The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1909-08-21

COn1TnxS Sion TO investigate Tor ms
personal information any or all
phases of our foreign commerce and
the application thereto OF both for
eign and American tariff Duties. The
sum of $4,000 has been appropriated
for the President to spend in defray
ing the expense of such an investI-
eating board The reactionaries have
Presidential Commission IS likely to
be much more thr rough and eff
cient than a Congressional Commits
sion. Mr.. Taft may now create a
board of non-partisan experts who
will investigate our foreign COM
merce and the relations to Il and the
effect upon it OF both foreign and
American tariffs The results of this
scientific and non-political study mag
be presented to Congress and to the
country in messages and other public
documents Mr. Taft is reported on
good authority to have said that he
would like to compile by the agency
OF the new Commission "an Ency-
ciopedia of the Tariff which shall be
to American commerce what the
United States PharmacOpoeia is to
American medicine" Should this
plan be successfully carried out, flu
ture tariff debates will be greatly
simplifed and the likelihood of equit-
ably arranged duties will be greatly
increased.
A Customs Court. The new law
creates a Customs Court OF dignity
and authority by which all contested
cases of customs duties will be de-
cided without appeal except on ques-
tions of constitutionality The body
of decisions in customs cases in the
Federal courts is now in almost hope
| less confusion. As Solicitor-General,
Mr.. Taft had experience with the
great difficulty of obtaining in the
| Federal courts, in the trial OF cases
| of protested duties, consistent deci-
sions based on a homogeneous body
of opinion. The present confusion
! in the cotton schedules is an il1ustra-
ton. Senator SmoOt in recent
speech in the Senate exhibited 4
piece of cotton cloth which by con
Dingley Law paid a duty per square
yard, first of "a cents. then of IL
cents, then of ID cents, then of r.
| cents That the same cloth under
the same tariff bill should paysuci
VARYING duties in different years i
injurious alike to the importer, the
fnanufac turer, and the consume.
The Customs Court, in connection
with the Tariff Commission. will do
much to remove such unjust varia-
tions.
The Maximum and Minimum Pro
vision The new law takes effect
Immediately upon its signature by
the President From that date Until
the SYST of next March the minimum
duties provided will be collected; on
March 81 an additional tariff Of p
per cent ad valorem will be auto
maticallv added to every dutiab!e
article But after March 81 the
President IS authorized at his discre-
ton to remove by proclamation this
additional duty of IS per cent ad
valorem on all the i'm ports from any
country which he believes is not ex-
ercising an unreasonable tariff dis
elimination against the United States
The maximum and minimum feature
of the Payne Bill has both merits
and defects. Its defects lie in the
fact that 1t is so phrased that the
enormous height of maximum tar
if (even though that maximum tariff
will be applied in minority of cases
is concealed from the popular view
This provision, Moreover, creates II
substance retaliatory tariff. In
stead Of saying to foreign countries
| we will keep UP our customary tar
, if wall against you, but If you vii
tear down some of your wall we viii
tear down some of ours we now
say. I'VE will build up a bigger wal
than ever, but if you are decent W;
will keep it down to its presen
height on your side. That !.
really retaliation under the guist
: / OF concession NeNe1lneIeSS, tli'
: provision is an outward observance
of the friendly rather than the un
friendly method OF approach, and i
+ therefore a victory for good manners
and it must be added that the plal
! of reciprocity or concession advo
> Gated 4by Mr. Blaine and Presiden
! Mckinley has never been a practica
/ success owing to the Senates re
? luctance to ratify tariff treaties. TIL
, chief merit of the maximum and min
! imum provision is the discretionar.
q power vested in the President. whicl
' will be approved by those who, Xix
: The Outlook, desire TO see create
\ Iscope given to the Executive in deal
\ Ling with foreign nations 1t is bot
: surprising and satisfactory to fin
y the Senate willing to yield little 0
the treaty-making function which
\ has somewhat automatically AFRO
: gated to itself
a The Income Tax Provision. Strict
! " rDaaI;no Cow