The Washington times., 1909-07-29
THE PRESIDENT AND THE
TARIFF CONFEREES.

On the whole the court of last resort
in the tariff making affair has con
Quoted itself with admirable patience
and discretion. The court is made up
of the Republican conferees and Presi-
dent Taft. The latter might be term
ed an ex-offcio member; he has no
real relation to the business in hand
at this stage, and yet everybody knows
he has more concern and influence, by
far, than anybody else.
The President deliberately waited for
the bill to get to conference, with the
purpose of taking hold then with
firm hand and shaking out such a
measure as would meet MS views. There
viii be and is wide divergence of
opinion as to the wisdom of this
course. The Presidents critics-most
of them friendly critics. too-urge that
he should have made his influence felt
months ago for downward and efficient
revision of many individual schedules.
They insist that he ought TO have taken
a hand in many of the close tests of
strength; that he ought 20 have follow
ed the tactics so familiar under the
administration of Mr.. Roosevelt. That
would have dictated that wavering
statesmen be called to the White House
and urged to take one position or an
other. The influence and power Of the
Presidency would have been brought to
bear, and there is no doubt whatever
that many of the schedules would today
be very different, and very much more
satisfactory to Mr.. Taft himself, had
this course been followed.
But this is not Mr.. Taft's way Of
doing. He has sought to avoid the
charge that he was interfering with the
legislative branch. He las taken the
position that he would let Congress
make the bill. and then, when the time
came for the exercise Of the executive
preroagtive he would either sign or
veto.
It is too early as yet to Judge which
view is the correct one. The President
latterly has taken most prominent
part in the efforts to shape the legis-
lation, and he has discovered how very
difficult and complicated is the making
of q tariff. He has maintained the
best Of temper, and the conferees have
done the same. True, there have been
echoes outside the conference room of
some sharp language. and some differ
ences which strongly suggested &C
cusations and recriminations. But the
wonder is, not there have been some
small jars, but that there have not
been more and far more serious ones.
It is Just possible that there has been
too much good nature and politeness
about this consideration in conference.
A good many people opine that if the
President had submitted an ultimatum
10 the conferees, and announced that
every item in it was necessary to
avoid his veto, he would have secured
prompt acquiescence. Maybe that is
true, but the number OF people, in and
out Of Congress. who have indicated a
philosophic willingness to struggle
along without any tariff revision at all
has been such as to suggest that even
such a threat might have contributed
nothing 10 the getting Of actual results.
The difficulty about the various items
about which there has been so much
controversy in conference is that aside
from lumber, gloves, hosiery, and cot
ton goods, nobody knows what a given
adjustment would mean. If the duty
remains on hides, who gets the benefit
The Beef trust? or the farmer? or the
ranner2 or the shoe manufacturer
There are affirmative answers 20 all
those queries.
9ho viii benefit by free oil, the in
dependents or the Standard? Just as
hard to answer, and answered in just
as many ways.
Do the independent steel makers, or
the trust, want free iron ore? There
are answers both ways, and very few
members Of Congress assume TO actu-
ally know.
VIII free lumber, or reduced rates on
lumber, help the consumerf Again, no
body knows certainly; there are all
kinds Of answers.
It is pretty certain that nobody is
going to eat or wear lumber, iron ore.