Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1909-05-07
LOWER RATEs OR vACE FIGHT
tOwan Tells COLES Il Real Reduc-
tiOn' Must = ads.
CONSUMER WILL I :
HIS SAY
Demand for Action from
People Who Pay t, s.
CHALLENGE TO Mr.. ALDR1CH
Baukeye Senator Insists that Man
Can Seek Revision of Schedules
Forty Wears Ola ana stiII
Be Republican.

WASHINGTON. May s.-Predicting that
failure to pass a tariff hill providing
lower duties on imports would provoke
political contest for another revision of the
tariff, Senator Cummins Of Iowa delivered
n notable speech I'm tho senate today.
The bill now before US " said Mr.. Cum
Minis. will not be accepted by those who
have favored revision NJ the tariff as
either fulflment Of the party pledge or
a settlement Of the controversy. If this
bill or anything substantially like it. be-
comes law. | predict that campaign for
lower duties will begin the moment the ex-
.raordinary session OF congress adjourns.
and viii continue with increasing zeal until
the Judgment entered IN the court of the
public conscience IS also entered in the
journals of congress
1T gives me no pleasure to utter this
prophecy. for I have earnestly hoped the
revision now in progress would end the
dispute for years TO come. and that the
business Of the country would enjoy the
peace and tranquility which is impossible
during the existence of movement to ma
terialiy change duties upon imports.
who insisted upon tariff revision? IT
was not the manufacturers It was not the
lumber man; Il was not the coal man; II
was not the iron and steel man; Il was
not the glass man: II was not the cotton
or the wooden man II was not the oil man.
During the whole agitation. / never heard
YOU never heard--a demand from those
people that the tariff must be revised
The demand came from those who be-
lieved that the duties upon many articles
and commodities were too high; from those
Ygho believed they were paying too much
for the things they had to buy, and that
excessive import duties, coupled with other
conditions, were enabling favored few 20
reap inordnate profits, and, therefore,
they wanted, as one Of the steps leading 10
the remedy which they sought. suostsn-
tiai reduction OF those duties II Is not
necessary vi this rromcnt to inquire how
many people so believed. or in what part
OF the country they lived
Rent Demand for Reduction.
"I have heard IL said over and over
since we began this discussion, not OF
course I'm public debate. but In private con-
versation. that there ar but few people
comparativeiy who were interested IN
reduction OF duties. l know that the
voices of those who are clamoring FOR an
Increase Of custom house taxation are more
distinctly heard in the corridors and com
mit.ee rooms, but there will come time
presently when the clamor of the millions
who want relief will sound like the roar
Of a thousand Niagaras from one ocean to
the other | have heard 1t said many times
that those people who were Insisting on
tariff revision were not familiar with the
subject, and had no opportunity to kno"
whether duties were too high or too low
.sThis dlstrust or skepticism of the Judg-
ment Of the common man is fundamental
mistake often made and always atoned Tor
in sack cloth and ashes. The people It Is
true, have not the advantage OF hearing
the soAcifir statements Of the administra-
tltion, of Interested beneficiaries and wit
nesses who have filled and overfilled the
capital during these months In which the
subject has been under consideration.
The people, he said, have seen the forces
of competition gradually weakened in the
larRer fields OF industry through concen-
tration, combinations, agreements and 'all
the other modern mechanism which an In
Kenious age has discovered
Tariff Ala to Combination.
Continuing. he said;
"rhey have seen competition shut out OF
,ome of these fields by the Intervention OF
excessive import duties. They have left
the Injustice OF the determinations which
the vast power of our transportation sys'
TENS can inflict They knew that these
things were wrong; and after bearing the
burden until II became intolerable, they
began 10 move with irresistible strength
elong the pathway of reform. They have
made some progress toward the regulation
of transportation and the repression OF cor
porate evils The last administration will
be remembered. so long as the history o.
our country rs preserved for its victories
in the struggle for rate regulation and
for corporate fair dealing,
'The work has just begun and l sin
cerely hope the present administration VII
be no less dignfied than the last one fo
its energy i'm dealing with these perplexinl
problems. One part. however of the pro
gram was assigned by common consent Il
this administration, and its conspcuou
leader assumed without hesitation the tasl
OF tariff revision The people know wha
they want with respect 20 revision just a
well as they know what they wanted witt
resuect to railways and TO Industrial com
blnationE. and their intelligent. educated
ratriotic instinct is just as certain Wit
respect to the tariff IL was with respec
TO transportation mOnopolies. II we fai
now 70 substantially reduce the duties ol
the in,Dortant schedules. we but pOstpon
the Justice due to the people. justic
which thanks 10 the genius OF our institu
tions. they have the power to enforce an
which in the fulness of time they will en-
forue."
passing TO the consideration of the lum
Der schedule he said II made little differ
ence whether there was duty or not 5
sar a. the preservation OF the forests
concerned with respect 20 the cost o
production. IN the greater part OF the Unite
ktates at least he said, the American ha
the advantage OF the Canadian. and dut
was only necessary to equaliEe disparit
IN rates OF transportation
Commenting the course OF his colleague