Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1909-07-27
TARIFF MUST Be LOWER
IS TAFT'S ULT|MATUM
President Tells Standpatters He In
tends to See That Downward
Revision Wins.
STATEMENT AS THREAT OF VETO
Executive Meets Arguments of Con-
gressmen by Declaring Party
Pledges Shall Be Kept.

President Taft clarified the tariff
situation Friday by issuing his first
formal statement on the subject. This
statement, made after a conference
with twenty-five Republican and one
Democratic representative who de-
manded high protective tariff, fol-
lows:
Mr.. Young of Michigan opposed
free ore: Mr.. Mondell opposed free
coal or reciprocity with Canada and
free hides; each on the ground that
the policy would injure the interests
in his State, and discussion was par
ticipated in by other representatives,
who urged that the doctrine of free
raw materials vas not a Republican
doctrine
"The President replied that he was
not committed to the principle of free
raw materials, but that he was COM
mitted to the principle of downward
revision of the tariff which he had
promised, and that he was obliged to
look at the matter not from the
standpoint of any particular district,
but from the standpoint of the whole
country, and also from the standpoint
of responsibility for the entire Re-
publican party.
HE said the question in each case
was a question of fact, to be deter
mined by evidence, as to whether the
present duty was needed for protec-
ton or whether the rates was exces-
sive. SC that a downward revision, or
putting the article on the free list,
would not injure the industry.
Taft Defines the Issues.
He repeated the platform of the
Republican party and said that he
had always understood that it meant
downward revision in many in
stances, though perhaps in some few
instances an increase might be need
ed; that he reached this construction
of the platform on what he under
stood to be the principle of protection
and its ification-namely, that
after an industry was protected by a
duty equal to the difference between
the cost of production in this country,
including fair profit to the manu-
facturer, the energy and enterprise of
American business men and capital
lists, the effectiveness of American
labor and the ingenuity of American
inventors under the impulse of compe-
tition behind the tariff wall would
reduce the cost of production, and
that, with the reduction in the cost
of production. the tariff rate would
become unnecessarily high and ought
to be reduced.
This was the normal operation Of
the tariff as claimed by the defenders
of the protective system-not in every
case, but as general rule-that of
course a revision of the tariff could
not be perfect, must have defects and
inconsistencies, but in so far as his
influence went when called upon to
act in connection with legislation 1t
would be thrown in the direction of
performing the promises of the party
as he understood them; and that If
iron ore and oil and coal and hides
did not need protection and the con-
ditions were such as to enable the ore
producers and the oil producers and
the coal producers and the producers
of hides to compete successfully, with
out reduction of wages, with the pro-
ducers from abroad, then they did not
need a duty and their articles should
go on the free list.
1T was question of fact which he
hoped to make up his mind with re-
spect to. on such evidence as was
available to him in order to carry out
what he understood to be the prom
fses of the party to the whole people
He said he felt that his position as
the titular head of the Republican
party and as President, with the
whole people as his constituency, gave
him a somewhat broader point of view
than that of a single member of Con-
gress in respect to articles produced
In his district. He felt strongly the
cell of the country for a downward
revision within the limitations of the
protective principle, and he hop a TO
be able to respond to that cal be
heard it, as well in the interesGs Of
the party as of the country"