The Alaska citizen., 1910-09-26
HOW TARIFF WAS INVESTIGATED"
DID NOT DISCUSS THE HIGHLY TAXED COMMODITIES.
 DURING INQUIRY.
WAS 4 FIXED UR AFFAIR
Whole Inquiry Was Bluff. as the Party In Power Has Not the Slightest Intention Of Lowering the Rates.

 Cores pondence1 - The American people will recall that Senator Henry Cabot Lodges price-investigating committee found that no part of the 5S per cent. increase in the cost ut living in this country in the last h years was due to the tariff Poljti- cal economists all over the land were sorely puzzled at the report.
 The phenomena can now be ex- plained The report of the minority of the committee. just being pub lished. shows that the Republicans made no serious attempt to ascertain whether the tariff was responsible or not Listen to this extract from the minority report:
 In examining witnesses We scarce ly touched upon the territory of the highly protected commodities :"
 Lodge. who helped frame the Payne-Aldrich bill and takes the position that the consumer is a myth, saw to it that the investga- tiCns were confined almost exclusive ly to foodstuffs and cotton. and t1 the production, distribution and cost to the consumer of wheat, corn. poef. mutton and hog products, of which commodities the United States pro duces large per cent of the worlds production. and which We eX- port in enormous quantities. As to these articles it may be supposed of trusts and monopoles. the tar if should not cut large figure eX. cept that it increases the cost of their production.
 Do you see the point. Mir. Con sumer? Lodge had been assigned by Senator Aldrich to make a re port, obviously for campaign pur- poses. which would absolye the taritf from all blame in connection with the awful increase in the cost of living under our system of high pro lection. Lodge evidently concluded the safest way 10 accomplish this end would be to avoid asking any questions of witnesses concerning advances in the prices of highly protected articles, such as the pro ducts of the sugar trust, the steel trust, the harvester trust, all of which contribute heavily to the Re publican campaign fund,
 The Lodge report gave r. reasons for increased prices, and found that the tariff was mo material factor. This report is being used by the men who voted for the PayneAld- rich bill in the hope it will enable them to remain in public life.
 Tariff Increases Prices.
 Senators Johnston, of Alabama, Clarke, of Arkansas, and Smith of South Carolina, the minority mem bers of the Lodge committee, find the three substantial causes for in creased prices are:
 | Tarif.
 2 Trusts, combines and monopo- lies.
 g. Increased money supply.
 Owing to the tactics of the Re publicans in avoiding highly protect ed articles, the minority members found themselves without sufficient data to apportion the degree of re sponsibility between these three causes, but that the two first are the chief malefactors We have no doubt; and they are of our own ere ation or permission"
 We believe" the report reads, that the amount of the tariff is add ed to the price and taxed to the con sumer; that but for the tariff the commodities we buy would be cheap CT, approximately to the extent of the tariff"
 A Campaign Canard.
 Taft will no longer cooperate with Cannon and Aldrich and Ballin- ger is to be retired"
 This is the grist of statements carried by the Associated Press, and obviously inspired by Republi- can campaign managers.
 The information may be accepted as nothing more than ruse. The Republican campaign managers play ed the same trick on the public in the last presidential election. The rumor was quietly stated that Candi- date Taft did not approve of Speaker Cannon. The inference was strong that Taft would not stand for Can non as Speaker. This false rumor enthusiastically helped Taft in the in- surgent districts.
 Immediately after Taft was inaug- urated an attempt was made to de feat Cannon as speaker. The com bined Democrats and Insurgents would have accomplished this end had not the President used all of the resources at his command to per petuate Cannon as speaker.
 Taft is not going to read Aldrich and Cannon out of the party, be- cause Aldrich and Cannon (and the special interests they represenD will not permit the President to have a