The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1909-03-20
MANUFACTURER TALKS ON
THE REVISION OF TARIFF

we make but a lew CeheS
| watch.
..Finaliy it seems to me that tne'
whole scheme of attempting to so ad-
Just import duties that producers VIII
have lust the protection they need, ana
no more. is utterly impracticable, for
| two reasons.
"First: The cost of producing COM
| modities is constantly changing anu
| this cost often changes more In one
| country than in another, consequently
F, in order to fix duties so that producers
would have what protection they need
and more, the duties would have 10 De
changed constantly. A rate OF duly
that would afford adequate protection
at one time might be entirely lnsuHl-
Gent a year later, or even thirty days
later.
Second: There is no way to ad-
Just duties so that all articles VIII nave
| all the protection they need without
giving some articles more or less tnan
| they need One article of certain
size, material, weight or value, might
| need no protection, while another ar
ticle of the same size, material, weight,
or value, might need very high pro-
i lection. There is no way to classify
articles so that each will have the pro-
- nd no
"My own idea is that tariff duties
| should be adjusted that all industries
that ought to be protected will have
clearly at all times all the protection
they need, and that as President Roose-
Welt has suggested, the monopoly or
trust question should be dealt with as
| a separate and distinct issue. 1t is
always better to settle one question at
q time and not get issue confused. 1t
, seems evident to me that the trust or
monopoly question can not be settled
by any adjustment of the tariff, not
even by absolute free trade.
Judging by all experience, if the
tariff is materially reduced it will
cause hard times, lasting possibly for
several years; and if the tariff is not
materially reduced what is the use of
| reducing it at ALL
1T might, however, be a good idea
to put the making of a tariff bill into
the hands of a tariff commission, not
to take the tariff out of politics, but
to get the most scientific and salts
factory measure possible. If the mat
ter of making tariff bill were put
into the hands of a commission made
up of men who thoroughly believe in
protection, men with the necessary
knowledge and ability for such a task,
such as Robert P. Porter, for example,
manufacturers as well as the people
generally would feel confident that no
industry would be sacrificed that all
Industries deserving protection would
get ali the protection necessary, then
the delay in passing a tariff bill would
not cause injury to business as the
present uncertainty with respect to
what is going to be done about the
tariff is doing, for people are afraid
that if a tariff bill is passed on the
recommendation of men who have not
sufficiently studied conditions, and who
possibly are not we'll qualified to for
mulate a tariff bill any way, some or
even all industries may be left with
out sufficient protection.
Then, too, there is the considera-
ton that for various reasons there will
be strong pressure to hurry the tariff
bill through if one is to be passed at
the present extra session of congress.
and anything done in a hurry is likely
to be badly done. If a tariff commits
sion is appointed and it submits a bill
that is not satisfactory to congress or
the people there would be no obliga-
ton to make such bill a law"