El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-08-03


revise the tariff downward.
7 There was, however, a pledge that II
should be revised so that the duties
upon protected commodities should be
! the difference between the cost of pro-
| ducing them here and in other coun-
| tries, with a fair profit added, and the
! intent, as everybody Will cOncede, was
that our manufacturers should be able
! to enter our markets and sell their pro-
| ducts at u fair price as against their
foreign competitors; and it was the
further intent that grossly excessive
profits growing out of abnormal prices
! should be prevented by reducing the
duties to a point that would admit i'm
! portations whenever our manufacturers
| raised their prices above the level CT
| fairness and decency.
! The bin made many reductions and
/ many incTeases-but the reductions
! We're of little or no avail for they left
| the duties still far above the differ
ence in cost of production, and there
fore permits the protected manufac-
utrers not only to charge existing
| prices, but to lift them still higher, and
| the increases were, in nearly every in
! stance, not only without reason in
| fact, but without defense in debate
Open RepudiatiOn of Pledges.
If there had been an honest attempt
! TO fix duties according to the cost of
production L might have yielded my
view on the question of fact; but there
was no such attempt, and l, for one, re-
| fused to follow, and would refuse
again to follow Aldrich, Hale, Lodge,
Cannon, Payne and DalzeH into a sheer
] ing, contemptuous open reputation of
/ my party platform.
Not Republican Measure.
1t is not a Republican measure, al
| though passed by Republican votes, for
the men who are chiefly responsible for
1t thought more of swelling the over
grown fortunes of their intimate friends
than they thought of the party princi-
pies, the party pledge or the welfare of
a long suffering people
There are many gratifying reduc-
| tons in the Payne-Aldrich act. but upon
the whole it is not a fair eXemplifica-
ton of the protective policy, nor it is an
honest performance of our platform
promise, and no matter what happens 1
Will tell the truth. as 1 see the truth.
about it.
Let me, however, again warn Repub-
licans who are of my way of thinking
concerning the shortcomings of this
measure that the failure of the Repub-
lean leaders in congress to abide by
our platform furnishes no reason for
delivering this country into the hands
Of the Democrats.
No Democrats Wanted
The one thing that can be said in
favor of our recent revision is that ii
Is vastly better than any tariff which
the Democrats could enact founded up
on the exploded theory of levying du-
ties for revenue only. 1t would be fatal
TO commit this country to any such
doctrine, and L know that Republicans
have too much patriotism and too
much intelligence TO punish mistake
In leadership by depTiving our party of
power, and turning over the govern
ment 10 a political organization which
holds view of tiis constitution that
would paralyze our efforts in dealing
with the modern problems of commerce,
industry and transportation, and which
hold view of the tariff that if put
into execution would bring upon us uni
versal disaster
Wipe Out the Blot.
The logical, sensible thing TO do is TO
correct our mistake-none but Republi-
cans can correct it-and under the i'm
pulse of the sentiment, growing now by
aeaps and bounds everywhere. they will
correct it and leave the Republican
name and Republican pledge without a
stain in all its wonderful history
Our course, il seems to me, is SET
plainly before US. I do not favor an
Immediate general revision of the tariff.
indeed / earnestly hope that we NAV
never be compelled 10 enter upon an,
other general readjustment of the sys-
TEN.
In our last attempt it was made clear
CT than ever before first. that soma
better way must be found than we now
have OF securing information as to cost
here and abroad; and second, that we
must amend the schedules separately |
AS 10 the first, the way viii be found in
the creation of an Independent. non
partisan tariff commission not TO
change the law, for that is. and must
remain the work of congress; but TO
collect and lay before congress and he.
fore the people the facts
When this is done there will be neith- !
er high tariff man nor low tariff man
VINO viii venture TO disregard his duty. |
fortunately, the demand for such a |
commission has become almost unani- |
nous among Republicans, and the few !
who still oppose it will soon disappear |
from public life
We must exclude the opportunity for |
the trades and combinations which now
dlshonor tariff Legislation. We must /
make it impossible to coerce or bride a |
member of congress into voting for |
what he knows TO be wrong in order to |
get what he believes to be right
Railroad Regulation
The most important legislation of |
the last session of congress was The
amendment to the interstate commerce
law.
The president assumed the initiative.
but unfortunately, Is I view it he DEL
egated to the attorney general the task
OF preparing bill to be laid before !
l have no reason TO doubt
the honesty Of the attorney general. but
he had just come from d long profess
sional training and association which
untitled him TO deal wisely with this
subject, and there came from his hands
INTO the house and senate bill which.
If 1t had passed, as Aldrich so emphat-
lcally declared it should pass. would
nave consigned the Republican party
to eternal disgrace and defeat.
Another Reputation
Contrary to our solemn promise in
the platform it proposed to repeal the
antitrust law with respect to traffic !
agreements among railways specifying
rates and charges and to permit such
agreements and the rates and charges
made under them to go into effect
without the approval of the interstate
commerce commission.
1t proposed to allow a single nudge
to issue temporary injunction with
out notice, restraining the interstate