Los Angeles herald., 1909-12-09
WARNS BANKERS
TO Be CAREFUL
SECRETARY MAC VEAGH DIS
CUSSES CURRENCY
CHIEF OF TREASURY ALSO DE-
FENDS TARIFF
Declares Payne Law Is but Step in
Huge Republican Revision
Proiect-"Reform" Not
Complete
Associated PressI

BOSTON. Dec. S-Opening his ad-
dress with brief reference to the cur
rency situation Secretary MacNeaSh
made a plea before the Massachusetts
Rankcrs' association tonight that the
banking interests realize the gravity
of the issue, and declared that unless
the bankers succeeded in adopting tne
public point OF view, instead OF the
private one, they would lose an op-
portunity to influence greatly the COM
ing legislation. on the subject.
That was all the secretary had to
say on currency, and he passed to Il
discussion of the tariff and the Payne
law. He said in part:
I'm considering the results of the re-
cent tariff legislation it is indispensa-
BILE. in my Judgment to keep two i'm
portant factors in mind. The first is
that the Payne law is but an incident
in a tariff revision movement by ana
within the Republican party sane
toned and undertaken by the party
itself. and advocated by President TAFT
I'm Office and out of office. and by Pres
ident Mckinley with almost his last
words.
THE second is that it Is the result
ant effect of the movement which is
important to take into account and
estimate, and not. essentially, any
thing else. No one expected this great
movement to complete itself in sin
gle act of legislation, and 1t was eX-
pected to he quite clear that the legls-
lation enacted last August did not
end the movement for tariff revision
Opinion Universal?
"The opinion is virtually universal
that we have seen the last of the log
rolling system Of legislation upon such
an important subject, and that here
after such legislation must be based
on facts and knowledge and scientific
investigation and not on mere barter
ing between sections and different in
terosts.
There is one great fact that makes
a new tariff epoch. That fact is that
the Republican party had changed its
front Whereas it has been marching
toward higher and higher tariff, it has
now faced about It has recognized
changed conditions.
1T is true that the Payne bill does
not contain as much downward re-
vision as the great majority Of the
members of the Republican party had
wished. i did not contain as much of
that revision as the president wished.
But the Payne bill. as it passed the
house. was an intentional and avoWed
revision downward. As it now stands,
1t is a practical confirmation of the
new policy Of the Republican party.
PERSONALLY, I sympathize with the
new tariff policy of the Republican
party. but I most heartily believe that,
Notwithstanding the well acknowledged
limitations of the revision contained
in the Payne bill. it ought not to be
accepted by friends of tariff revision
as a satisfactory achievement under
all the circumstances. l believe that
we ought not to have expected any
thing else but a step forward. Within
a period far short of the lapses and
intervals of time heretofore dividing
tariff revisons, We may go forward
on the same conservative lines"
Secretary MacVeagh predicted that
the tariff board would prove itself
competent to cope with any situation
which would be proper for tariff re-
vision. He declared he believed it a
great mistake to minimize that part OF
the recent tariff legislation.