The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-08-16

what was to be expected in view of the report of
the majority
The majority report, aside from the labored
reasoning whereby it was sought to sustain It's
findings, amounted simply to verdict of acquit-
tai Of the tariff
When the report was made public every man
who watches the trend of politics smiled with sat
isfacton at his own powers of prophecy. The
majority of the committee simply reported what
il had been appointed 10 report. Its verdict was
made mp before il was chosen. its deliberations
were of the farcical character of men who, having
decided what they were going to find, started ont
To find il. The entire matter preconceived,
and preordained. 1t fooled and will fool no.
body
The report of the minority LAYS the cause of
the high prices which everybody feels exactly
where the elemental reasoning of the average
man places it. 1t declares thai the trusts which
s'ihe competition within the country are respon-
sjble for the payment of two prices by the con
sumner. II declares further that the existence
of the trusts is possible only so long they are
enabled 10 maintain prices by the suppression of
competition which, without the tariff, they
could not control. When foreign competition is
subjected 10 tariff of from fifty to one hundred
and even more per cent, it becomes manifest
that only active competition can keep the price
of commodities to the consumer from practically
equaling the cost of the commodity. plus the
amount Of the tariff And with marker con
tricted it follows that a golden opportunity Of
this character results in the formation of COM
binatons for the expires purpose of destroying
competition and thus making available this I'M
al e
oppression, of tyrannical control over trade and
manufacture, is precisely based upon the one idea
of utilizing to the full the false advantage of a
protective tax imposed for the giving of special
benefits The consumer pays. All the ma jority
reports of so-called experts TO the contrary, be
knows that he pays, and why.
Scientifically considered the tariff is not I'M
like the question of freight rates, in that nobody
understands it Any honest rate expert will
admit that he knows as little about his profession
as the electrical expert knows about his Both
deal with established facts. They apply prin-
! cples without understanding them. As in the
case of the genius who devised the method of
sending two kilograms each way over one wire
and yet unable to explain how he did it, so
! the tinkerers with freight rates and with the
tariff look only to results. Results, after
all, constitute the matter of chief concern And,
as results understood through experience, the
ultimate consumer, who by the operation of
the tariff is ultimately and completed consumed
is about fair tariff expert as the next. The
man who is 'hit where he lives" understands as
no one else can the force and direction of the
blow
Obvious its findings are, we expect the re-
port of the minority members of the committee
to work much good at this time 1t sounds the
issue of peculiar human interest in this country
just now. 1t indicates the point of attack Ii
exposes the hypocrisy of the tariff law 1t puts
clearly and sanely the effect of that law Its ex
position is as plain as a sum in simple addition
with the demonstration in every mans daily ex
perience. And it will more forcibly point to tbs
practice, which has almost become policy, of as
Stunning want of intelligence in the people in
matters of such simplicity that the mere assump
tion becomes an insult. What could be more
cynical and brutal than for Congress which had
just laid an iniquituous and oppressive law tc
all but openly declare that it would attempt ia
justly the law by appointing committee who
should find that its effect was different from what
the country at large had already discovered ii
to be. Yet that is the history of the Committee
of Invest gation of the High Cost of Living.
Everybody knew it at the time The result was
foreseen, admitted, declared in advance. As
in the case of the Ballnger whitewash com
mttee whose findings while not vet made
public have been known ever since the committee
was appointed, the clear assumption is that the
people are fools.
But that is assumption which has not yet
been sufficiently Justified to rank as proverb
I 'SHOWING T. r. HIS PLACE"