The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-09-05
SAYS METHOD is WRONG.
Col Roosevelt Discusses the Reform
of the Tariff.

Col. Roosevelt Discusses inc hchOFIl
of the Tariff.
Sioux Falls, Sept. 5.-The people
of Sioux Falls had made great pre-
parations to receive Colonel Roosevelt
and the plans went through with a
dash which kept the colonel busy.
People from many miles around came
TO this city to attend the celebration.
The streets were a mass of waving
fags and bunting and pictures of
Roosevelt filled the windows and flow
ed from wires hung across the road
way. Indians dressed in all their
gay finery, mingled with the crowds
OF holiday makers.
There was a parade at Sioux Falls,
as soon az Colonel Roosevelt arrived.
The crowd almost swamped the po-
lice and il cheered almost continuous
ly as hard as it could. After the pa
rade the colonel was taken to huge
circus tent, which had been set up in
q square in the middle of the city, to
make his speech. There is an audito-
rum in Sioux Falls which holds $500
persons, but there were several times
that number who wanted to hear the
speech. The rows of seats which eX-
tended up the canvas covering of the
big tent were filled and crowds surged
into the center their eyes on the col
onel. who stood high above them on
a platform When he appeared on
the platform a roar of cheers burst
out which lasted for several minutes
and it took him a good deal longer
than he had expected to make his
speech. because the people spent al
most as much time in cheering as they
did in listening.
He spoke as follows:
Whenever men just like ourselves
probably not much better. and GER
tainly no Worse-continually fail to
give us the results we have a right to
from their pff0rtq w
just as well make up our minds that
the fault lies, not in their personality,
but in the conditions under which they
work, and profit comes, not from de-
nouncing them, but in seeing that the
conditions are changed. This is es-
pecially true of tariff-making. 1t has
been conclusively shown. by expert
ments repeated again and again, that
the methods of tariff making by con-
gress, which have now obtained for so
many years, cannot from the very ma
fure of the case bring really satisfac-
tory results.
With the present tariff. made by the
same methods as its predecessor and
as that predecessors predecessor there
is grave dissatisfaction. The people
know that there are some things in 1t
which are not right and therefore they
tend to suspect, as think. more nu-
merous things in it which are right.
They know the system on which 1t
" as IQdQ6s the same system on Wnlcn
its predecessors were made, encour-
ages a scramble of selfish interests to
which all the important general in
6erest of the public is necessarily sub
ordinated. There was time when
this scramble was rega rded as the nat
ural course in tariff making and was
not resented. Now the people demand,
and rightly. that the profit of the spe-
cial interest shall be subordinated to
the general welfare on every case. 1t
must be met in dealing witt the tariff
and with proposals to amend the pres
ent tariff. Very little Improvement.
Indeed, will follow any attempt to re-
wise the tariff by methods hitherto
used. The thing to do is to continue
the methods. 1 believe this coun-
try is fully committed to the prin-
ciple of protection; but it is to pro-
fection as principle: to protection
primarily in the interest of the stand
ard of living of the American work.
Angman. l believe that when protec
zion becomes not a principle, but
privilege and q preference-or, rather,
a tumble of privileges and prefer
ences-then the American people dis
approve of it. Now to correct the
trouble. it is necessary in the first
place to ge- in mind clearly what we
want and. in the next place, to get in
mind clearly the method by which we
hope to obtain what we want What
we WANT IS 4 square zeal IN the IaTlH
as in everything else; square deal for
the employer; and a square deal for
Ehe general public. To obtain it we
must have a thoroughly efficient and
Well-equipped tariff commission
The tariff ought to be a material
issue and not a moral issue; but II
instead of a square deal We get a
crooked deal, then 1t becomes very
emphatically a moral issue What we
desire in a tariff is such a measure of
protection as will equalize the cost of
production here and abroad; and as the
cost of production is mainly labor cost.
this means primarily a tariff sufficient
to make up for the difference in labor
cost here and abroad. The American
public wants the American laborins
man put on an equality with other
citizens so that he shall have the abil-
ity to achieve the American standard
of living and the capacity to enjoy it
and to do this must see that his
wages are not lowered by improper
competition with inferior wage-work-
ers abroad-with wage-workers who are
paid poorly and who live as no Amer
leans are willing to live. But the Amer
lean public does not wish to see the
tariff so arranged as to benefit primar-
lily q few wealthy men.
AS means toward the attainment
of it's end in view We have as yet de-
vised nothing in any way as effective
as a tariff commission. There should
be a commission of well-paid experts;
men who, should not represent any in
dustry; who should be masters of their
subjects; of the very highest charac-
ter; and who should approach the mat
ter with absolute disregard of every
outside consideration. These mer
should take up in succession each sub
ject with which the tariff deals and in
Vestigate the conditions of production
here and abroad; they should find out
the facts and not merely accept the
statements Of interested parties; and
they should report to congress on each
subject as soon as that subject has