St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1909-08-11
CHIEF TARIFF EXPERT
How an Army Officer Became
AIdrich's Greatest Helper.
WAS DlNGLEYS SECRETARY.

Revision Work Major Herbert Lord
Did Twelve Years Ago Won Him His
Military Commssion-Said to Know
More About the Tariff Than Any
Other Living Man.
The brand ~. S. army" will have to
be placed somewhere on the new tariff
bill by reason Of the highly important
contribution of Major Herbert NJ Lord,
u. S. A., to the work Of preparing it.
That an army officer should be the
chief of all the tariff experts of the
great committee on finance has been
the occasion for good many jokes
since the bill came from committee.
Senator i. P. Dolliver painted a thrill
ing word picture of Major Lord. en-
sconsed in a private office in the SEN
ate office building. his name on the
door, arrayed in all the bravery and
panopoly of war, figuring percentages
and counting the threads in square
inches of cotton fabrics. While it
seems a bit funny. the fact is that
Major Lord knows more about tariff
than any other one man now extant
More than that. instead of his army
training making him tariff expert,
his tariff experiences made him an
army officer.
Possessor of Wonderful Memory.
Major Lords career as a tariff ex-
pert began about fourteen years ago.
He was a Maine man and became sec.
rotary of Governor Dingley about two
years before the Dingley revision was
taken up. He developed great aptitude
for the work. having a great "head for
figgers" and a memory which every
body admitted couldn't be beaten. He
had no notion of becoming a soldier.
In anticipation of the revision which
was coming on he set about studying
tariff. He learned the story of all the
schedules and tariff acts from the be-
ginning. read the debates and affili
ated with the customs experts till he
knew all they did and remembered ev-
cry word and decimal point, of it all.
So by the time the Dingley bill had
become law Lord was recognized by
both Dingley and Aldrich, as well as
by Allison and the rest Of it's makers.
as the greatest living aggregation of
accurate tariff information President
Mckinley had come to know and like
him; in fact. knew him quite we'll be-
fore he was elected president
Excellent Record In the Philippines.
After the tariff act had passed Pres
ident Mckinley indicated desire to
do something for Mr. Lord. The Span
ish war came on. and Lord was offered
a commission as captain paymaster
and sent to the Philippines. There his
service was excellent. His accounts
were always accurate and complete,
and he won promotion to a majority
on his merits. He was quietly pursu-
ing his army career when the revision
Of 1909 became imminent, and Senator
Aldrich sent for him. Gould he help
out the finance committee again? Ger
tainly. Did he think he had pre-
served such accurate recollection of
all those detailed transactions of
twelve years ago as would be reliable
and secure? OF course he had. He
demonstrated right away that he knew
the old tariff law in every detail. That
settled it. He was detailed by the
army people to the special service of
helping to make the tariff bill and be-
came the alter ego of Senator AL
drich.
"What sort of bill are you going to
maker an old friend asked him soon
after he had settled down to work
"You were here when we made the
last one?" he countered.
Eyes, I was"
"Do you recollect what sort that
WASP"
ats generally understood to have
been Of the upward STYLE" was the
reply.
"Well," Major Lord replied, "that's
the only kind know how to write.
Wait and see how 1t comes out"
And the friend to whom he made
that observation is Juggling 1t around
as the evidence that If justice were
done to everybody in tariff making at
fairs this bill would be known as the
Lord bill.-Washlngton Cor. New York
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