Los Angeles herald., 1910-08-29
Los ANGELES HERALD MONDAY MORNING, AUGUST 1910


there was a substantial reduction.
Perhaps more important than any
one feature of the operative part or
the tariff law is that section which
enables the executive to appoint tariff
| commission or board to secure the
needed Information for the proper
| amendment and perfection of the law.
When the commission completes It's
work, either on the entire tariff or on
any of the schedules in respect to
which issue has arisen. and the work
of the commission shows the present
| tariff is wrong and should be changed,
| expect to bring the matter to the at
! tention of the congress, with view
to its amendment of the tariff in that
| particular.
OF course this will be impracticable
unless congress itself shall adopt the
parliamentary rule, as l hope it Will,
| that a bill to amend one schedule of
| the tariff may not be subject to mo-
tion to amend by adding changes IN
other schedules.
| 1t will thus be possible to take up a
single schedule with respect to when
| it is probable that a great majority
of each house will be unpreJudlced TO
admit the evidence, and to reach q
fair conclusion, and this method will
| tend to avoid disturbing business con-
| ditions For these reasons it seems TO
me that all ns-conservatiVe.
| progressive and radical-may well
abide the situation with respect to the
tariff until evidence now being accu-
mulated shall justify changes in the
rates. and that ii is much better for
them to vote for Republicans than to
help create Democratic majority
which would be utterly at war with the
protective principle, and therefore,
| would have no use for the findings Oh
the tariff commission. as we may Ger
! tainly infer from the solid Democratlc
vote in the present congress against
the necessary appropriation for the
commissions work.
LAWS EFFECT ON REVENUE
/ One great virtue in the new tariff
| law, including the corporation tax, Is
| that taken with the current effort OF
| the administration to keep down or
reduce governmental expenditures and
to reform the method of collecting the
customs revenue, it has by its revenue
producing capacity, turned deficit IN
| the ordinary operations of the govern
ment of S5S, 900, 900 for the year ending
June 30 1909, to a surplus in the first
! full year of the law, ending August
5, 1910, of $26,000,000 From a revenue
standpoint then. there can be no con-
! troversy over the effectiveness of the
new law. Generally speaking, full
| measure of industrial activity in pro-
duction, transportation and distribu-
| ton has accompanied the operation or
! the new law.
| Again, the present law in its corpor-
| alton tax imposes q new kind or tax
| which has many of the merits or an
| income tax. 1t is one of the most USE
ful and important changes in our rev.
| enue laws, as the future will show. In
spite of the criticisms heaped upon 1t
| at its passage, no party responsible lor
| revenues or anxious to retain every
means of legitimate supervision of cor
porations will repeal it.
The next most important work OF
the present congress was the passage
of the amendment to the interstate
| commerce bill. The bill as at present
| in force is an excellent bill. 1t is
not enacted in a spirit of hostility to
railroads, but submits them to a closer
| and more effective supervision by the
| interstate commerce commission TO
avoid injustice in their management
| and control.
TREATMENT RAILROADS DEMAND.
The important part that railroads
| play as the arterial circulation in the
| business of the country, the million ana
| a half of their employees and the mill
lion of their stockholders, the impor-
tance of their purchasing power as al
! fecting the prosperity of general bust
ness-all require in the public interest
| that no unfair treatment should be ac-
corded them. But 1 am glad to note
| that the railroad managers nave ac-
uuesced in the fairness of the present
/ bill and propose Loyalty to comply with
| its useful provisions. 1t was support
ed by the whole Republican party in
congress and that party is entitled to
! credit for it's passage. The whole
| Democratic strength was exhlblted
aCainst it, or in both houses. 1t was
| a performance of the pledge of the
platform and only needs to vindicate
| the wisdom OF it's enactment.
The postal savings bank bill has a
similar history. 1t is one of the great
congressional enactments. 1t creates
an epoch. Like the tariff bill, and the
railroad bill, this was put through
| each house of congress by Repup-
| lican majority and was signed by a
Republican president. The legislation
of congress in respect to the navy de-
partment is full compliance with the
promises of the Republican PLATFORM
| The Republican party at the last ses-
sion of congress again exhibited its
deep and sincere interest in the gen.
eral welfare of the workmen and wom-
en- of the country by adding important
enactments to its alresdy long record
of legislation on this subject.
RECENT LEGISLATION FEATURES
In this connection arc mentioned the
estimate of the buresu of mines TO
aid. among other things, in preventing
| loss of life; ampler laws giving pow
ers to the interstate commerce COM
mission for the prevention of accidents
to employees and passengers; perfecting
of the employers liability act to en-
| able injured employees more easily to
recover lust damages; creation of a
| congressional commission TO report a
practical bill for the fixing of work
mems compensation for injuries re-
ceived in the employment of interstate
carriers.
Continuing, the letter says:
one of the great questions which has
made a national issue and aroused
public interest through tnsistence OF
President Roosevelt, is that of conser-
walton of our national resources.
| Measures in the interest of conserva-
tion are then reviewed, and the letter
continues:
There remains to be considered and
settled the question of the method OF
disposing of public lands so that the
government may retain sufficient con-
| troll to prevent a monopoly in their
use, and to secure the public against
extortion for coal, OIL gas, phosphate,
or waterpower on the one hand, and
vet may give to private capital suffi-
! cient inducement to bring about nor
NAL development of the wealth con-
tanned in these lands to aid in the
| building up of the country. Neither
the Democrats of the house or of the
senate, as a body, although their plat
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