The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-03-23
SAYS PROTECTIVE TARIFF
 IS AN AMERICAN POLICY
Says Revenues Arc Not Keeping
 Up with Expenditures.
Chairman Payne Declares That Hence. forth Business Would Not Suf- fer From Unfair and Un. equal Competition From
 Foreign Soil.

Washington, March 22-Both houses of Congress assembled at noon today. Practically the only business that came before the Senate was the reorgani- zation of committees and the formal announcement of their personnel. Most of the old Senators in point of service retained their former places on the committees.
 Soon after the House convened the tarin bill was laid before that body for discussion. The first gun in the tarifr debate was fired by MT. Payne. of New York, the majority leader and chairman of the committee on ways and means. Before he began his re- marks an agreement was reached un- der which while the bill is under con- sideration. the daily sessions shall start at II o'clock instead of noon.
 In opening MT. Payne declared that the country was overwhelmingly in fa yor of a protective tariff. It is an American policy, he said, and 1t seem- ed to be acquiesced in by the great majority of the American people. He did not believe, he added. that there was man within the sound of his voice who would rise in his seat and say he was in favor of tearing down every custom house in the United States from turrett to foundation.
 
 surrounding the enactment of the Mo- Kinley. Wilson. Dingley and present tariff measures. In the first case he said, there was & superabundance of receipts and we tried to get rid of some of it by that bill.
 The Dingley Bill.
 Coming to the Dingley bill, MT. Payne declared 1t had proved to be a boon to the people of the United States, q a ta6 the immense collections of revenues and expenditures. under it as given in his recent report on the bill Those expenditures. he said. include $6os0o0.- ooo for the Panama canal for which no bonds were issued.
 50 that" he said. the entire sur plus over the ordinary expenditures of the government has been about S125, 100000 during that period"
 There had, however, been a deficit for the period in the postoff1ce receipts amounting to $99.144.47s. which he at- tributed largely to the enormous ex- penditures on account of the rural free delivery. Notwithstanding such enor- nous drains he said there was a sur plus of $26,000,000 of ordinary receipts of all kinds over expenditures. Sure 1y," he said. mot a bad showing for a revenue bill which was also a protec- tive measure"
 MT. Payne called attention to the great expenditures as the result of the war with Spain, despite which, he said, a surplus was left in the treasury.
 Discussing maximum and minimum tariffs as against the reciprocity pro- visions of the Mckinley and Dingley laws Mir. Payne said the minimum tariff was on the basis of a protective rate, while the maximum tarin was much higher. even a hundred per cent
 
 No tariff, he declared, could be re- vised without halting business. He de- clared the revenues were not keeping up with the expenditures and the time had come to hunt for more revenues.
 The bill, he said, had been prepared with the greatest care as the resu1ksof long hours of work and with the full est information before the committee. He attributed the loss of revenue to the business disturbances of 1907 and 1908.
 MT. Payne said there was hope that during the first year of the bill there would be no deficit but If the revenue should fall short we have In the treas ury $135.o0o.0oo of available cash as- sets to meet it."
 Referring to the maximum and the minimum features of the bill. Mir. Payne said that henoeforth business would not suffer from unfair and un- equal competition from foreign soil
 If they do not give us an equal chance in their markets with any oth- CT nation." he said, we do not pro- pose to allow them to come into our mark cts at the minimum rates Our markets are the greatest in the world We are the greatest consumers and the greatest buyers of any nation on earth" Mir Payne declared that this feature of the bill was not a trick as, he said, had been charged. Great Britain would come in at the minimum rates 'Is there a man within the sound of my voice." he exclaimed, "who does not know that France and Germany seek ing our trade will immediately avail themselves of the minimum rates which we offer in section one of this act We give them the opportunity to mak @ their rates with us--to put themselves on an equality with Great Britain" He declared it was absolutely certain the great nations of the earth would take advantage of the opportunity af- forded them. L Offers n Substitute. { At this point, MT. Payne offered a 1 substitute for section four of the bill l The substitute is intended to dispose of the criticism which has been made that the maximum duties would apply | against a province or colony which dis eliminates in its tariff in favor of the | mother country. It was contended that this would be unfair as the bill pro- vides for the free entry of American | goods and products Into the Philippine | Islands. The substitute provides that | the maximum duties imposed by the | bill should not apply to the case where | the prefereu tial duties to other coun- | tries are those given by a province, | dependency or colony to & mother | country only. The substitute expects the Philippine | Islands from its provisions. Questioned by MT. Sims, (Tennessee) | regarding the future revenues from the | Panama canal, Mir. Payne said that uI- tlmately the canal would be a source | of revenue. He did not, he said be- | lieve in a large surplus but he did be- l lieve In fortifying the treasury "so that l no warrant of the United States will |