Willmar tribune., 1909-09-29
PRESIDENT TAFTS
WINONA SPEECH.

vv1lvVlvS3 u 16N14o
President Taft has again spoken
on the new tariff law. His first
opinion was uttered when he signed
the bill. Then he said:
II have signed the Payne tariff
because I believed it to be the re-
suit of sincere effort on the part of
the Republican party to make a
downward revision and to comply
with the promises of the platform
as they have been generally UNDER
stood and as interpreted them in
the campaign before election. )"
The presidents second declara-
tion was made in his speech at WI
mona. 1t is stronger than his first.
He declares the law is more than an
effort" it is fulfllment of the
promises of downward revision.
He makes this declaration in the
middle west where the sentiment
for downward revision is over
whelming. He makes it in a Sec
tion whence comes those senators
and representatives, who recognize
ing clearly the wishes of their con-
stituents and knowing how little
these wishes were shared by the
leaders in both houses of congress,
found it impossible to vote for the
bill prepared under the domination
of Aldrich and Cannon.
The president comes with this
declaration to the support Of Con-
gresham Tawney who is out of
harmony with the sentiment Of his
district, and therefore in trouble.
He comes to the support of Tawney,
who is Cannon's chairman of the
house committee on appropriations
|-Tawney, who has been notorious
ly opposed to downward tariff revi-
sion-Tawney, who stood pat"
He comes to the support of Tawney
and those like him who made down.
ward revision in accordance with
the promises of the republican par
ty impossible.
In the course of his speech the
president presented an analysis of
the tariff changes effected by the
new law. This is the same analysis
that was printed in the Congress
sional Record by Chairman Payne,
when he laid his conference report
on the bill before the house. This
analysis purports to measure the
Importance Of tariff changes by the
consumption value' of the COM
modities affected. This was done
to make an answer to the complica-
tions of the bureau of statistics of
the department of commerce and la
Dor, showing the tariff increase
measured by the value of imports.
The value of import has always
been regarded as the best obtain
able measure of Importance of
tariff changes. It always has been
regarded as a fairly satisfactory
basis for such comparisons until it
became necessary to show that the
Payne law embodied tariff revision
downward. To accomplish that
of mathematics. a new measure
had to be invented.
To attempt to determine the val
ue of the consumption in this coun-
try of the thousands of articles en-
braced in the tariff schedules as
there classified, is to enter into the
realm of pure speculation. The in
formation does not exist. No sta
tistician. who is more than mere
juggler of figures, would regard
such a calculation as worthy the
slightest consideration.
Nobody, then or since, has come
forward to claim credit for this an
alysis which Mr.. Payne caused to
be printed in the Record. It was
presented anonymously. The data
upon which it was passed have
never been disclosed. Before such
so-called 'anaIysis,' we place the
work of the great statistical bureau
of the government, based upon off,
cial records.
Heretofore in these columns we
have presented the analysis of the
bureau of Statistics. We have
shown the character of the tariff
revision as a whole and by example
in detail. We shall continue to do
so. Whether the tariff has been
reduced is a matter Of fact, not a
matter Of fiat. The tariff revision
will analyze itself in your living
expenses. That is the ultimate
test, more convincing than any sta
tistics. By that test, the law and
its sponsors must abide.
The president is reported as hav-
ing said:
It is a question for each man to