Los Angeles herald., 1909-06-25
SIGNING
TARIFF BILLS
BY FREDERIC }. HAsKlN

proved or dlsapproved a tariff bill, and
he will consider the most bulky tariff
act ever signed or vetoed. 1t is be-
lieved that when it is completed it
will contain more words than any
other tariff law ever enacted-sur-
passing in length even the Wilson
German law itself. If Mr.. Taft signs
it he will be following the precedent
OF all but two OF his predecessors IN
the White House, those two being Ty-
ler and Cleveland. Tyler vetoed two
tariff bills and Cleveland allowed a
tariff measure to become law with
out his signature pocket veto"
When William Mckinley signed the
Dingley bill he put the finishing touch
to the law which was destined to raise
more revenue than any other tariff
law ever enacted. He was the only
president who gave his name to one
tariff law and his signature of approv
al to another, although there have
been several instances where men who
were afterward president had taken
an important part in the passage Of
tariff acts.
John Tyler was the first president to
veto a tariff bill, and his two vetoes
in succession stirred congress as 1t has
seldom been stirred. When the Har-
rison-Tyler administration came into
power the finances of the country were
in a very bad shape. The Clay COM
promise tariff had been in force for
a number of years, with its provisions
for an automatic reduction of duties
to a revenue basis-20 per cent. Con-
servative historians agree that the
Clay compromise tariff was not re-
sponsible for the hard times of 1887
and after, though some of them assert
that a different measure might have
prevented some of the evils of the
period. Harrison having died within
few weeks after his Inauguration,
Tyler assumed the presidency. Con-
gress was called into extra session to
meet the growing seriousness OF
treasury conditions. Its first duty
seemed to be to enact bill which
would prevent the final and most i'm
portant reductions of the Clay COM
promise act going into effect. Instead
of doing so, it first passed the distri-
button act, which provided for distri-
button among the states of funds re-
ceived from the sale of public lands, a
proviso being inserted, however, to
stop such distribution in the event
that the moneys were needed for pub
lie expenses or that the rates Of the
Clay compromise had to be increased.
There was a large treasury deficit
from month to month, but the Wings
were opposed to keeping, to meet cur
rent expenses, the money received from
the sale of public land. They wanted
1t distributed among the states, no
matter how much money the general
government had to borrow to meet its
obligations. They therefore repealed
the proviso OF the distribution act
which restricted the distribution to
times when the finances Of the govern
ment warranted it. The result was that
Tyler vetoed the whole bill rather than
permit the public land fund to be dis
tributed when 1t was SO much needed
by the treasury.
If congressional anger seethed when
the first ball came back vetoed it boiled
over when the second veto came back.
The veto message was referred to
special committee of which John
Quincy Adams, former president, was
chairman. This committee proceeded
to arraign Tyler in language that bor-
dered on violence. 1t did not score him
for his vetoes alone, but warmed up to
it's work and took him to task for u
hundred alleged sins and shortcomings.
1t went so far as to offer an amend
ment to the constitution giving con-
gress the power of passing over a veto
by a majority vote. The committee
charged him with "high crimes and
misdemeanors worthy of impeach-
ment" and congress adopted the re-
port. Tyler sent in protest, but this
was ignored. 1t is to be said for Tyler
that during these strenuous times he
never forgot the courtesy due the legis-
lative branch of the government. AS
soon as congress recovered from its
wrath 1t passed tariff bill without the
repeal Of the distribution act proviso
in it, Tyler signed It, That was the
"Whig tariff of 1872" pointed to by pro-
tectionists as model tariff law.
Perhaps the most anxious moments
United States tariff makers have ever
seen were in 1867, on March 4, just be-
fore the hands OF the senate clock
reached the hour of IL. Andrew john
son was president. A general bill re-
vising the tariff had been lost at the
preceding session, owing to a lack of
its managers. At this session 1t was
decided to take up wool and woolens
alone. The bill had a stormy time in
the two houses, and was finally passed
in the very last half day of the ses-
sion. No one was sure what johnson
would do. In fact, it was reported
that he was likely to veto the bill. 1t
been at work to secure a veto, and as
the moments passed without news from
the presidents room off the senate cor
ridor the situation was tense. At last,
within less than single minute of the
time when the bill would die by consti-
tutional limitation, Johnson attached
his signature and the measure became
a law. Only once since then has bill
enacted by congress had such a narrow
margin of time in which to become a
law
That was in the case of the tariff
act of 1888 The passage OF that bill
was secured under the most remarkable
rule that any legislative body has ever
seen, and which came from the fertile
brain OF Thomas B. Reed, then mem
ber of the house. The rule provided
that all rules affecting non-concurrence
could be suspended by a majority vote,
and, further, that.a motion to disagree
to the senate amendments could be put
under conditions that IL 1t carried the
disagreement would be ordered; IL 1t
failed, such failure should in nowse
affect the bill. This rule was roundly
denounced, but it saved the day. Con-
gress had completed the bill by the
morning of March 4. IF President
Arthur did not sign it that morning,
it was lost, and the hope of any change
would be gone, since on the hour when
the clock truck twelve the Republicans
would have to surrender control of the
house to the Democrats. Arthur at
tached the presidential approval to the
bill just in time to prevent its retire.
ment through constitutional limitation
to the limbo of unsuccessful measures
If William H. Taft should veto the
present measure it would be the first
time in the history of the nation that a
president has vetoed tariff law be-
cause of the schedules themselves. Ty-