The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-08-06
STATEMENT OF
 THE PRESIDENT
Tariff Bill Not Complete Compliance With Promise Made, But Earnest
 Effort Downward.
TAFT SIGNS AND. MAKES IT LAW

Washington, Aug. 6.-President Taft
 has given out a statement embodying his views of the new tariff act which he signed late yesterday afternoon and
 which he designates officially as the Payne bill" in accordance with the past custom of giving first recognition to the framer of the measure in the House.
 The President says that though the bill is not perfect by any means, nor | "a complet eNcompliance with promises | made, strictly interpreted" it is never | thelesS a sincere effort on the part of | the party to make a downward re-
 vision and to comply with the prom | iSes of the platform. The statement, in full. follows:
 q have signed the Payne tariff bill because I believe it to be the result of
 a sincere effort on the part of the Re | publican party to make a dowpward
 revision. and to comply with the. prom
 ises of the pIatformtEs they have been generally understood and as I inter
 preted them in the campaign, before | election. The bill is not a perfect tariff bill or a complete compliance with the promises made, strictly interpreted, but
 a ful1lment free from criticism in re- spect to a subject matter involving many schedules and thousands of ticles could not be expected. It suf- | fees to say that. except with regard | to whiskey, liquors and wines, and in regard to silks and as to some high classes of cottonS, all of khich may be | treated as luxuries and proper sub Jects Of a revenue tariff, there have | been very few increases in rates. | There have been a great number of | real decreases in rates, and they con stitute a sufficient amount to justify l the statement that this bill is a sub
 stantial downward revision, and re- | 1r rotf fnvn Df fnc
 | This is not free trade bill. It | was not intended to be. The Repub- | 1ican party did not promise to make
 a free trade bill. It promised to duce them when they exceeded the
 difference between the cost of produc- | tion abroad and here, making al lowance for the greater normal profit | on active investments here. I believe | that while this excess has not been
 reduced in a number of caSes, in a
 great majority the rates are such as | are necessary to protect American in | dustries, but are low enough, in case
 of abnormal increase of demand, and 1 raising of prices, to permit the possi-
 bility of the importation of the foreign
 article and thus to prevent excessive prices.
 ''rhe power granted to the execu- | tive under the maximum and min imum clause may be exercised to se-
 cure the removal of obstacles which | nave been 1nIerpOSeQ 1Orelgn gov ernments in the way of undue and
 unfair discrimination against American merchandise and products.
 l ''The Philippine tariff section, I have struggled to secure for ten years Hast past and it gratifies me exceed ingly by my signature to give it the | effect of law. I am sure it will great ly increase the trade between the two countries. and it will do much to build
 up the Philippines in a healthful pros
 perity.
 "The administration clauses of the | bill and the customs court are admir- ably adapted to secure a more uniform | of the meaning of the law.
 | "The authority to the. President to
 use agents to assist him in the appli- cation of the maximum and minimum | sections of the statute. and to enable | officials to administer the law, gives
 a wide latitude for the acquisition,
 under circumstances favorable to its
 price and cost of production of goods
 at home and abroad, which will throw much light on the operation of the present tariff and be of primary inn
 portance officially collected data
 upon which future executive action
 and executive recommendations may | be based.
 | "The corporation tax is just and | equitable excise measure. which it is hoped will produce a sufficient amount | to prevent a deficit and which incl | dentally will secure valuable statistics
 and information concerning the many | corporations of the country and will | constitute an important step toward l that degree of publicity and regulation l which the tendency in corporate en- terpriSeS in the last twenty years has | shown to be necessary