Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1910-09-07
SQUARE DEAL IN
TARIFF IS WANTED
Roosevelt Discusses Very Live
Topic in Sioux Falls.
SHOULD BE MATERIAL ISSUE
Former President Says Present Law
Is Not Satisfactory and Argues ,
for an Efficient Tariff
Commission.

for an Efficient Tariff
Commission.
Sioux Falls, S. D., Sept. 3.-Colorel
Roosevelt arrived here at 4:3O this
afternoon on his tour Of the middle
west, and his schedule provided for
an all night stop. He made one ad-
dress, taking for his topic the tariff
and arguing earnestly for the crea-
ton of tariff commission. He said:
Whenever men just like ourselves
probably not much better, and certainly
no Worse-continually fail to give us the
results we have right to expect from
their enorts we may just as we'll make
up our minds that the fault lies, not in
their personality, but in the conditions
nnder which they work, and profit comes,
not from denouncing them. but in seeing
mat the conditions are changed. This is
especially true Of tariff-making It has
been conclusively shown, by experiments
repeated again and again, that the meth
Gas OF tarif-making by congress, which
nave now obtained for so many years.
cannot, from the very nature of the case
nrlne really satisfactory results I think
mat the present tariff is better than the
'ast' and considerably better than the
one before the last; but it has certainly
failed to give general satisfaction. I be-
neve this country is fully committed to
tle principle of protection; but it is to
protectlon as principle; to protection
PRIMARILY Ill the interest of the standard
OF living of the American workingmar.
l believe that when protection becomes.
NOT principle, but privilege and
3preiefence-or: rather, a tumble Of privi-
reyes ana preferences-then the American
people d1sapprove Of it. Now. to correct
the trouble, it is necessary. in the first
place to get In mind clearly what we
want, and, in the next place. to get in
mlnd clearly the method by which we
nope to obtain what we want. What wa
want IS g. square deal in the tariff as in
everything else; a square. deal for the
Wage-earner; square deal for the en-
ployer; and a square deal for the GEN
eral public. To obtain it we must lave ,
thoroughly efficient and well-eouipned
tariff commission
me tariff ought to be material issue
ana not moral issue; but if instead If a
square deal we get a crooked deal. then
IL becomes very emphatically a moral is-
sue What we desire in a tariff Is s,,ch
measure OF protection as will equalize the
cost OF production here and abroad; and
as the cost of production is mainly labor
cost. this means primarily a tariff suffi-
cient to make up for the difference in la
Dor cost here and abroad, The American
pubic wants the American 1aborfng man
put on an equality with other citizens. 81
tnae ne shall have the ability to achieve
the american standard of living and the
capacity to enjoy it; and to do this we
must see that his wages are not lowered
by improper competition with inferior
wase-workers abroad-with wage-worl-
ers VINO are paid poorly and who live as
no Americans are willing to live. But
the american public does not wish to see
the tariff so arranged as to benefit pri-
marily few wealthy men.
Commission Is the Solution.
>, AS means toward the attainment OF
ITS end in view we have as vet devised
nothing in any way as effective as g. tar
III commission. There should be a COM
MISSION OF well-paid experts; men who
snou,o not represent any industry: who
should be masters Of their subjects: Of
the very highest character; and who
snoulo approach the matter with abso-
iute disregard of every outside consfdera-
uon These men should take up in auc
cession each subject with which the tar
IN deals and investigate the conditions of
production here and abroad; they should
~. ma OUT the Facts and not merely accept
the statements of interested parties. and
they should report to congress on each
SUBJECT as soon as that subject has been
covered. Then action can be taken at
once on the particular subject concerned.
Wh1le the commission Immediately pro-
ceeds to investigate another. By these
means log-rolling would be avoided and
eacn subject treated on it's merits, while
there would be no such shock to general
INDUSTRY as is implied in the present Gus
tom OF making sweeping changes in the
whole tariff at once. Finally. it should
be the duty Of some governmental de-
partment or bureau to Investigate the
conditions in the various protected in
dustries. and see that the laborers really
are getting the benefit of the tariff sup
posed to be enacted in their interest.
Moreover, to insure good treatment
abroad we should keep the maximum
and minimum provision
For Waterway Legislation, Also.
The same principle cf frst-class out
side commission should be applied to
river and harbor legislation. At present
river and harbor bill, like a tariff bill,
tends to be settled by squabble among
lot of big selfish interests and little
selfish interests, with scant regard to the
one really vital interest that of the gen.
eral public. In this matter the National
legislature would do we'll to profit by the
example of Massachusetts, Formerly
Massachusetts dealt with it's land and
harbor legislation just as at Washington
tariff and river and harbor laws have
been dealt with; and there was just the
same pulling and hauling. the same bar
gaining and log-rolling the same subor-
dination of the general interest to various
special interests. Last year Governor
Draper took up the matter, and on his
recommendation the legislature turned
the whole business over to commits
sion of experts; and all trouble and scam
DIAL forthwith disappeared. Incidentally,
this seems to me to be a f1rst-class in
stance of progressive legislation.