Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1909-08-12
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular Correspondent
WAsHUNGToN, Aug, I, 1903.


weeks of almost continuous debate. is
finally on the statute books and the
Diugley law has passed into Iii tory.
Final action on the bill was taken by
the Senate on Thursday afternoon,
August 5, and within three hours after
the passage Of the measure by the up
per house, the President affixed his
signature and the first session of the
Sixty-frst Congress adjourned sine
die. The bill went into effect that
night at midnight. After signing the
bill the President made a statement of
his views, saying: 81 have signed the
Payne tariff bill because / believe it to
be the result of sincere effort on the
part of the Republican party to make
a downward revision and the comply
with the promises of the platform as
they have been generally understood
and as interpreted them in the cam
paign before election" President Taft
frankly admits that he is not wholly
satisfied with the measure, saying:
''The bill is not perfect tariff bill or
complete compliance with the promises
made, strictly interpreted, but fulfil
ment free from criticism in respect to
a subject matter involving many
schedules and thousands of articles
could not be expected" "There
have been a great number of real de-
creases in rates, and they constitute a
sufficient amount to justify the state
ment that this bill is a substantial
downward revision and a reduction of
excessive rates"
To the many who put their faith in
tariff commission the Presidents words
on that subject viii prove an occasion
of qualification for he says that the
provision contained in the maximum
and minimum section gives him ga
wide latitude for acquisition. under cir
cumstances favorable to its truth, of
information in respect to the 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 importance as
officially collected date upon which
future Executive action and Executive
recommendations may be based.
The session of Congress just con-
cluded demonstrated in a remarkable
degree the impossibility of enacting a
tariff law in accordance with the Re
publican national platform, that is,
making the duties equal the difference
between the cost of production at home
and abroad plus reasonable profit for
American industries, without date
bearing on the various industries other
than that furnished by protected manu-
facturers whose personal profits are de-
pendent on the tariff and whose views
cannot be in any sense unbiazed. Such
manufacturers appear before the COM
mittee of Congress and assert that any
reduction of the duties below the ex-
listing law will ruin their business and
throw thousands out of work. The few
who attempt to controver these state
ments are, naturally, less familiar with
the details of a given industry than
those engaged in it and they are gen.
orally made to appear ridiculous be-
cause of that lack of familiarity. The
Senator or Representative dependent
on the manufacturers in his district in
large measure for reelection is hardly
in position to treat their statements
with incredulity. 1t is, therefore, i'm
perative that Congress should have
some official data on which to act and
that, above all, the President who, as
Mr.. Taft has we'll said, has the entire
country for his constituency, should
possess that data also. Only tariff
commission of the type designed by
President Taft can furnish such data.
Some of the leaders in Congress
sought to emasculate the tariff provis-
ion commission, as is clearly demon
strated by the statement of Senator
Hale in debate that under the provis-
ion the President would have no power
to investigate costs of production at
hohC VI aoiodu. L hC ctoouidhCc vi 81
able a lawyer as President Taft that
the provision as enacted affords him
wide latitude to secure just such infor-
nation is, therefore, most reassuring
to majority of the people, even
though it may greatly contribute to
the discontinue of Mr.. Hale
U. S. CaValryman.
Danl Sullivan, Jr., of Cameron, who
is spending his furlough at his home
at Cameron was in town yesterday and
allied at tho DpEsS odioa He hoe an