New-York tribune., 1909-07-09
SENATE TARIFF BILL |
THE REDUCTIONS And IN
CRE4SES.
About 500 of Former to 100 of
Lotter-Prospect Of Concessions
in Conference.
in Conference.
tFrom The Tnbun. sur-aul


the Senate roughly estimate that the measure
contains about five hundred reductions from
| snd about ons hundred increases over the Ding
| ley Law. In many instances the Senate rate IL
! a compromise between the Dinsiey figure and
| that fixed by the Payne bill This is notably
| the case with print paper The Dingley rate is
So ton, the House rate 81 ton, and the SEN
ate rate - ton.
Iron ore furnishes another example. The
! Dinglev rate is 40 cents ton: the HOUSE made
IT free, and the Senate compromised on % cents
n ton. So too, in the case of lumber. The
| Dingley rate is 81 a thousand feet. The House
| cut that TO ST. and the Senate compromised on
| 81 so The Senate has cut most Of the rates in
| the steel schedule, although it has slightly in
! creased some of these rates as fixed by the
! House. In number of instances the Senate
! cut the rates in the steel schedule even below
| the point fixed by the House. in the case of
anvils. axles. bolts maeable castings. cut NAILS
and spikes bar iron. charcoal iron. steel WOOL
swords. etc. On the other hand there are many
| manufactures Of steel on which the Senate in
| creased the rates. as. notably, nuts and
washers, horseshoeS wire nails. etc, although
| the increases do not constitute any increase
over the Dingley rates, and in most instances are
reduction.
! The Senate has raised the duties above the
| House rates and in few instances above the
| Dingley rates. a number of 1uxuries. such
\ as champagne and wines, yachts. diamonds, etc;
! on most agricultural products, such as wheat
barley. etc-aIl Of which increases were insisted
! on by the "insurgent" element in the Republican
! party and often by considerable number OF
! Democrats-and in the wooHen and cotton sched-
ulps In the latter case the Senate leaders main
/ tain that they have merely so reworded the law
! as TO restore the rates which the trainers OF the
Dingley law intended should be assessed but
which were lowered through unforeseen inter
| pretations. In the case of the Toollen schenu!e'
while the Senate conferrees will doubtless make
| a determined effort to maintain their increases
I in conference, there are many members OF the
Senate. including organization Republicans. who
| world he glad 10 see their conferTees compelled
to accent the lower provisions of the House Dill
THE TARIFF COMMISSION.
Probably the greatest improvement made by
| t,,a Senate in the bill is the provision for a
! tariff commission. The leaders were unwilling
| 70 proyide for such commission as many
! deemed important Nevertheless. they have
given the President ample authority to employ
| all such experts he may consider necessary
| and TO fix their compensation. so that there
| seems to be abundant reason TO expect thSI
whenever another revision of the tarin is under-
taken there will be definite data on which 10
| work. instead Of what Senator ROOT mas S8'ieN
| ICON lecture and guesswork-
An important change made by the Senate con-
sists Of the altered maximum and minimum pro-
vision. which makes the maximum rates the
| normal and authorizes the President 70 grant
the minimum as a concession. The House 'ro-
| vision made the minimum rates the normal ana
| made the imposition of the maximum rates
retaIiatory act. Opinion differs as 10 the neri's
| Of the two provisions. but President Tan. sec
| rotary Knox and Senator Root. whose experience
a-1144 90 n
! matte opinion, regard the senate PE'Ni'ioi % "
| great Improvement
| The senate has also substituted the tax on the
! net earnings of corporations for the inheritance
tax imposed by the House step which mas met
with extensive criticism, although the president
! and mis- advisers regard II as most oesHao'o
measure for the reason that In additlon 70 tore-
| stalliur any possible deficiency they eeheve II
| ;rsures a federal supervision over the enairs OF
| oil cornorations which MI TAFT cons'oers siI
! important and first step in well denheo POI
| Co., 10 federal supervision ever corporations
| The Senate leaders consider that their work
! nm the schedules has been too severely judged
| in view of the difficulties with which they nave
/ had to contend, notably the constant readiness
OF the .insurgert" Republicans TO combine with
| th. Democrats to force up rates en- all agr1-
| cultural and other products of their o1n states
| The restoration Of the DinEley duty on hides
| rhe increase by 12S per cent OF the duty on
| pinesprles and the reimposition Of the Dingley
| rates on cereals constitute notable results OF
! this situation Again, they point to the fact
| that in reporting the daily progress Of the SEN
| ate OH the tariff bill the press has constantly
made comparisons with the House bill instead
| Of with the Dinsey law. They believe this has
| seriously nnieIed many persons who have, per-
| haps naturally, assumed that changes chronicled
| as increases" were increases ths Dingley
law, instead of being. as in the majority of in
stances they we're. decreases from the existing
! law. despite the fact that they were increases
| over the House bill.
| ASK SUSPENSION OF JUDGMENT.
| The leaders believe, also. that the public and
| the press should refrain from passing judgment
| on the work of the Senate until the conference
| committee has completed it's labors. They ad-
| NIT that as passed by the Senate the bill con
/ tsins many rates which certain 10 be
| iected in conference Some of these were de-
| lirerateiv inserted in the bill for trading pur-
| noses" A far larger number were accepted 10
| prevent extended debate and with the mental
| reservation that they would certainly be elimi-
| mated in conference.
| It is submitted that the Senate conferrees will
| he subjected to double pressure when they meet
the representatives Of the House. for the reason
that the President is strongly predispossd to the
| lower duties and will unquestonably strongly
advise the Senate conferrees to recede in almost
| everv instance where such recession would make
! for lower rates. In such instances the para
| graphs relating to gloves and stockings. where
| the Senate has replaced the exceptionally high
rates imposed by the House with those of the
| Dingley law. the influence of the President WILL
of course, be on the side Of the Senate. Finally