The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1910-09-24
CHAIRMAN PAYNE
DEFENDS HIS BILL
Man Whose Name Is Attached
to New Tariff Law Honored
by Constituents.
SOME FACTS SET FORTH
What the Republican Platform
Promised and What Was Done
by Congress.


alive Serene r. Payne. chairman Of
the ways and means committee OF the
House OF Representatives. and author
OF the tariff law bearing his name.
made a warm defense of that measure
before the congressional convention
which renominated him here today.
He said. in part:
4 have always been ready to give
an account of my stewardship TO my
constituents. There has been 80 much
Of unjust criticism. so many mistaken
statements during the last year and a
half. that II seems more fitting than
ever TO speak somewhat I'm detail OF
what has been accomplished.
The platform promised a revision
Of the tariff that should provide a
duty equal to the difference I'm cost Of
labor here and abroad. with reason
able profit TO the manufacture. It
promised this as To each article
whether It resulted I'm raising or low
ering the tariff on that article. or
course. intelligent men generally Ia
miliar with the tariff believe such a
revision should be downward on most
articles.
Task Hard One
The matter OF preparation Of
tariff bill r. a most perpleXing one. Tn
der the definition OF what the bill
should contain in a platform as plain
as that adopted at Chicago in 1903. the
task is not easy. With "a different
wage scale I'm every country. and with
differences I'm wages I'm every part Of
each country. honest men seeking the
difference in labor cost here and
abroad. will not agree in all their con-
illusions. To reconcile these differ
enCes among twelve men selected for
the task was a part of the labor we
had before US. and en- the last analysis
these differen noes had TO be settled by
n majority vote.
The results OF our deliberations
were most satisfactory to me i'm gem
eral results. although there were
other Items. like those Of the wooden
schedule. which I was anxious to re-
wise. IL was "A source OF great disap-
pOintment 10 me after two exhaustive
and extended hearings. that il was
not able 60 present any program that
majority Of the committee would adopt
for a revision Of this schedule. The
reason was not that the committee was
unduly influenced by those interested.
but that they could not agree upon
the labor cost OF producing wool and
wooden goods in this country and
abroad, with a reasonable profit 10 the
producers. OF course. this left the
wool schedule where it was I'm the
DinEIey act. with one or two small re-
auctions I'm duties
Amended by senate.
Some Of the amendments proposed
by the Senate were good and improved
the bill. and when IT got into confer
cnCe. so far as 7 was able. I endcav-
ored TO have such amendment agreed
to. and nearly all Of them were.
The law as 70 was signed by the
President has resulted i'm a general re-
vision downward. and no amount OF
special pleading. no misstatement Of
facts. and no suppression Of materisl
facts viii ever make IT appear other
wise.
THE law has turned a deficit OF
S5S.00o.0OO into a surplus OF more
than S22.OOO.OOO in its first years ope-
rations. II is a revenue producer. We
put increased duties on wines. liquors
and like Injuries. We have no apollo
gies 10 make for II. These are the ar
tiCles on which the revenues OF the
government should be raised as far as
possible.
1T is an easy thing TO say that the
present tariff law has increased the
cost OF living. but Il is impossible 20
prove It. II is almost impossible to
find n single item on which the tariff
was increased on which the price has
shown a similar increase. on the other
hand. on nearly every item we re-
duced the tariff or where we left IL the
same as under the old law they have
maintained the old price, and some
times increased e. We reduced the
tariff on lumber from 81 20 S1.25. and
lumber brings the same old price. We
increased the duty on shingles from
80 to so cents. and the price Of shin
giles has been lower ever since the act
became a law. I could enumerate
these items by the hour. showing that
the price has no relation whatever to
the changes I'm the tariff act.
The increase I'm price OF articles Is
worldwide. No other country during
the last three or four years has gone
through a general tariff revision and
yet every country shows the same in
crease ON the necessities OF lie,