The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-03-26
MIR. Fordney's Attitude.

To Mr.. Fordney of Michigan Mr..
Clark extended assurances of his pro
foundest consideration as a fighter. lie
would put a gamecock to blush in that
regard" If, he said. Mr.. Fordney were
given carte blanche to write a tariff
bill. lit would be short. if not sweet
and would be in these words:
If an article can be produced in
this country by any process or at any
cost whatsoever, nothing like it shall
be imported
All through the hearings. he said.
! Mr.. FOTdney was on hand with first
aids for the wounded. He said that tbs
rest of the Republicans. first or last.
came over To our side on different
/ subjects and in various degrees, but
/ that MIR. FOrdney never lowered his
/ coiors Neither Leouidae - the pass
nor Horatius at the bride was d
marker TO him." he said.
| Discussing the situation in which the
/ ways and means committee found
| Itself. he said it was unprecedented,
/ because both parties had favored re-
! ducing the tariff rates of the Dingley
| bill of course" he said. the Repub-
4 licau platform was eGuivocal,' but, he
| added. in that connection most of the
! Republican members of the committee
/ came at last to cOnstrue it as re-
! vision downward.
! The Democrats so construed it. and
| he said the better part of wisdom and
patriotism would have been for all the
/ members to have collabOrated in the
work of preparing the bill after the
1 hearings closed. I'VE are all Amer
| lean citizens, equally interested in the
| prosperity, glory and happiness of a
| mighty people" he excls med. Not
| one of us had the slightest desire to in
1 lure in any way OF to any extent what
/ soever any legitimate American indus
try
In addition to the peculiar COinci-
| dence of both parties being under or
/ ders to revise the tariff downward. Ee
| said. all were stared in the face by a
large and increasing deficiency In the
| revenues There were. ne said. but
three ways known among men by
which a deficiency may be cured, cut
down expenses, increase in taxes and
issue of bonds. To issue bonds, he de-
clared. was no remedy at all. 1t was
/ simply postponing the day when they
must be paid, principal and interest
Taxes, he coutended. never should be
increased where poss bic to avoid 1t.
! Republican IncapsbiIity.
Cutting down appropriations. he said,
| where Il could be done without sHntns
the government in any Of its proper func-
. I tons. WdS the most tEtltftiAA ftAA@AN ACt
d deficiency. but" he added, our Re
publican brethren seem utterly incapab bic
| of cutting down appropriations. We Ia
| vor that remedy on the old Jeifersonian
principle Of economy in the public eX-
pense that labor may be lightly bur
/ He argued that as the Republicans can
not economic, and as they were in the
/ majority the committee on ways and
means was under compulsiOn to some
how increase the revenues by about SlS,-
10000 per annum.'
taking the whole situation into ac-
count. ne said "the wise thing would
have been to invite the Democrats to
l iofrf in prepa ring the bill We would
gladly have aided them in their fnvesti-
! cations. mediations and conclusions he
said.
Time Might Have Been Saved.
Tn such joint work. he said, no member
could have got into the bill or out Of II
| ger of our outvoting them he remarked
| for they had twelve members to our six
| but if we might by mutual concessions
have agreed in whole or even in part, II
would have greatly expedited the passage
| of the bill. thereby shortening the bust
ness suspense now peTvading the land.
The idea of collaboration, however, he
| said did not occur to the Republicans.
| "On the contrary they concluded to seq
! regate themselves and go it alone, as
they had a perfect right 10 do"
He spoke of the rapidty with which
the bill was reported back to the house
the time consumed being just twelve min
utes. without a moments discussion and
without even reading the title. he
| warned the Republicans that if pro
I Ionged debate ensued and if the business
agony agony, was continued for weeks or even
months. lit is well to remember that the
blame should rest upon the Republican
members OF the committee and not upon
the Democratic members