The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1909-09-18

by Chairman Payne. and with his
own personal knowledge of all the
detail S of the tariff fight in Wash
ington still fresh in his mind, he die
tated to two stenogra pliers the speech
he delivered tonight and which repre-
sents statement on the ACCOMPLISH
ments and dement's of the Payne
bill, from an administration stand
point. more thorough in it's simple
appeal for an understanding By the
people than any document which has
heretofore been issued from any
source
The statement contained ony
enough figures TO make clear a poin,
which the president l1s dwet upon
for some time i'm his confidential
talks. that the measure Of the new
b.ll should be taken by the amount of
reductions made on articles of gem
eral consumption compared to the
increases on artice s lite used. The
president by means of table pre-
pared at his request by Mr.. Payne,
SHOW ed that tEe> tariff had been in
crt 3sed on articles whose con SUMPTION
N this country amounts yearly to
1851 100000. and that of this amount
$319.000,000 is represented by such
luxurieS as silks. wines. liquors. per-
fumes and pomador. leaving ball
aEce of $272,00OO00 representing in
creaSes on artic es not luxuries
Against this. the president set forth
with great emphasis the fact that the
tariff had been reduced on articles
mostly necessities whose consumption
in this country amounts annually to
IS, O00. OOO, 0O0
Woo'en Schedule Unsatisfactory.
AS to the wooden schedule. Mr..
Taft declared without hesitation or
that the Payne rates
We're too high. 1t was too early, how
ever, be asserted, that the wool and
wooden manufacturing interests j..
the republican party were So strong
that any attempt to change the Ding
ley rates would result in defeat for
the bill
Il am sorry that this is So" said
the president and wish it could have
been otherwise. 1t is the one i'm
portant defect in the bill
Stands for Tariff Revision.
President Taft said in part:
AS long ago as August, 1906, ] VEN
turcd to announce that / was tariff
revisionist, and thought that the time
had come for REIMBURSEMENT of the
schedules. l pointed out that it had
been ten years prior to that time that
the Dingley bill had been passed; that
great changes had taken place in the
conditions surrounding the productions
Of the farm the factory and the mine
and that under the theory of protection
in that time the rates imposed in the
Dingley bill in many instances might
have become excessive; that is, might
have been greater than the differences
between the cost of production abroad
and the cost of production at home
with a sufficient allowance for a rea-
sonable rate of profit to the American
producer l said the party was divid-
ed Op this issue, but in my judgment
the opinion of the party was crystal
izing and probably would result in the
near future in an effort to make such
revision. | pointed out the difficulty
there always was in revision OF the
tariff, due to the threatened disturb
ance Of industries to be affected and
the suspension of business, in a way
which made it unWiSe to have too
many revisions.
Position Challenged in 1907
I'm the summer of 1907. my position
on the tariff was challenged and
then entered into a somewhat fuller
discussion 1t was contended by the
stand patters' that rates beyond the
necessary measure of protection were
not Objectionable because behind the
tariff wall competition always reduced
the prices on things and thus saved
the consumer. But | pointed out IN
that speech what seems to me as true
today as it was then. that the danger
OF excessive rates was in the tempta-
ton they created to form monopolles
in the protected articles, and thus 10
take advantage of the excessive rate