New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1909-08-11

st6rlH which was ¨tt0Qiy M8Oe LOO
high in order that there might be room
for reduction by treaties of recipro-
city, has not been disturbed by House
or Senate, and therefore is beyond the
reach of conference committee, and
that in dealing with rates as to which
House and Senate disagree, the COM
mittee must work within the upper and
lower limits. The rules which thus
govern its procedure can be modified
with respect to separate items only by
the special and concurrent action and
instructions of House and Senate.
There conditions tend, in this final
stage of the long contest, to prevent
such action concerning finished pro-
ducts as the President is beginning to
regard as desirable.
It is difficult to understand why the
President, so actively insisting upon
reductions at this late day, and so
persistently exerting his influence TO
obtain them, not only made no effort
whatever for downward revision thru
out the weeks and months when he
could have accomplished something
because the almost insurmountable
obstacles which now confront him did
not then EXIST, but even permitted the
insurgent Republican Senators to be-
lieve that their movement had his dis
approval. And yet, from day to day,
they were exposing the inequitable
rates which within the last few days
he has begun to criticise. He has re-
peatedly insisted upon due regard
for the doctrine laid down in the Re-
publican platform, but if the facts
presented in the memorable Senate
debate were not wholly ignored by
him, he must have realized that the
controlling majority was making no
attempt to measure protective rates
by the difference in costs of produc-
ton, plus a reasonable profit. He
should have urged that majority to
shape its course in accord with the
platform doctrine. If he had done so,
the two bills sent to conference would
have been much less Objectionable
than those which the committee has
been considering and which he has
been trying to improve.
His interest was manifested and his
influence was exerted at too late day.
His demands at first touched only a
small part of the broad tariff field,
avoiding inequitable schedules which
had been shamefully manipulated to
the disadvantage of consumers, and
when the conference stage was reached
the rules and network of bargains
three or four months old made it ex-
tremely difficult for the controlling
majority to grant what he desired,
even if it had been willing to do this.
It seems to us that he must have
known about the barriers that the
conference rules would raise. When
it was reported from the White
House, not long after the beginning
of the Senate debate, that he intended
to deal with the conference committee,
these rules and the effect of them were
pointed out to him by scores of news
papers, and, doubtless. by legislators
and others who desired reasonable
downward revision. His active and
persistent Intervention after the con-
ference committee-began its work in
dictates that he was not restrained at
an earlier date by a feeling that he
ought not to attempt to shape legisla-
ton, for Congress is still in session,
the tariff bill has not been enacted,
and thruout last week he was striving
to shape the revision by a direct
exertion Of his influence For what
he may now accomplish he will re-
ceive due credit from the people, but
many loyal friend will think that by
delay he lost his opportunity. The
New York Independent.