The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1910-10-06
u Tariff Commission
! And What Il Means.

And what 1t means. SF.sS
=! We regret to note that Mr.. Bryan
: b opposed TO q tari6 commission %
means of Anslly settling the tariff
question. I. n true that to Senator
Beverage, q republican. more than to
any other one man. II probably due
the prominence which the tariff COM
I mission idea occupies today, but the
fact that q republican II advocating
1.-THE idea should not blind anyone to
ss1ts advantages. In the last issue OF
the Commoner. Mr.. Bryan says:
( The progressive republicans. includ.
tSng Ex-President Roosevelt. are urging
the tariff commission az a means Of
ssttline the tariff question. This II
IN easy way of shelving the issue
much easier than pointing out a
remedy for the extortion which they
admit to exist. The commission plan
gives those who advocate II a chance
to denounce the present tariff law
without making any practical recon.
mendations In the way OF remedy
Leave Il to . commission" they say
But do they not know that a commits.
sion would not report before the cam.
and congressman elected now favor
win convene in December. 1911. 1t
would take some time to appoint a
com mission and II would then take
: the commission months to investigate
ana report. This would carry the
Nuestion over the next election. Is
that the purpose Of the commission.
The advocates Of q protective tariff
could avoid the discussion of the sub
1ect during the campaign Of 1912;
hey could promise to reform the
tariff a. soon az the commission re-
ported. Then II the high tariff men
11eesed a president and congress, the
commissions report would be ignored
n the report favored reductions. That
waahfhe experience twenty years ago
wh6p the commission was used to
quiet tariff discussion. Y tariff re-
form congress In elected h will reduce
the tariff regardless OF the report
made by this commission. The demo-
cratS ought not to allow the tariff
commission project to lead them away
from their fight for tariff reform
Tariff laws are written by congress,
and congress will not delegate that
matter to q commission when they
get ready to act. They will use a
commission when they want to con.
SSnue the subject and get II out OF the
campaign, but whenever members OF
congress want to raise the tariff or
lower the tariR they will not ask the
Aid or consent OF any commission:
they will go to work themselves.
c hA ri a. a.
. motion for q continuance: whether
, II 10 so intended or not. It Is in the
interest of the tariff barons. II does
not need a tariR expert to understand
that the tariR IN outrageously high
and ought to BE- reduced. Beware Of
the tariR commission plant 10 q de-
fusion and . snare!
We think that Mr.. Bryan's fears are
largely imaginary. II Is true that the
commission plan would take some
little time. but 20 has Mr.. Bryan's
plan OF legislative action taken time
not only q little time. but q great deal
Of time--and the farther We 60 with
e the worse are the results We get.
Ever since the civil war. congress has
been trying to enact . satisfactory
tariff law and neither democrats nor
republicans have ever been able to
agree upon q bill that would hold
water. Can we do any worse under
the commission plan idea?
A q matter of fact. the democrats
N congress are no more to be trusted
m the framing Of tariff bill than the
ropublicans are. A. another matter
o. fact. no democrat could be elected
to congress from any district in thu
United States on . platform advo-
eating free trade. or low tariff, on
the products Of his own district.
The protective tariff idea has been
30 thoroughly inculcated in the minds
Of the people everywhere that It has
poisoned the business and political
conscience of the nation. Every
democrat wants Q low tariff On every.
thins-sxesps those th'nss produced
IN HE own district. He wants those
protected. And In order to get them
protected he Is willing to trade his
political convictions by voting to pro-
.tect the products Of some other fel.
klDw's district II. In return. the other