New-York tribune., 1910-12-03
Dr.. SChurman Says Taft's Board
Will Furnish II.
TRUSTS ALSO DISCUSSED
Believes People, Through Con.
gress, Will Assert Right to
Regulate Big Corporations.

Auburn. n. Y. Dec. DIR. Jacob Gould
Schurman, president of Cornell University,
speaking on Progressive Policies at the
annual banquet Of the Business Mems Asso-
ciation OF this city tonight, declared that
Americans needed more light than they had
to-day for the solution OF their tariff prob
lem. DR.. Schurman said:
President Taft's Tariff Board will turn
on the light And We have never before III
all the history of the country had such
provision for shedding the pure light OF
truth on the tariff question. This subject
has been oDscured by prejudice, by pas
sion, by ignorance and by conflicting in
terests. The Tariff Board viii be source,
in Racon's phrase, Of dry light. And
there is field in which dry light is more
urgently needed. cur best economists, even
those who are not free traders, believe that
our present tariff duties are needleSsly high,
even on the principle OF equalization or
costs at home and abroad The Tariff Board
termination of this question. The general
public certainly believe, and this belief
is one OF the most vital and potent factors
in modern politics, that the tariff confers
a monopoly on certain trusts and enables
them 10 control prices and 10 Cypress the
be able TO tell US how far this accusation
is justihable, and to recommend tariff
amendments for the correction of such an
intoIerahIe evil II is widely assumed that
any reduction in a duty would entail
corresponding reduction in the price OF
view of the general public Yet economic
experts. who are not protectionIsts, nave
demonstrated over and over again that such
a reduction of duties would not make pos
sibe lowering Of the price. On this mat
ter. too the findings of the Tariff Board
would be of inestimable value
Speaking of the trust question now be-
fore the Supreme Court of the United
States. President Schurnan said:
man antitrust law is insufficient for the
protection of the people against monopoly.
and If the federal government has nor
already exhausted all the power conferred
on il in this regard by the Interstate
clause of the Constitution. 1t Will be open
TO Congress 10 amend and strengthen the
antitrust law. IT, the other hand, the
federal government should be left power
less TO regulate the big Industrial cor
porations, then an amendment OF tne Con
stitution would undoubtedly be enected or
attempted in the way prescribed by the
Constitution itself
By one or other of these methods l per
sonally believe that the people, through
Congress, will assert their right TO regu-
late the large Industrial corporations An
course be a long and difficult undertak-
ing. But It is quite possible that no
amendment of the Constitution viii be
necessary And this seems 10 be the as
sTIrnption of President Taft and other emf
nent lawyers And President Tafts plan
for the federal Incorporation OF these Dig
tnUuSCr1al cOrDOrauOuS dilOIuS liAOoh
promising outlook for the solution OF this
problem.
I assume that an act Of Congress could
not interfere with the right of the states
to charter corporations and TO tax their
real and personal property, yet 1t might
authorize g federal commission to regu-
late the business Of these state-incorpo-
rated concerns in other states and in for
eign countries. subject always TO the gov
ernnental rights Of these states and coun-
tries themselves.
William J. Collier, formerly Minister TO
Spain, discussed THE influence of Spain
on American Trade and Policy"