The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1909-09-22

most important speech he has made
since his occupancy of the White
House President Taft here tonight,
in State which is the hot bed of the
"insurgent" movement, within the
Republican party. defended the Payne
tariff bill as the best tariff measure
ever passed by Republican congress
and hence the best tariff bill the peo.
pie have ever known
The president boldly asserted that
the insurgents who voted against the
till had abandoned the Republican,
party.
WAS II the duty Of the member OF
congress who believed that the bill
did not accomplish everything that ii
ought to accomplish to vote agains.
it?' asked the president.
II am here to justify those VINO
answer this question in the negative
am not here to defend those who
voted for the Payne bill. but to sup
pert them"
To this statement, the crowd in the
Winona opera house responded with
a cheer which could be heard far
down the street. 1t was shouted ny
the adherents of Representative Jas
A. Tawney of this district, the chair
man of the house committee on ap-
preparations, who has been on the
defensive ever since the adjournment
of congress because ne did not vote
with the other members of the dele
s:ation from Minnesota, both in the
house and senate, against the bill.
ITO make party government ef-
fective." said the president tonight
"the members Of that party should
surrender their personal prediction
o. comparative less Importance.
II am glad to see that those who
voted against the bill still insist that
they are Republicans. and that they
Intend 20 keep up the fight for still
lower tariff rates within the party.
THAT is their right and in their
view of things Is their duty
President Taft in his address at the
Winona opera house tonight said in
part:
AS long ago as August, 1906, in
the congressional campaign in Maine.
ventured to announce that 1 was
tariff revisionist and thought that the
time had come for a readjustment nf
the schedules. I pointed out that il
had been ten years prior to that time
that the Dingley bill had been passed
and that under the theory Of protec-
ton In that time the rates imposed in
the Dingley bill in many instances
nigh. have become excessive.
i pointed out the difficulty that
tfere always was in a revision of the
tarin. In the summer Of 1907 my DO.
sition on the tarifr was challenged and
then entered into somewhat fur
81 discussion OF the matter. 1t was
contended by the socalled stand pat
te''s' that rates beyond the necessary
raessure Of protection. were not Oh
jsctionable because behind the tariff
wall competition reduced prices on
things and thus saved the consumer.
Hut ] pointed out in that speech what
seems to me as true today as it then
was, that the danger of excessive
rates was In the temptation they
created to form monopolies in the
advantage Of the excessive rates by
increasing the prices and therefore
in order to avoid such a danger it
was wise at regular intervals to ex-
anime the question whether the effect
OF the rates had been upon the in
dustries i'm this country. and whether
the conditions with respect to the cost
ct production here had so changed as
To warrant a reduction in the tariff
ana to make lower rate truly p,C-
tective of the industry.
at will be observed that the OBJ
:ect OF the revision under such q
statement was not tn destroy protect
ed industries in this country, but it
"as to continue 10 protect them where
lover rates offered sufficient protc.
uoN to prevent injury by foreign
,omnetlt!on. That wGs the object Of
the revision as advocated by me, and
ii was certainly the object Of the re-
vision as promised in the Republican
platform.
There is nothing quite SO difficult
as the discussion Of a tariff bill for
the reason that 1t covers so many diff
ferent items. The meaning Of the
terms and the percentages are most
difficult to understand The massage