The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1909-07-31
What the People VIII Pay Less
and More OT---President
Taft's Fight For Down.
ward Revision.
HISTORY OF THE BILL.

\ On the statute DOCKS the new
tariff measure will be officially
known as the Payne bill. taking its
name from the chairman of the house
committee of ways and means, the
non. serene Il. Payne of New York,
who also had part i'm framing the
Mckinley and Dingley acts. Actually
1t should perhaps be called the Payne
Aldrich bill, as the chairman of the
senate finance committee has had
quite as much to do with debating it's
final provisions as Mr.. Payne On this
line of reasoning, however, there are
| those who insist that 1t should be
called the Taft bill, as the hand of
the president has been seen in all
| the moves that have shaped It from
the days Of the Republican national
convention that nominated him and
| adopted plank for tariff revision up
until the hour of the final fight in
| conference committee. when the big
man in the White House made his
| historic fight for free raw materials
and for carrying out the promises of
the party.
II Is the first time there has been
change of the tariff laws in twelve
years, the Dingley act having gone
into effect in 1897. The inception of
that law was strikingly like that of
the present. In each case 1t was Ell.
acted by an extra session of con.
gress, called as the first act of an in.
coming administration. More note.
worthy still, each of these extra ses.
sions was called to meet on March
Is, the first one having been issued
by William Mckinley of Ohio, the
last by William Howard Taft of Ohio.
The agitation within the Republi-
can party for a revision of the Ding
ley act has gone on from the days of
the Iowa idea" until at last it culmi.
mated in the plank in the last Repub-
lican platform beginning:
"The Republican party declares un.
equivocally for revision of the tar
III by special session of congress
Immediately following the inaugura.
ton Of the next president"
In his campaign on that platform
Mr.. Taft construed this plank as
meaning revision downward, a point
that he insisted on in his speeches
and finally clinched in his inaugural
address when he said that conditions
had so changed relative to the Ding
ley act that they Twill permit the re-
duction Of rates in certain schedules
and will require the advancement of
few, II any" That meant revision
downward, which was recognized sub
stantially by the house bill, but was
changed to actual revision upward by
the senate bill. It was at this point
that the president quietly but firmly
injected himself into the fight in the
conference between the two houses,
the house standing behind him and
forcing the senate to yield. The
Payne bill in its present form is the
result
The first tariff bill enacted in the
United States was that of the First
congress. The opening section of
that bill stated that, in addition to
securing money for the support of the
government, the tariff was adopted
for "the encouragement and protec-
tion of manufactures" From that
time political parties of national
scope have clashed on the issue of
the tariff as to whether or not II
should be more than "for revenue
only"
The expenses of the war of 1912
necessitated material increase in
the tariff, but an adjustment occurred
two years after the close of the war
through an act prepared by Henry
Clay.
A horizontal reduction of the tariff
took place in 1888. Twelve years
later, under Polk's administration, a
bill drafted by Robert j. Walker sec.
retary of the treasury was adopted,
standing mildly for the protective
policy. This bill lasted until 1857,
when reduction to 2Ok per cent oc.
Cured on the average duties. Act
ually free trade system, this low
tariff proved adequate for all govern.
ment needs until the outbreak of the
civil war, when an increased income
was necessitated.
The Morrill, act of 1861 increased
duties about one'third, and The tar
was extended to include tea, coffee
and sugar. Internal revenue was col.
lected. beginning in 1862. and two
years later the duties were raised sc
per cent for a period of ninety days.
After a succession of tariff meas.
ures to the wars close cessation Of
this form of legislative activity oc-
CURED. But in 1870 and 1872 reduc-
tions were made down the list, some
of which were restored in 1874, max
ing the average duty 38h per cent.
A tariff commission was appointed in
1882 which prepared bill that was
put on the statute books, lasting six
years. II was at this time that James
G. Blaine took most active part IN
tariff discussions. II was in the early
eighties that William r. Morrison OF
Illinois, Democratic chairman of ways
and means, prepared his well known
horizontal reduction of 20 per cent on
all taxed products, which was de-
feated.
During cieyeland's first administra.