The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1910-12-12


act was adopted in pursuance of
declaration by the party which is res
ponsible for it that a customs bill |
should be a tariff for the protection
Of home industries, the measure of the
protection to be the difference be-
tween the cost of producing the i'm
ported article abroad and the cost Of |
producing it at home, together with |
such addition to that difference as i
might give a reasonable profit to the |
home producer. The basis for the |
criticism of this tariff is that in res
pect to a number of the schedules the |
declared measure was not followed, |
but a higher difference retained or in
serted by way of undue discrimination |
in favor of certain industries and ma
nufactures. Little, if any, of the cri-
ticism of the tariff has been directed |
against the protective principle above
stated; but the main body of the cri-
ticism has been based on the charge |
that the attempt to conform to the |
measure of protection was not honest
ly and sincerely adhered to.
TARIFF BOARD.
Ine time in which the tariff was |
prepared undoubtedly was SO short as
to make it impossible for the congress
and its experts to acquire the informa
ton necessary strictly to conform to
the declared measure. In order to
avoid criticism of this kind in the flu
ture and for the purpose of more near.
ly conforming to the party promise,
congress at it's last session made pro
vision at my request for the oontinu-
ance of a board created under the au-
thority of the maximum and minimum
clause of the tariff bill, and authorized
propriated under my direction for the
ascertainment of the cost of produc-
ton at home and abroad Of the va
rious articles included in the sche-
dulles of the tariff. The tariff board
thus appointed and authorized has
been diligent in preparing itself fog
the necessary investigations. The
hope of those who have advocated the
use Of this board for tariff purposes is
that the question of the rate of a duty
imposed shall become more of bust
ness question and less of a political
question, to be ascertained by experts
of long training and accurate knowl-
edge. The halt in business and the
shock to business, due to the an
nouncement that a new tariff bill is to
be prepared and put in operation, will
be avoided by treating the schedules
one by one as occasion shall arise for
a change in the rates of each, and only
after report upon the schedule by
the tariff board competent to make
such report. 1t is not likely that the
board will be able to make a report
during the present session of congress
on any of the schedules, because a pro-
per examination involves an enormous
amount of detail and a great deal of
care; but / hope to be able at the
opening of the new congress, or at
least during the session of that con-
gress, to bring to it's attention the
facts in regard to those schedules in
the present tariff that may prove to
need amendment. The carrying out
of this plan, OF course, involves the
full cooperation of congress in limit
ing the consideration in tariff matters
to one schedule at time, because if a
proposed amendment to a tariff bill
is to involve a complete consideration
of al the schedules and another revi-
sion, then we shall only repeat the
evil from which the business of this
country has in times past suffered
most grievously by stagnation and un.
certainty, pending a re-settlement OF
and the effect of which no wise bust
ness man would ignore in new projects
and new investments. | can not too
much emphasize the Importance and
benefit of the plan above proposed for
the treatment of the tariff 1t facili-
tates the removal of noteworthy de-
fects in an important law without
a disturbance of business prosperity,
which is even more important to the
happiness and the comfort of the peo-
pie than the elimination of instances
of injustice in the tariff.
The inquiries which the members of
the tariff board made during the last