New-York tribune., 1909-07-25
THE REAL FICTORI-

It is becoming generally recognized that moral
rather than material issues are being touSnI
out in the tariff conference committee Inc
Tribune has more than once said that from a
practical point of view If is not of great collse
ouence whether certain raw materials come III
free or pay moderate rates of duty. 1t VIII
not greatly alter prices or the conditions OF
manufacture here if the duties on finished prod
ucts are shaded off a triie. The country did
not expect Congress 70 pass Il revolutionary
tariff law Only a few extremists could have
hoped for the enactment Of a measure Ike the
Wilson bill as it passed the House of Represent
atives in 1894, or even as it was amended uhueI
Mr. C1or1nan's leadership in the Senate Ihe
ia brio of protected industry has been built UP
slowly. No good protectionist and no prudeh'
legislator wants TO tear it down suddenly Inc
process of Ievelling must be deliberate ana
careful. Where the protective wall is TOO hiSn
it must be lowered layer by layer
The House of Representatives passed meas
IRE promising moderate reduction in tarlH
rates 1t is a thoroughly orthodox protecuonlsI
bill intended 10 give every American industry
all the protection which it can Justly ask. No
body of producers would he harmed by It's pro
visions. 1t IS a proper step in, the right direc-
ton It takes note of changed cond1tons IN
industry and commerce. making allowance Tor
the greater maturity of domestic enterprises ana
dispensing with q portion of the pTotectloh
granted them when they were less firmly estah-
IIshed and more sensitive to foreign competl-
ton. The country generally has approved the
House bill because it represented liberal and
progressive stateSmanship.
The Senate bill was in the main an attempt to
checkmate the Houses policy. 1t did not greatly
increase the House bills rates, but il aimed al
restoring the status quo and discouraging al
forward movement, In spirit il was reaction
ary, for the leaders who prepared it put aside
the notion that they ought 70 consider the needs
of the nation rs a whole. the demand of the
great mass of the voters for downward revision
and the pledges of the last Republican plat
form. and merely parceIled out protection so
as 10 placate the demands Of special interests
in different sections of the country. The real Is
sue between the two houses, or, rather, be
tween the Senate one side and the House
Of Representatives, the President and the voters,
on the other. is therefore between reaction and
progress, between the employment Of the pro
tective principle nationally for national pur-
poses and its perverSion by a combination or
selfish forces.
The, end of such 4 contest cannot he in doubt.
The Senate may be able TO defeat some Of the
reductions contemplated in the House bill But
It has already suffered moral defeat. Public
opinion has aligned itself behind the House and
the President, and will make known in no un-
certain voice its condemnation of the methods
of tariff legislation followed in the Senate.
There will be no more tariff bills like the
Aldrich bill. The country has taken 10 heart the
lessons Of the extraordinary session Of 1909 IL
IS determined to see future tariffs constructed
in the full light Of day. 1t will demand In
formation by means of which to judge whether
the protective principle is being fairly applied.
The protected interests are, in a sense, public
agents They are authorized to do a certain
work for the general good and receive govern
mental assistance in doing It. They have IN
q measure failed 10 deal frankly with the Coun-
try, furnishing exact data to show Just how far
they are benefited by the protection allotted To
them. They have forgotten that their business
is affected with public interest, and the Sen
ate has unviseIy encoura ged them to think that
protection is favor granted them for private
advantage rather than a public trust 10 10
administered for the good Of the whole com
munity The contest over the tariff Of 1909 has
pricked that delusion. II has convinced IN"
country that national not personal and local.
interests must dominate in the making OF tar
ifs That even more than the reduction ot
rates expected from the new law. will be tho
victory gained by the House and the President.