The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1909-01-02
CONGRESS WILL Be
ON TAFT'S NECK
IN FIGHT
SOME sTANDPATTERs ARE PRES
EMIT TO HANDLE TARIFF REviS-
iON-THeY DO NOT FEAR PUB
Lie OPINION AFTER LAST ELEc-
TON.
By ALFRED HENRY LEWIS.

good topic wherewith To begin the
year Tariff has this in common with
air or water that whether We will or
no it Is commodity wherein every
last one OF us is bound to be interest
ed
Those of The ways and means who
being too far from centers TO talk
OF going home for Christmas-are still
in our midst, go about with especial
airs OF wisdom and deep importance.
They know as was said above, that
they work they do, so far as 1t gains
final potentiality, is calculated to af
feet us all. and Il tells on them in an
augmentation of dignity. making them
feel like bevy Of aliases with the
world on their backs.
Confdentially and In private cor
ners and cubbyholes, the members OF
the inflated ways and means tell you
things They do not do this for your
good any more than turkey gobbler
spreads his tail and struts for your
good They do ii because they like
it. II serves To expand the chest and
stretch the muscles OF their greatness
What do these self-complac cent tax
mongers tell one? They declare that
tariff revision-which the common
TOMS certain. Getting down to
tacks. they say that it has been set
tied among the Republican members
who are the real bill-makers. the
Democrats, led by the Hon. Champ
Clark, being no more than just look
ers-on in the Vienna of tarif--to free
list wood pulp. coal. wool. hides. shoes
and lumber: that for a time steel was
slated for the free list, but in the end
cimpromise was deemed the thing
and the steel schedule was dropped
from protective 45 points to %.
rs Percent Notch.
They call attention to the fact that
speaking Of revision-whereas the
Dingley law arranged an average tar
in Of AZ per cent. the Payne measure.
in present constructive hand, will
notch the tariff average down to 20
per cent.
Our cubby-corner aliases of ways
and means call proud attention Of
their wonderful bill This means an
open gap of about 20 per cent, in
which the schedules may be showed
I'D or down in the instance of any par.
ticular nation. Germany. for example
II the nation favors us with her tariff
we will pull the underpinnng from
beneath our own to match her for
bearing generosity. Should the other
fellow take selfish view and put up
his tariff jackscrew an extra twist or
two on the old mosaic principle OF an
eye for an eye and a tooth for tooth
This game of up-or-down ntarif
is OF the same bolt OF cloth as that
other old tariff game Of reciprocity.
played 20 years ago Reciprocity was
good TO look upon in the abscrdet but
in practice proved to be wh!ted
sepulchre full of all sorts of protect
ed corruption and tariff decay. ! much
fear me that the maximum minimum
u the coming measure. should II ever
be adopted will turn out of the same.
Further discussing their bill. our
turkey gobblers of the ways and
means. tail-spreading and strutting "a
aforesaid, confess-this not without
fear and a tentative manner OF reluct-
ance--that they have II In mind 10
put tax OF Ave cents a pound on
coffee, ten cents on tea. and ask you
what you think yourself
7. speaking my own mind freely,
told them that II was more likely to
raise a howl than make hit.
They were inclined TO admit the
prOprlety OF tndl apprehension, DUl
explained that they couldn't help II.
The country was spending more than
Il took I'm. We were making financial
sternway at the rate OF sl0000000 "A
month. The expense bills of govern.
ment. already mounting above Il round
billion a year. would be higher still
the coming year-some said as high
as s1,300.0O0. 900, some said more.
Dig at Roosevelt.
Slyly digging at Mr.. Roosevelt
whom our statesmen loathe in proper.
ton as he is popular with the peas
antry-they laid this awful expense
growth at his White House door. He
was good executive. Privately. too
In the sense personal. he was prudent
In a money way. Publicly considered
however, theq could not call him a
Russell Sage.
IL all came to this: They had got
20 get the money; not only that de-
felt of monthly $4,000, 900. but also
whatever was 10 be subtracted from
the revenues by virtue Of those revis
ionary cuts in wool, coal. steel, lum
her and the like. Wherefore. they had
fixed their worn and tired eyes on
tea and coffee. They could see moth
ing for II but to pile up a tax Of five
cents on the one, 10 on the other
Now, al this would be highly I'M
oortant t. Mr.. Payne and the Repuh