The Ogden standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1902-1910, 1909-02-17
INDIAN AN
Is CHIEF
ORA TOR
Beveridge Makes Appeal
forNon-P artisanTa ariff
Commission

as chief orator caused the galleries to
FIJI up for the first time. Senator Bow
eridge said:
Within less than four months new
tariff Will have been made / hope
and believe 1t Will be the best tariff
that Congress ever has constructed.
1t will be historic In this: that it
Will be the last American tariff Gre
ated without the aid of a tariff COM
mission-a commission to get facts
and make classtications for Congress;
and not to fix duties. which Is the ex-
elusive business Of Congress
Immediate revision must not be de-
layed until tariff commission is cre-
ated and has made necessary investi-
cations and arranged scientific clas-
siflcationsrthat would require at
least two years and ought to take a
longer period. SO. for the last time,
we must have a tariff builded in the
old way But that this shall be the
last tariff thus builded, we soon mus.
provide @ commission OF tariff ex-
perts. The present emergency new
er must be faced again.
ed our tariffs without sufficient knowl-
edge Of the facts. without scientific
classification Of schedules. Both par
ties, whether framing a so-called rev.
enue tariff or a protective tariff. have
handled this intricate subject In 4
way which would have crippled any
business man or corporation handling
their enterprises In the same fashion.
Both parties have made the tariff eX-
clueively political: have waged cam
paiGns as to whether our tariff policy
should be on the protective or revenue
basis; work preparatory to revision
has been delayed until the people
have ordered immediate revision; and
rushed through without time or abil-
ity to get the facts without either the
technical knowledge OF scientific skill
to make claSsifioations.
Except upon the tariff. Congress
has seen tho wisdom of a commis-
eion of experts to examine all sorts
Of subjects and report to Congress.
Yet the tariff Is more difficult, intri'
cate and far-reaching than all other
present economic problems combined,
excepting only the problem of cur
rency and banking. In currency and
banking Congress has acknowledged
that 1t cannot wisely legislatc until
q commission shall have spent years
In studying our own chaos of financial
laws and the monetary systems OF 9th
er nations.
Congress created the Bureau ol
| Corporations for this purpose. After
years of thorough work by this bu
reau. no man In any party proposes tc
destroy 1t or stop It's labors. The same
is equally true of the Bureau of Labor
| Congress created the Industrial Com
mission to find out certain facts, The
report of this commission and those oI
| the Interstate Commerce Commission
| resulted in the law for the Depart
ment of Commerce and Labor, the Blu
reau of Corporations. the Elkins law
the rate law the immigration law anc
| most of the reform laws OF the last
six or seven years.
"The tariff commission of 1882 de
| yised and recommended the most I'm
portant features of our present tarlf
| administration. 1t originated the ap
| praiser's court: and recommended
most of the administrative laws of the
treasury department which hav'
since been adopted. Congress pro
yided for the administrative machin
ery designed by this tariff commits
sion.
But the tariff commission we asl
for now does not go so far as the tai
in commission Of 1882 went. We ar
now asking only commission OF eX
perts to find out facts and max
classiflcations. Congress Is to fix du
ties from these facts and adjust then
to these classiflcation5.
"a Dermanent tariff commission
inevitable. because committees OF cor
gross cannot do the work. These con
mittees attempt to find out the fnct
by holding hearings" AT thes
hearings" crowds of men represen
ing various industries desirous Of spt
cial rates of duty jam the committe
rooms. Each one of them Is careiuil
prepared upon his own particular bus
ness-of necessity he Is far better PR
pared than the whole committee pu
together. Very few Witnesses appeo
before the committee representing Tn
great body OF consumers.
These hearings are rushed hroug
with all possible speed, because th
countrys business necessarily wall
until the new tariff law is passed Al
, or these brief hearings. the commi
tee is supposed to digest such facts a
/ tho bulky volumes OF such testimon
! disclose. No equity court would dar
[ enter n decree In single cause wheI
the testimony took up even half t6
space Of single volume OF these COZ
mittee hearings, without first refe
ring such testimony 20 a master
chancery to have It digested and r
ported.
: "Having attempted to sift those vo
:. luminous masses of scattered tes'
: mony thus hastily taken, the commi
tee next goes to the even harder wol
of fixing rates of duty. Before hnai
fixing them. they are supposed to b
= come thoroughly acquainted with
the other elements, foreign and d
mestic. already mentioned whi'
should determine those duties. The T
sult OF all this is new tariff.
"Rut we who are demanding
American tariff commission are askir
only a commission which shall M
out and digest the facts and nal
scientiflc classiflcations and repo
both TO congress, SO that congress mi
have all this preparatory work dol
when congress goes TO Its legitima
work of fixing tariff duties and detc
mining tariff policies"