The Penn's Grove record., 1909-07-23
TAFT EXPLAINS HIS
ATTITUDE ON-7AR|FF
Tells Delegation He is Committed
to Downward Revision.
MUST KEEP PARTY PROMISES
If Protection is Not Needed, He Says.
For Iron Ore, Coal, and Hides,
They Should Go on the Free
List at Once.

For Iron Ore, Coal, and Hides,
They Should Go on the Free
List at Once.
Washington, D. C.-An official
statement Of the Presidents position
with reference to the pending Tariff
bill was evoked from the White
House by the call there of a party
of Republican members of the House,
who went to protest to Mr.. Taft
against the free listing of certain
raw materials" such as coal, oil.
hides and iron ore. They spent an
hour and a half with the President.
presenting arguments which were
usually based upon consideration OF
the local situation in their respective
districts.
The delegation of s~tand-patters
was headed by Representatives Young
of Michigan and Mondell of Wyom-
ing, and included Gaines, Sturgiss,
Hubbard, and woodward of West vir-
ginia, Langley and Edwards of Ken
lucky, Kennedy, Keifer, johnson and
Joyce of Ohio, Tener, Bates and
Barchfeldt of Pennsylvania, Cowles
and Grant of North Carolina, Austin
Of Tennessee, Hayes of California,
Hamilton of Michigan, and Slemp OF
Virginia.
The President joked with them,
retorted to some of their arguments.
and finally made an extended expla.
nation of his attitude, which included
a reference to the obligation to keer
ones promises. The statement is as
follows:
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 a discussion was
participated in by other Representa-
tives who urged that the doctrine of
free raw materials was not a Repub-
lican doctrine. The President re-
piled that he was not committed to
the principle of free raw material,
but that he was committed to the
principle of a 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 re.
sponsibility for the entire Republi.
can 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 rate was exces.
s1ve, SO that a downward revision OF
putting the article on the free list
would not injure the industry. He
repeated the platform of the Repub.
lican party and said that he had al.
ways understood that it meant a
downward revision in many in
stances, though perhaps in some few
instances an increase might be
needed; that he reached this con
struction of the platform on what
ne understood to be the principle of
protection and its justification; name.
ly, that after an industry was pro-
tected by a duty equal to the differ.
ence between the cost of production
abroad and the cost of production in
this country, including a fair profit
to the manufacturer, the energy and
enterprise of American business men
and capitalists, the effectiveness of
American labor and the ingenuity Of
American inventors, under the i'm.
pulse of competition behind the tar.
if wall, would reduce the cost OF
production, and that, with the reduc.
ton in the cost of production, the
tariff rate would become necessarily
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 al a general rule
that of course a revision of the tariff
could not be perfect, must have de.
fects and inconsistencies; but inso-
far as his influence went, when called
upon to act in connection with legis-
lation it would be thrown in the dl.
rection of performing the promises of
the party as he understood them; and
that If iron ore 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,
without reduction of wages, with the
producers from abroad, then they
did not need a duty and their arti.
cles should go on the free list.
ut was a question of fact which
he hoped to make up his mind with
respect to, on such evidence as was
available to him, in order to carry
out what he understood to be the
promises of the party to the whole
peOple. He said he felt that his most
ton as the titular head of the Re.
publican party and as President,
with the whole people as his constit.
uents, gave him a somewhat broader
point of view than that of a single
member Of Congress in respect to
articles produced in his district. He
felt strongly the call of the country
for a downward revision within the
limitations of the protective princi.
pie, and he hoped to be able to re-
spond to that call as he heard it, as
well in the interests of the party as
of the country"