New-York tribune., 1910-07-23
CUMM|NS ON TARIFF
Charges Lack of Intention to
Keep Platform Pledges.
TREND TOWARD SOCIALISM
Assails Cannon and Aldrich for
Growing Tendency Toward
Monopolies.


bert B. Cummins, of Iowa. in q speech oe-
fore Chautauqua audience here tonight
asserted that the pledge of the Republican
national platform for a revision of the tar
| iff was not fulfilled, and that Senator Al
| drich and Speaker Cannon and the others
who took the lead in framing the tar1n Dill
| had never attempted and never intended 10
keep the pledges of the party.
| Senator Cummins came into the home OF
| one of the Kansas regular congressman
| Representative James NJ. MiIler-to give
| this message.
| Cannon and Aldrich, the Senator declared,
| and other -stand-pat' leaders were driving
the nation into socialism, or cooperative
control and away from the individual or
competitive theory. He continued:
| am an exponent of the Progressive Re
! publican idea. / believe that the Republ1-
can party can be made the most progres-
siye party on earth. the one that does
things for the good of the whole country
But the special interest man must be elm
mated. That is my sermon.
Speaker Cannon and Senator Aldrich are
driving the country into socialistic form
of government and industry because of
their interest in promoting the cause or
monopol1es They are unwilling to & take
measures to prevent the rapidly growfng g
tendency toward monopoly, or to disinte-
crate and destroy the monopolies already
In existence, whereby the prices of com.
modftles are fixed not by the usual laws OF
trade, but by the will of single man or
group of men. Monopoly does not mean
single factory with absolute control of
one article, but combination of factories
making the same article, whereby the
prices are the same in all, whether or not
the factories are owned by one company
or are controlled through a trust agree
ment
Growing Lack of Competition.
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 that the absence of for
eign competition in the markets of this
country has made it possible for the
American manufacturer to increase his
prices at his own sweet Will and without
regard to the actual market conditions.
In the Republican platform there was no
technical promise to revise the tariff down
ward or upward. The party simply pledged
itself to make such revision of the tariff
as would equalize the, cost of production
here and abroad, and make competition
possible in this country in many lines
1t 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 Aldrich the tariff
was revised without the slightest heed to
the cost of production anywhere. 1t is of no
avail to reduce the duties any commod-
ity If the duty is left SO high that the do
meSt1c producer can still maintain his
prices by keeping out competition. or even
make his prices higher than before and still
have lower duty. Some duties were re-
duced. but not SO it would benefit the
American people in any way. because there
was no effort made to get at the prOduc-
tive cost of the article.
In many cases the charges were left so
nigh that the price on many articles was
increased in the face Of reduced tariff
and because the domestic manufacturers
were not afraid of foreign competition.
A Sample.
Here is a sample. The duty on steel rails
was reduced from 81 "A a ton to S. SO a
ton, and still the United States Steel Cor
poration is able to maintain a price of SIS
cheaper here than in other countries.
The cotton schedule was actually raised
an average of % per cent, simply by chang
ing the duties from ad valoren TO specific
duties. and this was one of the biggest
frauds perpetrated by Congress in revising
the tariff.
During all the long debate on the tariff
bill Senator Aldrch never attempted TO
apply the standard of the Republican plat
form pledge He and his followers openly
and contemptuously repudiated every word
of that platform pledge. In all the evidence
taken by the House Ways and Means Com
nlittee there were not a dozen items of the
six thousand in which a showing was
made as to the cost of production at nome
and abroad.
of our platform and perversion of the
protective theory. l am not an insurgent
Republican if it is said that 1 am insurg-
ing against the Republican national plat
form. I am inSurging against men of the
Cannon, Aldrich stripe; men who open
ly violating the pledges of the party and
are advancing the cause OF n1OnopOiStic
control of industry.
The insurgents, or Progressives. a better
term, offer two remedies. First, knowledge
of the cost of production. No one knows
what the different items of cost are now.
What we need is the constant work of an
intelligent, Independent, impartial and nom
partisan tariff commission that can get the
Information and then tell Congress just
tenet of the Progressives IS to establish
such commission. We have made start
in the Tariff Board. but it is not the best
way OF doing the work.
The second remedy is to make rule
whereby any schedules of the tariff bill
may be revised at will without going
through the whole of the tariff schedules.
This would eliminate the intolerable vice
of the present system, whereby a Con
gresham will make combinations with
other members and will vote for many
schedules that he believes are absolutely
wrong in order to get a schedule that he
believes is right.
l. an6 all Progressive Republicans, sin
cere1v believe in the protection theory but
we do not believe In allowing monopolies
to control the industries of the country.
When he saw report from Des Moines
to-day to the effect that he favored the
organization of a third party to take up
the progressive propaganda, Senator Cum
Minis said:
'I have never thought of a new party
and am not organizing one now and do not
believe in it as the exponent of progressive
ideas. The Republican party can be made
the progressive party, and I am a Re-
publican