though they differed in character
Nothing is so difficult as a discussion
of the tariff, since the meaning of the
terms and calculations of percentages
is most difficult to understand. This
Is especially true when a change is
made in the method of assessing the
duties. These present an opportunity
for calculations often most mislead.
ing.
Increases and Decreases.
One way of stating what is done
is to point out that under the Dngley
law there were 2,040 dutiable items.
The Payne law leaves 1850 of these
items unchanged, There were de
creases in G54, and increases in 220,
Attempts have been amde to compare
the imports under the various schel-
ules, assuming that the changes anu
their Importance were in proportion
to the importations. Nothing eoull
be more unjust in the tariff. which al
so contains revenue provision
Some OF the tariff is made for tho
purpose of increasing the revenue BY
increasing the importations whica
pay duty. Other items are made fog
the purpose of reducing importations
and therefore the question of the i'm
portance Of the change in rate can,
not be determined by the amount OF
imports that take place In order to
determine the Importance of these
changes ii is much fairer to take the |
articles on which the duty is reduced |
and those on which the duty is in
and determine from statistics |
how lareg part the articles upon |
which the duties are reduced and how |
arge part of those upon which the
lutles are increased, play in the con |
sumption Of the country. Such a ia |
Die has been prepared by Payne. than
whom no one understands the SEIZED
lies better
Cites Several Schedules.
Taft cited the chemical. oil, paint,
'arthenware, metal lumber, and va
ious other schedules as illustrating
hat the decreases of duty were enact
d on articles most largely consumed
nd increases on articles of the same
chedules which have been consumed
n this country only to a comparative
Y very small extent Said he:
The amount to which metals and
heir manufactures enter into the con.
umption of the country is s1,24S,000,-
90. whereas the articles of the same
chedule on which there has been an
ncrease, enter into consumption to II
he extent of only S11, 100000. The
rtlcles OF lumber upon which there
as been decrease enter into the
consumption Of the country to the
xtent Oh s56Gp00y000, whereas ar