Los Angeles herald., 1910-07-23
Promises on Tariff Revision Not
Kept in Payne Measure; De-
CIareS IoWan
BLAMES ALDRICH AND CANNON
lnvadeS the District of a Kansas
Regular and UphoIdS
insurgents Stand
Associated Pressl

COUNCIL GROVE, Kas., July 22.-
Senator Albert B. Cummins of Iowa in
a speech before Chautauqua audience
here tonight asserted the pledge of the
Republican national platform for re-
vision of the tariff was not fulfilled,
and Senator Aldrich and Speaker Can
non and the others who took the lead
in framing the tariff bill had never at
tempted and never intended to keep the
pledge. Senator Cummins came into
the district of one of the Kansas regu-
lar congressman, Representative James
Miller, to give this message. He said:
Cannon and Aldrich and other stand
pat leaders were driving the nation into
Socialism or cooperative control and
away from the Individual or compett-
tive theory.
ut is only within the last few years
that the lack Of competition between
American and foreign goods has become
so marked that the people began to talk
about the tariff duties being too high.
The people have found the absence OF
foreign competition in the markets OF
this country has made it possible for
the American manufacturer to increase
his prices at his own sweet will without
regard to actual market conditions.
In the Republican platform there
was no technical promise to revise the
tariff upward or downward. The party
simply pledged itself to make such re-
vision of the tariff as would equallze
the cost of production here and abroad
and make competition possible in this
country in many lines.
CONGRESS FAILS IN DUTY
at was the duty of congress to make
| this revision Congress did not do it.
It did not even attempt to do it. Under
/ the leadership of Cannon and Adrich
| the tariff was revised without the
! slightest heed to the cost of production
| of anything. 1t is of no avail TO reduce
| the duties on any commodity IL the
| duty is left so high that the domestic
producer can still maintain his prices
| nv keeping out competition or even
make his prices higher than before
and still have lower duty. Some duties
were reduced, but not so 1t would
benefit the American people in any
way because there was no effort made
to get the productive cost OF the arliGle: iae:
I'm many cases the charges were leIt
so high that the price on many articles
was Increased in the face or reduc-
tiOn in tariff, and because the domes-
| tic manufacturer was not afraid of for
eign competition.
In all the long debate on the tarlI
hill. Senator Aldrich never attempted
| to apply the standard of the Repub-
Iican platform pledge. He and his fol-
! lowers openly and contemptuously re-
| undated every word of that platform
pledge. In all the evidence taken by
| the house ways and means committee
there were not a dozen items OF the
5000 in which a showing was made as
! to the cost of production at home and
abroad.
OFFERS A REMEDY
"The insurgents-or progresslves,
! better term-are for two remedies.
"First. knowledge of the cost OF
production. No one knows what the
| different items of cost now are. What
we need is the constant work or an
| intelligent, independent, impartial ana
| non-partisan tariff commission tnat
! can get the information and then tell
congress Just what it wants to know.
THE first tense OF the progress1Ves Is
TO establish such a commission. we
! have made a start in the tariff board,
| but II is not the best way or dolnS
| the work.
HThe second remedy is to make a
rule whereby any schedule OF tne
! tariff bill may be revised at will With
o,+ going through the whole of the
| tariff schedule. This would eliminate
! the intolerable evils of the present
| evs+en whereby q congressman VIII
| make combinations with other mem
bors and will vote for many schedules
he believes are absolutely wrong 10
get a schedule he believes is right
When shown a report from Des
Nroines today to the effect that ne fav-
ored the organization of a third party
TO take up the progressive propaganda
! senator Cummins said:
| .T have never thought of new
rartv and am not organizing one now,
and do not believe In it as the sex-
nonent Of progressive ideas. The Re
pubIican party can be made the pro-
gressive party, and I am Republ1-