The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-12-10
ANOTHER TARIFF LAW BREAK.

evening. The utterance is especially i'm
portant if it is to be assumed that he
spoke for the administration. And il
is not unreasonable to assume this
since Mr.. MacVcagh is the Secretary
of the Treasury, and as such has the
chief enforcement Of the tariff law
the statutes relating to the National
Banks, and has in general the super
vision of the National revenues and
expenditures.
With respect TO the tariff bill ii is
significant that the Secretary puts the
tariff question as the paramount ques'
tion before the country; he puts hls
comment on the new tariff law definite
ly on the ground that this legislation
is merely a step, and Judging from
what he says about it, rather bad
step, too in the way of the solution of
the tariff question. "The Payne law
is but an incident In the tariff revision
movement by and within the Republican
party says the Secretary. Which ap-
pears to put him pretty decisively In
the ranks Of the "insurgents, and
when we consider his further declara-
tion that the new law was put together
on the system of clog rolling VIC
get a pretty good idea of the con
tempt which he feels for that method
Of legislation, and his apprehension of
that practice as we'll as of the law
as enacted, There will never be an
other tariff bill framed on the lines
of the present one, the Secretary thinks.
1t was a proposition OF "give and
take" and of getting enough votes by
support of certain local interests to
pass the measure. Il is not tariff
law framed in the interests of the
country at large but q law framed for
special interests and with little regard
to the general welfare. The Secre
tary evidently thinks that it will not
last long on the statute books, but that
something very much better will pres
emily be enacted,
The Secretary speaks Of "the new
tariff policy" of the Republican party,
and explicitly urges that the revision
contained in the Payne bill is not as
much downward as n great majority
of the Republican party had wished,
and that "lt ought not TO be accepted
by friends of the tariff revision as
satisfactory achievement under all the
and in a quasi i-proph-
ctic statement he says, "Within a
period far short of the lapses and in
teryals of time heretofore dividing
tariff revisions, we may go forward
along the same conservative lines, -
That is, he does not believe in waiting
very long for making real revision
OF the miscalled revision of the tariff
laws. All of which is eminently salts
factory to the American people. and
especially TO the Republicans who feel
that they have been bunkoed out
ragcously in the enactment Of this abor~
tive tariff law,
We have pointed out hitherto num-
Der of objections to the measure as
enacted. There is one, however, that
has not been much discussed outside
of purely financial circles, and that
is the authorization contained in that
tariff law for the issue Of $300,000,000
of Panama Canal bonds to bear in.
terest at a rate not exceeding 3 per
cent But ali the financial authori-
ties are agreed that if this amount of
Panama Canal bonds is issued at that
rate of interest, the market for the
2 per cent bonds already outstanding
that the National bank issues and re-
serves will be thoroughly disorganized.
Ii the Secretary of the Treasury had
proceeded in accordance with the au.
thorization in this BILL and had issued
the bonds, there would have been a
general smash all along the financial
market so far as the United States
bonds already outstanding are con-
cerned, and these would have carried
other securities in their wake; for what
is substantial, if not United States
bonds? He did not do so, however,
preferring TO withdraw the special de-
posits in the National banks of the Gov
ernment fund and to issue as a tenn
porary expedient in case Of special
need, treasury certificates, but so far
he has not had to do even this, 1t
is plain that the "eminent fnancicrs" ("
in Congress do not understand the prac-
tical effect Of this authorization of
bonds which was carried in the tariff
law. The bankers, however, understand
it very well, and are very much per-
turbed about it. Their view finds cx.
preston in the New York Financicr,
which, under the head, "Banks and Re.
newed Panama Bonds" has this scath.
ing and scornful leading editorial:
The bankers OF the United States who
take q more PRACTICAL View OF matters
financial and terrestrial than some OF
the theorists who are attempting to re-
organize the banking and currency sys-
tenn OF the United States. Will he salts
Ned IL the next Congress abandous any
efforts To establish a Central bank or
some OF the other plans which seem TO be
crystalliZing for d reorganization OF our
entire monetary and banking q. b,ic md