The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1910-09-08
ROOSEVELT SPEAKS
ON TARIFF ISSUE
He Favors the Commission Idea
and Criticises the Payne
Aldrich Bill.

Sioux. Falls, S. D., Sep 5.-Colonel
Theodore Roosevelt spoke here Satur-
day night on the Tariff question. He
said:
Whenever men Just like ourselves-prob-
ably not much better, aud certainly no
worse-continually fail to give us he re-
salts we have a right 10 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 undes
which they work. and profit comes, na!
from ~denouncing them. but in seeing that
the conditions are changed. This is espe-
cially true OF matchmaking 1t has been
conclustvely shown, by experiments re-
peated again and again. that the methods
of matchmaking By congress. which rave
now obtained for so many years, can not,
from the very nature OF the case, bring
really satisfactory results. With the pres
ent tariff, made by the same methods as
ITS predecessor and as that predecessors
predecessor, there Is grave dissatisfaction.
The people know thai there are some
things in 1t which are not right. and there
FORE they tend to suspect, as l think, the
more numerous things III 1t which are
right. They know that the system on
which 1t was made, the same system on
which rs predecessors were made, en-
courage . scramble of selfish interests to
which the all important general interest
OF the public is necessarily more or less
subordinated. There was a time when this
~ ~ NdS ltSdIuet GS az IliuId1
course IN tariff making and was not re-
scented. Now the people demand, and
rightly, that the profit Of the special IN
terests should be supordinated to the gem
eral welfare in every case. 1t is this at
titudc of the people which must be met in
dealng with the present tariff. and with
proposals to amend the present tariff.
Very little Improvement indeed, will fol-
low any attempt 10 revise the tariff by
methods hitherto used. The thing TO do is
TO change the methods. i believe this
country is fully committed to the principle
OF protection; but it is to protection as a
prlhelpie; TO protection primarily in the
interest OF the standard of living of the
American w~orllinginan. I believe that
when protection becomes, not a principle,
put a privilege and a preference-or, rath-
err, a tumble of privileges and preferences
Then the American people ~disapproye it.
Now, to correct the trouble, ii is neces-
sary, In the first place, to get In mind
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 else; a square deal
for the wage Garner: a square deal for the
employer: and a square deal for the gem
eral public. To obtain ii we must rave a
iff commission.
Tariff Not a Moral Issue.
The tariff ought to be a material issue
and not q moral issue: but il instead of a
square deal We get q crooked deal, then 1t
becomes very emphatically a moral issue.
what We desire in a tariff is such a meas
ure OF protection as will euoalize the cost
or production here and abroad; and as the
Sost OF production is mainly labor cost,
this means primarily a tariff sufficient TO
make up for the difference in labor cost
here and abroad. The American public
wants the American Iabering man put on
an equality with other citizens, so that he
shall nave the ability to achieve the
American standard OF living and the ca
pacity to enjoy; and TO do this we must
see that MS wage are not lowered by i'm
proper competition with inferior wage
workers a~broad-witk wage-workers who
are paid poorly and who live as no Ameri-
cans are willing TO i've. But the American |
public does not wish 10 see the tariff so
Tranged as to benefit primarily a few
wealthy men
Fapors a Commission.
As q means toward the attainment ot
its end in view we have as yet devised |
nothing Sa any way as effective as a tariff
commission. There should be a commits
sion OF well-paid experts; men who should |
masters of their subjects; of the very
highest character; and who should an
proach the matter with absolute disregard
of every outside consideration. These
men should take up in succession each
subject with which the tariff deals and in
yestigate the conditions " production here |
and abroad. they should find out the facts
and not merely accept the statements of
interested parties; and they should report |
10 congress on each subject as soon as (
that subject has been covered. Then
action can De taken ar once on the particll- |
lar subject concerned, while the commits
sion Immediately proceeds to Investigate. |
another. BY these means log-rol.ng would
be avoided and each subject treated on |
Its merits, while there would be no such
shock to general industry as Is implied in
the present custom OF making sweeping
changes In the whole tariff at once, !
Finally, 1t should be the duty OF some
governmental department or bureau 10
Investigate the conditions in the various |
protected industries, and see that the
laborers really are getting the benefit Of
the tariff supposed to be enacted In their
interest. Moreover, to insure good treat
ment abroad we should keep the maximum
and minimum provision.
Rivers and Harbors.
The same principle of a first class out
and harbor legislation. AT present a river
and harbor bill, like a tariff bill. tends 10
be settled by a %squabble among a LOT Of
big. selfish interests and little, selfish in
%terests, with scant regard to the one
really vital interest, that of the general
lature would do well to profit by the ex-l
ample OF Massachusetts. Formerly Massa.
chusetts dealt with its land and harbo-
legislation just as at Washington tariff
and river and harbor laws haye been
dealt with; and there was lust the ssToa
pulling and hauling, the same barea5nine
and log-roiling, the same subordination Of
the general interest to various special in
terests. Last year Governor Draper cook |
up the matter, and on his commenda-
ton the LEGISLATURE turned the whole bus
mess over to a commission or experts. and
all trouble and scandal forthwith dtsau-
pearea. incidentally, this seems 10 me Il
be a first class instance of progressive
legislation.