The Clarksburg telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1874-1926, 1910-09-08
Roosevelt ON the Tariff.

Democratic free trade politicians a
solar plexus in his speech at Sioux
Falls Saturday, when he told what
he thought of the tariff. No better
idea of how Colonel Roosevelt stands
on the tariff can be given than by his
own utterances as follows:
Whenever men just like ourselves
probably not much better and GER
tainly no worse-continually fail to
give US the results we have right
to expect from their efforts we may
just as well make up our minds that
the fault lies not in their personality.
but in the conditions under which
they work. and profit comes not from
denouncing them, but in seeing that
the conditions are changed.
This is especially true of tariff
making. 1t has been conclusively
shown by experiments repeated
again and again that the methods
of tariff making by Congress which
have now obtained for SO many
years cannot from the very nature
of the case bring real satisfactory
results.
With the present tariff, made by
the same methods as its predeces-
sor and as that predecessors pre-
decessor there is great dissatlsfac-
tiol. The people know that there
are some things in 1t which are not
right and therefore, they tend to
suspect the, as think, more nu-
merous things in It which are
right. They know that the system
on which it was made. the same sys-
tenn on which Its predecessors we're
made, encourage a scramble OF sell
fish interests, to which the all i'm
portant general interest of the public
is necessarily more or less subor-
d;nated. There was a time when the
scramble was regarded as the ua-
tural course in tariff making and
was not resented Now the people
demand and rightly, that the profit
OF the special interests shall be SUI
bordinated to the general welfare in
every case. 1t is this attitude OF the
people which must be met in deal
ing with the present tariff and with
proposals to amend the present tar
III. Very little Improvement. indeed.
will follow any attempt to revise the
tariff by methods hitherto used.
The thing to do is to change the
methods. believe this coun-
try is fully committed to the
principle of protection. but It is to
protection as principle. to protec-
ton primarily in the interest OF the
standard of living of the American
workingman.
believe that when protection be-
comes not a principle. but a privilege
and preference-or, rather, jum-
BILE OF privileges and preferences
then the American people disapprove
OF it. Now. to correct the trouble
1t is necessary in the first place to
get in mind clearly what we want
and in the next place to get in mind
clearly the method by which we
hope to obtain what We want.
What we want is a square deal in
the tariff as in everything elsa
square deal for the wage Garner; a
square deal for the employer and q
square deal for the general public.
To obtain it we must have a
thoroughly efficient and well equip
ped tariff commission.
The tariff ought to be n material
issue and not moral issue. But II
instead of square deal we get a
crooked deal, then it becomes very
emphatically a moral issue. What
we desire in a tariff is such measure
of protection as will equalize tn,
cost OF production here and abroad
and as the cost OF production Il
mainly labor cost this means pri
marlly a tarIff sufficient to make vi
for the difference in labor cost her,
and abroad.
The American public wants tn,
American laboring man put on a
equality with other citizens, SO tina
he shall have the ability to achiev
the American standard of living an
the capacity to enjoy 1T, and to d
this We must see that his wages ar
not lowered by improper competition
with inferior wageworkers abroad :
with wageworkers who are pal
poorly and who live as no American
are willing to live. But the Ameri
can public does not wish to see tn
tarift SO arranged as to benefit prl
marty a few wealthy men.
with a means toward the attain