The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1909-02-19
THE TARIFF
CONFERENCE
FIRST NATIONAL TARIFF STUDY
GATHERING IN SESSION
AT INDIANAPOLIS.
EMPRESS PURPOSE is TO PRO-
NOTE COMPREHENSIVE, SCI
ENTIFIC TARIFF REVISION.

Indianapolis, Ind, Feb. 16.-
What is declared by President James
w. Van Cleave, of the National
Manufacturers Association, to be
he first national gathering ever
neld for the express purpose of pro-
noting the movement for compre-
uensive, scientific tariff revision,'
vas opened in Indianapolis today.
The delegates include officials of ma
tlonal, state and commercial organ
.zations all over the country. Scores
of such bodies have formally in
dorsed the tariff commission ideas
and the present convention, which
will continue through tomorrow and
Thursday, will likely have an inn
portant bearing on the work of the
special session of congress which
will convene next month to revise
che tariff. Chairman Henry Reisen-
berg has received letter from
president-elect Taft endorsing the
convention and it's objects.
The convention has not been call
ed to endorse any particular tariff
commission bill, or to attempt in
any way to influence the fixing OF
duties by congress at the extraor-
dinary session to be held in the
spring and early summer. 1t is
convention for the purpose of stim-
ulating interest in the tariff as
business proposition rather than as
a political proposition.
Discussion will centre largely on
the two tariff commission bills pend
ing in congress, one introduced in
the senate by Mr.. Beveridge, of In
diana, and the other offered in the
house by Mi. Fowler, of New Jersey.
A majority of the delegates to to-
days convention apparently favor
the measure Of the Indiana solon,
and it is also declared that Mr.. Taft
will give his influence to that bill
in preference to the one formulated
by the New Jersey congressman.
In the Beveridge bill to Great q
tariff commission there is no power
given to the body to fix rates. Sena-
tor Beveridge, in speaking Of the
legislation which he favors, said:
The commission is kept strictly
to the task of gathering facts and
making clear classifcations; the
first is expert investigation work,
the second, expert clerical work.
Neither is properly legislative work.
In short, by this bill the commission
is an assistant of congress, SER
want and clerk Of congress. 1t is
to congress, as a whole, what his
secretary is to each member of con-
gress. it is necessary to congress
for the same reason that the secre-
tary is necessary to each member.
Representative Fowler, who is
chairman of the house committee on
banking and currency, has intro
duced his tariff commission measure,
which gives to the members of the
commission right to fix rates,
power which Mr.. Taft declares to
be unconstitutional, and as the presi-
dent-elect may be supposed to be
an thority on questions of the con-
stitutionality of legislation, it is
probable that his views will have
great weight with congress. In
short, the Beveridge bill seems to
have the better start in the matter
of Legislative land administrative
favor.
1t is entirely probable that Mr..
Fowler understood thoroughly that
the question OF the constitutionality
of the rate-tixing provision in his
bill would be raised. He provides
that congress shall establish maxi
mum and minimum tariff schedules,
but that the commission shall fix
the rate of duty "to be paid upon
all imports; but in no case shall the
rates so fixed by the commission
be less than the maximum rates or
more than the maximum rates es-
tablished by congress"
AS it appears, the Fowler bill,
while recognizing the sole right of
congress to fix rates absolutely, yet
gives the commission the power to
fix the rates, provided it does not
go above or below the figures named
by the legislators, as the high and
low duties. Practically, it would
seem, therefore, that the commission
can do pretty much as it chooses
with the schedules under the Fow-
Ter measure, and thereby exercise
a legislative function. 1t is just
for such things as this that the ju-
dicial eye of Mr.. Taft is looking
out.