The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-12-06

worked well. The tax has been easily collected. Its prompt payment indi- cates that the incidence of the tax has not been heavy. It offers. moreover. an opportunity for Knowledge by the government of the general condition and business of all corporations, and that means by far the most important part of the business of the country. In the original act provision was made for the publication of returns.
 This provision was subsequently amended by congress and the matter left to the regulation of the president. have directed the issue of the needed regulations and have made it possible for the public generally to know from an examination of the record the re- turns of all corporations the stock of which is listed on any public stock exchange or is offered for sale to the general public by advertisement or otherwise.
 The returns of those corporations whose stock is not so listed or offered for sale are directed to be open to the inspection and examination of cred itors and stockholders of the corpora ton whose record is sought. The re- turns of all corporations are subject to the inspection of any government off, cer or to the examination of any court in which the return made by the cor poration is relevant and competent evil dence.
 The Payne Tariff Act. The schedules of the rates of duty in the Payne tariff act have been sub jected to great deal of criticism, some of 1t just, more of it unfounded, and to much misrepresentation. The act was adopted in pursuance of declaration by the party which Is responsible for it that customs bill should be tariff for the protection of home industries, the measure of the protection to be the difference between the cost of produc- ing the imported article abroad and the cost of producing it at home, together with such addition to that difference as might give reasonable profit to the home producer.
 The basis for the criticism of this tariff is that in respect to number Of the schedules the declared measure was not followed. but a higher difference retained or inserted by way of undue discrimination in favor of certain in- dustries and manufactures. Little, if any, of the criticism of the tariff has been directed against the protective principle above stated, but the main body of the criticism has been based on the charge that the attempt to con- not honestly and sincerely adhered to. Tariff Board.
 | The time in which the tariff was pre- pared undoubtedly was so short as to make it impossible for the congress and its experts to acquire the information necessary strictly to conform to the de clared measure.
 In order to avoid criticism of this kind in the future and for the purpose of more nearly conforming to the party promise congress at it's last session made provision at my request for the continuance of a board created under the authority of the maximum and min- imum clause of the tariff and author fZed this board to eXpend the money appropriated under my direction for the ascertainment of the cost of pro- duction at home and abroad of the va rious articles included in the schedules of the tariff. The tariff board thus appointed and authorized has been dili- gent in preparing itself for the neces- Sary investigations.
 The hope of those who have advOcat- ed the use of this board for tariff pur- poses Is that the question of the rate of duty imposed shall become more of business question and less of a political question, to be aScertained by experts of long training and accurate knowledge. The halt in business and the shock to business due to the an- nouncement that a new tariff bill is to be prepared and put in operation will be avoided by treating the schedules one by one as occasion shall arise for change in the rates of each and only after a report upon the schedule by the tariff board competent to make such report.
 It is not likely that the board will be able to make report during the pres 2 ent session of congress on any of the schedules. because proper examina- tion involves an enormous amour. of detail and great deal of care, but I hope to be able at the opening of the new congress, or at leas: during the session of that congress-. to bring to it's attention the facts in regard to those schedules in the present tariff that may prove to need amendment.
 The carrying out of this plan, of course, involves the full cooperation of congress in limiting the considera- tion in tariff matters to one schedule at time, because if a proposed amend ment to tariff bill Is to involve a , complete consideration of all the schedules and another revision then we shall only repeat the evil from which the business of this country has In times past suffered most grievously , by stagnation and uncertainty, pend ing resettlement of law affecting all business directly or indirectly, and the effect of which no wise business man would ignore in new projects and new investments.
 : l cannot too much emphasize the