The Columbus journal. (Columbus, Neb.) 1874-1911, 1909-03-10
TAFT FAvoRs TARlFF REFORM.

TAFT FAvORS TANlFF REFORM.
William Howard TaA Is now pfesii-
dent of the United States. No man
who has filed the:.high dee.waS:bet-
ter equipped from experience to take
up the responsibilities Of the chief
magistrate Of the nation than Taft.
His training on the bench, in the
Philippines, q secretary Of war, and
adviser of Roosevelt has equipped him
for the responsible position he now
holds Taft is . big man, intellec-
tually Is well asphysically; he under
stands men and measures and has
surrounded himself With . cabinet
made up of able and broad.minded
men who have made the science of
good government . study.
The new president promises to con.
tinue the reform work commenced by
Roosevelt, and make the maintenance
and enforcement of these reforms .
most important feature Of his admins
tration." The president has made it
plain that he favors tariff reform-not
tariff tinkering. The people have
heard tariff reform discussed since the
campaign of 1884, the year the demo-
Gratis won their first national victory
since the election of james Buchan-
nan, but it was not until the second
administration of Cleveland, ten years
later, that, what is termed . tariff
reform measure was passed by con-
gress. The act was . lamentable fail
ure and cost the country . big price.
The country was enshrouded in COM
mercial gloom, and it was not until q
year after the election of Mckinley
that order was brought out of chaos.
The same conditions that existed in
1896 do not exist today. True, the
government is spending more than it
is receiving, but the new administra'
ton will not be compelled to solve the
problem of reviving confidence and
opening the mills and furnaces. The
is in a reasonably prosperous
The farmer is receiving
good prices for his products and nearly
ali manufacturing establishments are
in operation. A careful revision of
the tariff along non-partisan lines will
cause still greater activity in business.
The people demand that the tariff on
hides be reduced in order to make
shoes cheaper. More people buy shoes
than have hides for sale; more people
eat sugar than are engaged in the
sugar industry, and reduction of the
tariff on sugar, and reduction Of the
tariff on hides would doubtless swell
the revenues of the government. On
other articles, where the tariff is so
high that it practically makes the i'm.
portation of an article prohibitive and
builds up monopoly at home, there
should be q reduction.
Should it be impossible to secure
sufficient revenue by import duties, the
president says, new kinds of taxation
must be adopted" and recommends q
graduated inheritance tax. The only
income tax law that was ever enacted,
that stood the test of . judicial decis-
ion, was passed by a republican con-
gress and signed by . republican pres
ident, and q tax on incomes is one of
the possibilities if q revision of the
tariff fails to furnish sufficient revenue.
The sentiment on the tariff question
has undergone a change within the
past few years. The radicalism Of the
;wo old parties has disappeared, and
here is q tendency to treat the tariff
Is a business question and eliminate it
rom politics by the appointment Of .
ariff commission composed of men
rom both the republican and demo-
ratio parties.
ROOSEVELT.
Theodore Roosevelt retires from the
at the age of 30, having |
erved more than seven years. In one
aspect, at least, he is the greatest Of
IL our chief magistrates. He has
lone more than any of his predeces-
ors to expand and utilize the poten-
ialities of the presidential Office As
representative commission. from the