The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1910-02-13

| Rose, and
months that the Payne tariff was in force,
| from August to the night or February
| 3, the customs receipts amounted to $685.
| COZ 1854. Under the Wilson-GOrman tar
| if the semi-annual average was $S3,14I,-
! $3.50 Under the Dingley tariff the semi
annual average was S13O, 265, S4l.S4 Under
! the Wilson tariff the monthly average
was S13, So. 1876. Under the Dingley tar
/ iff the monthly average was S21, 710979.64,
while under the Payne tariff the monthly
average has been S27. GIL 42.75, or 100 per
| cent greater than the monthly average
under the Wilson tariff, and % per cent
greater than the monthly average under
the Dingley tariff
Marked Increase in Receipts.
"Of course. as the country increases in
population, the customs receipts increase,
but even considering the population, the
increase in the tariff receipts has been
marked. Under the Wilson tariff the an
nual average customs receipts per capita
were S2SS: under the Dingley tariff. 1923;
while under the Payne tariff act they are
1911.
For the six months that the Payne
tariff N7s been in force the total receipts
from 10th customs and internal revenue
have been 1923, S99, 231.9l while the dis
/ bursements have been 1892 7S3, 30S, show
ing that the expenditures exceeded the
| receipts by only S. 4,05117 with no col
/ lections yet from the corporation tax. For
the corresponding period last year the
! expenditures exceeded the receipts by
/ over S4OO00,0OO. This showing indicates
| that under the present customs laws the
deficit will be promptly wiped out, and
| that to meet our normal expenditures we
shall have ample revenue.
Il therefore venture to repeat the re-
mark have had occasion to make before,
/ that the present customs law IS the best
! customs law that has ever been passed,
] IL gv,rIE
Gates on the part of the Republican party
| the adoption of a policy to change from
an increase In duties to a reduction of
them, and to effect an increase of reve-
nues at the same time.
Trade Advantages Secured.
1.-The act has furnished to the executive
the power to apply the maximum and
minimum clauses in order to prevent UNI
| due discrimination on the part OF foreign
| countries, and this is securing additional
| concessions in respect TO the impOSitlOns
! on our foreign trade.
1.-The act has done justice to the Philip
pine islands by giving them free trade
| with the United States.
More than all this, the new tariff act
/ has provided for the appointment Of
tariff board to secure impartial evidence,
upon which, when a revision Of the tariff
| shall seem wise, we shall have at hand
] data from which can be determined with
some degree of accuracy the difference
| producing
/ abroad and the cost of producing them in
| this country,
THE great difficulty in hearing and
| discussion of the present tariff bill was
| the absence Of satisfactory and credible
| evidence on either side Of the issues as
| TO low or high tariffs. The importer on
| the one hand and the manufacturer on the
other were present to give their fallible
judgments affected by their own pecuni-
airy interests as to the facts under inVes-
/ tigatiOn. Men who were struggling to
| find the truth were greatly perplexed by
the conflicting testimony.
Enormous Amount of Work.
1.-THE tariff bill authorizes the President
| to eXpend $4,000 in employing persons to
! assist him in administering the maximum
and minimum clause and to assist him
and other officers of the government in
/ the administration OF the tariff law, I
have construed this to mean that ! may
use the board appointed under this power
not only to look into the foreign tariffs,
but also to examine the question with re
speCt to each item in our tariff bill, what
| the cost of production of the merchandise
| is, and what its cost is abroad. This is
not an easy task, for impartial exports,
and it requires a large force. l expect
/ to apply to Congress this year for $3.50 600
| to organize a force through which this
investigation may go on and the results
| be recorded for the use of the executive
and Congress when they desire to avail
I .
/ any subsequent revision may be carried
on with the tide of data secured officially
and without regard to its argumentative
effect upon the question of raising or
lowering duties. Taken as a whole, there
! fore, do not hesitate to repeat that the
| Republican party has substantially COM
piled with its promise in respect to the
tariff and that 1t has set itself strongly
| in the right direction toward lower tariffs
and furnished the means by which such
| lower tariffs can properly and safely be
| fixed.
An investigation by the tariff board
| of the sort proposed, will certainly take a
| full two years or more. Meantime, the
operation of the present tariff promises
! to be consistent with the prosperity of the
country and with the furnishing of suffi-
| cient funds with which to meet the very
heavy but necessary expenditures of car
rying on our great government
Postal Savings Bank.
The Republican national platform con-
tanned the following:
" We favor the establishment of a pos
tai savings bank system for the convent
ences of the people and the encourage
ment of thrift
"a bill has been introduced to establish
a postal saving bank. The great difficulty
| in the bill seems to have been to obtain
a proper provision for the management
| and investment of the money deposited.
| The great advantage OF postal savings
| bank is the encouragement TO thrift of
those whose fears of the soIvency of any
depository except a government deposit
DRY tempts them away from saving. A
government promise TO repay seems to be
specially effective in leading people to
save and deposit their savings. The ma
chinery of the pOstoffice department
with its 5000 postoffices and 4O, 900 money
order offices. offers an economic and far
reaching machinery in places remote FROM
banks, and among people who fear banks.
who, but for the opportunity, would not
save but spend. The low interest offered
that OF per cent, prevents each postal
savings bank from interfering with regu-
lar savings banks. whose rate of interest
always is in excess of 2 per cent.
Dangerous Amendments.
I'm the present stage of the Senate
bill there have been inserted amendments
drawn apparently for the purpose of hav-
ing money deposited as savings in gov
eminent postoffices, distributed through
the locality where deposited in the banks,
state and national, and so deposited as