The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-05-23

5 last.
 'The newspapers of the country have been denouncing commercial1sm in business methods" Payne said, eral years in legislating upon this sub ject, and under the leadership of the President will pass some important bills with this end in view. But the press has little to say about the com mercialism in it's own business meth ods. Great department stores who are importers of goods often selling them at profit of from fifty to one hun dred per cent. are great advertisers and invest millions of dollars annually. These men often seek control and do control the editorial columns of some mercialisun pure and simple. The sympathy of the importers, of course, is against any rate in a tariff law beyond the revenue rate. and that same sympathy is transfused to the editor.
 a rate of duty on print paper which would destroy the paper manu- featuring business of this country. While the law reduces the rate as far as 1t Is safe to go without destroying this great industry, the reduction was not enough to satisfy the newspaper advocates. Whether this motive has anything to do with the editorial col umns in commenting upon the law, I am ready to leave to the people of the country without argument.
 'Six months ago, the statement was made generally in the newspapers that the law increased the duty on wool gued that this caused the increase in prices on wool and woolen goods. l have met some intelligent newspaper men within the past ten days who ar gued that I was mistaken when I said that the rates on woolen goods had Law, except to lower them in two in- stances. But any man who has en- ergy enough to compare the schedules in the two bills now acknowledges the fact. If he has the industry to per sue the inquiry further he will find that the increased cost of woOlen goods is the same all over the world.
 'The increased cost of necessities of life is worldwide. There is no in crease in the tariff on food products under the present law. and hence no advance in prices can be attributed quires a microscopic mind to deter- mine that @ duty of one and one-haf cents per pound on fresh meats pro- duces any appreciable effect on the price of meats in this country.
 Many people in this country have
  to the House just before the final vote in this tariff bill-that we had reduced the tariff on articles of which $5,000,- 600, 900 worth were consumed annually in this country, and increased it only on articles such as were necessaries of life. of which only s300. .000, ,000 worth were consumed here. The statement has never been controverted. It proves that we revised the tariff down. ward.
 "It seems to be impossible to find an article on which the duty was re- duced that has been reduced in price to the ultimate consumer. We re- duced Humber seventy-five cents a thousand, and there has been no re- duction in price. On the other hand, there have been reductions on articles on which we enhanced the duty-on shingles, for instance-the duty was increased and the price has been re- duced.''
 Payne holds to the opinion that much of the increased cost of living has been due to the marvelously in- creased production in gold and inn proved and cheaper process of produc- ing it. '"The result is.'' he explained, that a dollar now will buy less than a dollar would previous to this large production, and the price of commodi- ties has been raised the world over. Honest students of economy cannot ignore sthe fact that for the present the demand for the necessities of life condition is world wide''.
 Payne thinks that the insurgents will be found in line supporting the Administrations railroad bill and the other measures urged by President Taft. Incidentally. marking back vorite subject with the floor leader), he mentioned that a large majority of the House insurgents had voted for the conference report last summer.
 From the date of the signature of the bill," he added, up to and includ- ing April 8, the entire revenue under the law has exceeded the entire ex- penses of the government and produc- ed a, surplus of more than $22000. In these expenditures there were includ- ed $22 000,0 coo of Panama construction expenses. which is not current expen- allure. but is to be reimbursed finally by bonds.''
 Representative Gaines Republican, w. Va.), who helped frame the bill, added this bit of information to that of Payne's, anent the remarkable misinformation spread broadcast about the tariff bill.''
 Gaines received a letter from a res ident of Massachusetts who lived in the center of a shoe manufacturing 2 district. The Yankee vented his wrath on Gaines for what he termed the iniquitous shoe schedules. He com plained that the duty on shoes had been increased. ''As a real matter of fact,'' explained Gaines. "the Ding ley bill put a duty of 25 per cent. on boots and shoes wholly of leather, cat tie hides or cattle skin; the Payne bill put it at 10 per cent-6O per cent. reduction. Again, on boots and shoes made of leather, the reduction in the Payne tariff bill was from 25 per cent to 15 per cent, a 40 per cent reduc- tion.
 In furtherance of his plans for ob- taining a more acucrate insieht into the condition of national banks. Comptroller of the Currency Murray