The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-06-04
THE NEED OF ACCURATE IN.
- FORMATION.

II Senators were small boys-and
sometimes they conduct themselves
very much as if they were-the discus
sion of these cotton and wooden SEIZED
4iles would long ago have been resolved
, into the convincing and conclusive dia-
alague:
- You're a liari"
= you're anotherl''
It is long time now, since Senator
Aldrich made his first promise that he
would clear up the whole question at
the right time, and show that the
ieritics of his bill are hopelessly mis-
informed and entirely wrong in their
{ Statements about these schedules. He
promised that to Mr.. Dolliver, when
9that gentleman analysed wool; he has
repeatedly given assurance of the same
thing, in connection with Mr.. La Fol-
lette's assault on the cotton duties. It
would have been an excellent bit of
strategy if the Senator from Rhode
Island had some weeks ago turned In
with a few of the facts and figures
which he constantly threatens to pro
duce, and demolished Mr. DoIliver. That
: would have tended greatly to diseour-
age the other assailants of the measure.
The long delay about pulling of the
oft-promised destruction of these
gentlemen has justified the new
general suspicion that Mr.. Aldrich
hasn't the goods
The critics of these textile schedules
have gone before the Senate with de-
tailed, careful, accurate analyses of the
workings of the new duties and the
meanings of the language used to state
them. They have been fair, candid,
frank They have asked light and in
formation; and they have not been
giver anything but promises that some
lime in future they would be answer
ed. The fact is that these promissory
notes viii have TO be redeemed in the
cash of definite statement pretty soon,
or the Finance Committee will 90 into
bankruptcy because of lack of con
fidence.
Mr.. La Toilette carried the Senate
with him, when he took up the cotton
duties and made his demonstration of
the immense and needless increases in
g them; and supplemented that state
meut by showing that the cotton man
ufacturers themselves had at first been
unable to think of anything they could
-Rsk for by way of improving their
status under the law. Apparently it
was only as a second thought that
somebody figured out a good thing to
Be produced by reorgauizing some of
these paragraphs. The sort of state
-nent Dir. La Toilette made is not to be
brushed lightly aside with the an
nouncement that "the Senator is en-
tirely misinformed"
~. There has never been a tariff revis-
. ion in which the discussion was SO
practical, so pointed, 80 specific, as it
has been during this one. In other years
tariff debate consisted largely of the
generalities and rhodomontade of de-
~5ate about the comparative merits OF
free trade and protection. This debate
is getting down TO specific duties and
their meaning and effect. It is a bust
ness consideration Of the tariff; it has
been .. wonderful illumination OF the
whole subject before the whole country
= .s.sI Law sba ec.4vfrv $780, H.,
ever of the opinion that revision of the
tariff once in decade at a special ses-
sion of Congress is. no way of handling
such question.
Information has not been produced
when wanted, because this Government
alone of all the great commercial coun,
tries IN the world, had no agency fol-
gathering and eollating and Analysing
THE material. Nobody is charged with
the business of being a perennial au
thority on tariff. Somebody ought tc
be 50 charged,
The tariff commission idea has made
advances with seven-league strides
simply because the public has got 9
better idea of the eomplexity of the
question. The utter ineompetency Of
Congress to take up and filter all the
material necessary TO intelligent ad
justment of duties, has been demon
strated. Whatever else is done or un
dones this session should be marked