The San Francisco call., 1910-12-04
Chairman Henry c. Emery Talks
Before Chicago Commerce
Association
Speaker Urges Inquiry Free of
All Political interference
or Sympathy
Especial Dispatch &c The CALI


definite aims and methods Of the
tariff board tonight before the Chicago
Association of Commerce.
IT was the occasion of the associa-
lions -tarif dinner that was planned
last summer and held tonight in the
gold room Of the Congress hotel
Emery is chairman Of the tariff board
and he spoke tonight 10 a capacity
audience.
II was in accordance with a promise
made hy President Taft on the occa-
sion or is last brief visit to Chicago
that tie d.at official utterances regard
ing the ufar Of procedure under which
The boa-I working and proposes to
pursue its Investigations We're made in
t-fs city. Chairman Emery has been
invited for a dinner given by the asso-
.,.arta~ I'm October. and it was put up
~ the president To decide whether or
n.t he should accept.
President Taft gave his heartiest
concurrence TO the proposal He said
that he wanted Chicago and the middle
west. where the tariff issue has taken
1fsed of the details Of the board plans,
and he practically instructed Emery TO
make a compIete analytical statement
of everything the board has under
taken 20 d0-t0 lay the cards on the
table" Only one restriction did he put
rron the acceptance of the dinner invi-
tati0n. which was that it should not
occur until after the November cleo
lions.
Ii is fair to assume under the cir
cumstan ances that Chairman Emery spoke
the presidents mind. and one of the
things which he particularly empha-
sized was a strong plea for perlna-
nenu tariff board or commission, free
from partisan Influences. TO meet the
growing opinion that a new agency
should be provided by the government
under which impartial inquiry might
be carried out
WORK Is IN THREE GROUPS
Emery said that the work of the
board is divided into three groups.
'Trsnslating the tariff into
English" as President Taft put it,
or ia other words, to collect as TO
each article IN the tariff concise in
formation regarding the nature of
rhe article. the chief sources Of sup
rfr at home and abroad, methods Of
production, its chief uses, etc, so
tIct ne ordinary man. when he reads
p paragraph in the tariff act. may
form q general idea Of just what it
means.
second-Inquiry into the actual cost
0f production.
Third-The securing OF accurate in
formation regarding the actual
prices at home and abroad, the pc
culiar local conditions affecting any
particular Industry. the general con-
ditions Of competition being the
home and foreign producer.
INNEsTTG ATE INDUSTRY FIRST
The first part of the work. he said,
can be pushed rapidly. but the second
part and, TO some extent. the third,
must be concentrated for the time be-
ing on q few main lines of inquiry and
carried out with caution.
The speaker mentioned the different
groups Of investigators in each field
and referred to the fact that experts on
cost accounts would in a few weeks
have the actual conversion costs at the
min Of every leading pulp and paper
plant I'm the country, taken directly
from the books. and would then be
ready 10 take up at once the next
schedule.
There has been" said Emory. much
misunderstanding about hearings be-
fore the board. and many manufac-
tuners have wondered how we can be
investigating their schedules without
consulting them. The answer is that
we consider ii waste of time for all
parties concerned to have them appear
before US in formal hearings till we
Shave first made a thorough study Of
the industry and know just what we
are after. When this has been done
we shall invite the testimony Of all
interested parties. We shall lay our
results openly on the table for any one
10 criticise. amend or disprove."
ADVOCATES SANE ACTION
The spea ker then urged strongly the
necessity for maintaining A sane sense
Of proportion regarding the influence,
whether for good or evil. Of tariffs
and Of tariff Investigations.
Just as there are some who give
practically all the credit for prosperity
10 the tariff, and others who think the
tariff the cause of most misfortunes"
he said. there are those who think
an impartial investigation OF the tar
in IS a menace TO all business and
others who thank that such an investi-
cation viii, by some magic process, at
once make every mans income ade-
ouate for mis- expenditure. and solve the
age long problem OF making both ends
meet.
Many economic theorists have at
tempted to find the philosophers stone
by means Of which prices could be made
high to al who wish them high and
low to all who wish them low It
would be a fine thing il the farmer
coulc always get two dollars a bushel
for his wheat, and the workingman
pay only a dollar a barrel for his -four
Many people are inclined 10 hold a
government responsible which does not
accomplish sucb feats Of alchemy, and
the work Of any government agency
is greatly hampered by the absence Of
sane understanding Of what It can,
and what it can not do"
TELLS O FFOREIGN TARIFF
Emory showed the difference between
European and American methods Of
tariff making and pointed out that the
,7eason why such elaborate investiga-
ons had not been necessary abroad
was because in those countries there
were bodies Of government officials OF
a permanent nonpartisan character,
which have devoted themselves solely