The Detroit times., 1909-07-19
FIGHT ON TARIFF
STARTED TOO LATE
Even If Taft Gets Oil, ORE, Coal and
Hides On Free List, Important
Schedules Can't Be Changed.
BY gibson GARDNER.

WASHINGTON. ID. O.. July Lit
is not necessary TO wait any longer
To tell whether the hnal enactiuert
OF congress Viii be "a revision OF the
tarin upward II VIII.
There is not remote possibility
that President Taft will veto the Al
drlch.Payne tariff act. His interven-
ton in Delalt of revision DOWNWARD
came too .ate. senator AIdrich s.
informed the president "a nodrs aiur
Tart announced that revision should
DC downward
II you don believe II, make poll
OF the senate. said Aidrcn. iAe
senators VINO have voted tor ~
schedules ~ TIE senate Oil Will not
approve the conference report emDoiy
ing free oil, coal, nides and iron ore.
The same sentiment is voiced by the
conferees
III Is up 10 President TAFT to Sigh
or veto the tlll substantially as con-
Sress has already framed II, sand Ne
uTich. Members OF the house think
some concessiC MS may be made on the
tour items named by TAFT, but they
Will not admit for a moment that the
tour can go TO the free list.
Senators La Toilette and Beverage
say the president is too late, even II
he gets oil, ore. coal and hides Oh the
free list The truth Is the really I'M
portant schedules are not opcr ~
change in conference.
The wool schedule was agreed 20 b,
both house and senate. The same IL
true OF the sugar schedule. There
was a time when a live intervention
by Taft would have compelled the
senate 10 WELD on these schedules. II
the president had expressed himself
In favor " revision downward when
Doiliver was fighting the woCien H.
dule. when Bristow was hghting tie
sugar schedule when La Toilette WAS
fighting the cotton and WOOL sche l.
ules. the result would have been cheat
er articles OF food and clothing. Many
senators stated that they would rave
followed the president as against Al
drich; that opportunity passed while
Taft was playing golf.
Revision To Be Upward.
A prominent progressive Republican
senator said; III is absolutely too late
now for President Taft to revision
downward Even If he should get al
four articles on the free list. the total
result OF congress- work Will be rev.s-
ion upward"
Champ Clark. leader OF the minor
ity. said: The articles selected ~
the president for the free list are all
articles which will benefit the trust
by being placed on the free list
THE steel trust will not quarrel
seriously with free ore; the oil trust
will not fuss much over free crude
SO long as they can have protection on
their manufactured products; the shoe
making trust will not quarrel with
free hides. nor will the mills OF New
England object seriously to free coal.
No. this is not the kind OF revision
downward likely TO make the rest OF
living cheaper for the average citizen
The essentials of the tariff law have
already been determined. This in
cludes rates, as well as the so-called
administrative features" of the law.
What remains are the purely formal
doings.
That which is happening now is a
little drama. entitled:
Horrible Fight for Revision Down
ward. Forty Rampant Fire Eating
House Insurgents Take the War Path
In Behalf OF Their Constituents. the
Poor Consumers. and Insist With All
Natures. That the Horrible lniqulty
of the Awful Aldrich Bill Shall We
Slashed and Cut Until the Necessities
of Everyday Existence are Reduced
Within the Reach OF the Lowest Grow
cling, Humblest Toiler."
It's All Stage Play.
Watch this melodrama It's going
TO be hot stuff. and when it's all over
the Jimtawnies OF congress will De
standing on the street corners yelling
themselves black in the face in an Ell
fort to convince the public that the
total consequence has been revision
downward"
But it's all stage play. Nine months
ago all these gentlemen had a fine and
dandy opportunity to work for gen
uine revision OF the tariff Any day in
any week up TO the present time. they
might have dropped in few words, or
votes. where they would have count
ed. But those sheets have been torn
from the calendar. That water has
gone under the bridge. In the vulgar