Smyrna times., 1909-09-22
TAFT DEFENDS
The TARIFF BILL
Declares It is the Best the
People Have Ever Known.
SCORES The INSURGENTS

Bill Have Abandoned tbs Republican
Party-shows Revision Was Down
ward.
IN the most important utterance that
he has made since his occupancy OF
the White House, President William
ii. Taft, at WinOna, Mimi. in a sta.e
which is the hotbed of the "insur-
gent" movement within the Republi~
can party, defended the Payne tariff
bill as the best tariff measure eveI
passed by a Republican congress and
hence the best tariff bill the people
have ever known.
The president boldly asserted tha
the insurgents who voted against thu
bill had abandoned the Republican
party.
Was it tho duty e. he member OF
congress who believed that the bill
did not accomplish everything that i,
ought to accomplish, to vote against
it?' asked the president.
Il am here to justify those who an
swer this question in the negative.
am not here to defend those who voted
for the Payne bill, but to supper,
them"
To this statement the crowd in the
WinOna Opera House responded with
cheer which could be heard far down
the street. 1t was shouted by the ad
herents of Representative James A
Tawney, of this district, the chairman
of the house committee on appropria
tiOns, who has been on the defensive
ever since the adjournment of congress
because he did not vote with the othel
members of the delegation from Min
nesOta, both in the house and senatl
against the bill.
crosse, Wis, and accompanied him
this city, his home town. 1t had be5I
reported for some time that the presi
dent intended defending Mr. Tawne
for his party regularity, but there wer
none to predict that the presideG
would go so far as he did in charat
terizing the position taken by the ir
surgent senators and representatives
The president had met Senator L.
Toilette, of Wisconsin. one of the leaj
ers of the insurgent movement, at Mil
waukee and had greeted him quite cor
daily.
ITO make party government effec.
tive" said the president, the members
of that party should surrender theii
personal predictions of comparative
less importance. | am not here to
fcfc hn fD1A l..
and believed so intensely that it was
their duty to vote against the tariff
bill because it did not contain all they
thought it should"
Further along the president gave a
final word to the insurgents.
Il am glad to see that those who
voted against the bill still insist that
they are Republicans sad that they in
tend to keep up the fight for still lower
tariff rates within the party. That is
their right and in their view of things
is their duty"
President Taft's speech was a re-
markably p'"in spoken defense of the
Payne bill. i-e has been met with many
queries since the beginning of his trir
as to when he intended taking up the
subject of tie tariff.
The statement contained only
enough figures to make clear a point
which the president has dwelt upon
for some time in his confidential talks,
that the measure of the Cew bill should
be taken by the amount Of reductions
made on articles of general consump-
tion compared to the increases on ar
ticles little used. The president, by
means of a table pEgeise4ed at his re
quest by Mr.. Payne, showed that tho
tariff had been increased on articles
whose consumption in this country
amounts yearly to $651. 100000, ami
that of this amount s3TS, ,OOO, 900 is rep
resented by such luRuries as silks
wines, liquors, perfumes and pomadea
leaving a balance of $272 100000 rep
resenting increases on articles not
luxuries. Afainst this the president
set. with great emphasis in his deliv
cry, the fact that the tariff had been
reduced on articles, mostly necessities
whose consumption in this country
amounts annually to $5OOO,OOO,OOO.