The Lamar register. [volume] (Lamar, Colo.) 1889-1952, 1910-06-29
TAFT WILL GET CREDIT WHEN
HISTORY is WRITTEN
What the President Has Done Has
Been Accomplished Without
Publicity

Mr.. Peter Dunno, in one of his
calm yet keen philosophizings upon
present day conditions, has said
that President Taft, with all his
great grasp of public problems. has
not the genius of or the liking for
publicity. This trait in the faith
full, hard-working man in the White
house might go far to explain the
general failure to give him as yet
proper credit from obtaining from
q hesitating congress the respect
able appropriation of $25O.O00 for
the use of the tariffboard created
by the Payne-Aldrich law.
The tariff law was not what Mr..
Taft expected or wanted. But he
felt that it was the best that he
could get under our present sys-
TEN of framing schedules. At Win
ona he said this and more. with
what they call in Washington his
amazing frankness." But it Is
probable that his determination t.
take good view of the case was
strengthened by his belief in tn
administrative opportunity present.
ed by the tariff board clause.
Under the stern pruning of Sem
ator Hale this clause came out o
resemblance to the tariff commits
sion plan of Senator Beveridge. New
ertheless, it was known that the
White house did not share the pes
simistic belief that it was practi
cally useless. The president. after
the earnest consideration he gives
to such things. chose as the three
members of the tariff board Messrs.
Henry C. Emery, James b. Reynolds
and Alvin H. Sanders. The car
eers and characters of these men
gave clear notice that their appoint
ment meant business
And now Mr.. Taft. with a firm
ness that was not shaken by the
grim opposition of stand-pat lead
ers, has gotten an appropriation
large enough to give his three ex-
perts the means to investigate in
dividual tariff schedules. Their lit
erai power is limited to investiga-
tion of schedules that may come un-
der the maximum and minimum pro
visions. But virtually this is a per-
NIT to find out and report to the
president facts and figures affect
ing any rate that may be too high
or too low.
In other words. the tariff is to
be measured by the cold. scientific.
non-poIitical foot rule that the Ger
man experts have used so advan-
tageously for the commercial profit
of their country.
Here is President Taft's accom-
plishment 1t has not been done
with blare of trumpets. 1t has been
done patiently. persistently. quiet
". But it has been done. For the
first time in our history we are TO
have economic fact rather than
political Influence determine the bas
is upon which our most important
taxing structure shall be built.
The change will not come in one
fell blow. Nor is there good rea-
son to believe that it will come at
all. But when the next congress
assemblies 1t is now a practical GER
tainty that the president will be
able to present to 1t carefully exact
information as to the working OF
this or that schedule in the Payne
Aldrich law. The power of exact
knowledge is great. When the
people have it, their representatives
will feel bound to act upon 1t. And
the United States may then enter
upon a period of scientific tariff re-
adjustments that will be SO sound
economically and SO gradual in its
operation as to remove forever the
paralyzing fear with which business
has always faced revision"
Solid constructive work of this
character is to be the thing upon
which this administration will be
Judged in history. Its record will
be made more quickly and more
soundly If the people now give the
president the credit which he has
fairly won.-Chicago Post.