The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-22
Eugene FoSS Of MasSachu-
Setts Makes Attack Upon
Payne Tariff Law
SUGGESTS REVISION OF
TARIFF BY CONGRESS
His Speech In Which He Tells That
He Was Ruled Ont of the
"Grand Old Party.

Washington, May 1.-Representativs
Eugene N. Foss, the newly elected DEM
ocratic representative from Massa-
ehusetts, former republican and q
leading manufacturer, today signalized
his beginning of active participation in
the House with sensationally radical
attack upon the Payne-Aldrich tariff
| He denounced the republican policy
of protection as an unmitigated evil.
fiayed the republican leaders, declared
the recent revision of the tariff to be
"a deliberate bunco game from start
to finish," pronounced in favor of reci-
procity and demanded an extra ses-
sion of new Congress" at the earliest
| opportunity to revise che tariff.
THE people are indeed demanding
protection said Mr.. Foss, but the
protection they are demanding is pro-
lection from the Payne-Aldrch tar
iff."
The speaker announced himself as
favoring the creation of a tariff COM
| mission, but wanted the commission
composed of non partisan men whose
report would be made direct to Con-
gress rather than to the President. Re-
ferring to the provision in the pending
sundry civil appropriation bill for an
appropriation of $250,Oo0 for a tariff
commission to report to the Presi-
dent, he said:
"Tuh Is the Whale"
Naturally it looks little strange
to some of us. after all this long de-
lay, and after the people have them
selves discovered the worst evils of
our system, which such a commission
| could have exposed years aSo--that IL
now brought forward at this eleventh
hour, clever editors of leading jour-
nails have stigmatized this proposition
since Its introduction here as a sop
to Cerebus,' or "a tub to the whale
"They have evidently in mind the
pa nicky feeling that pervades. for in
stance, the 'standpat' section of this
very sham, as well as of the other
shams of the republican machine the
country over. There is among them
a great searching of hearts as to what
can be done to quench these burning
issues of tariff and taxation reforms
showing the great peoples on the great
issues.
| 1T cannot be denied that the people
have rightly or wrongly come to re-
gard this whole revision scheme Of
the republican party leaders-as
planned in the last national campaign,
and as promulgated in their platform.
and as finally butchered in the special
tariff session of Congress-as an inten-
tional and deliberate bunco game from
start to finish"
Mr.. Foss urged reciprocity with for
egn nations as the proper middle
ground between a protective tariff and
free trade. He recounted how republi-
can leaders such as John Hay and Nell
son Dingley had endeavored to obtain
reciprocity with Canada and how Nc
Kinely almost with his dying breath af-
frmed reciprocity as the ruling key
note of his prospective second term.
| Revise the Tariff
In voicng his demand for another spe-
cal session to revise the tariff the speak
| er said:
'The people demand that the revision
| and reduction of the tariff which was
promised two years ago by the repubi-
| can party be carried out by the demo-
| cratic party as soon as the new Congress
| can convene. The democratic party
| ought to raise the issue that there shall
be an extra session convoked next spring
to do the work which this Congress has
proved faithless to. The people have
made the Immediate reduction of tho
| tariff their issue, and the democratic
party must pledssat attsef in a most dis
| tlnctive and specific way to carry out
this course in order that the mandate OF
| all shall be a compelling one: that the
| vito hall he q
publican executive will be forced to ac-
| ouiesce in it and call Congress together"
| Mr. Foss declared that the rallying cry
should be made Free wool and cheap
clothes"
To-day" said he, millions of our peo-
pie are deprived OF comfort and health.
and even of life, by the so-called pro-
| tective tariff on wool and woolens for this
benefit of the sheep ranchers and WOODEN
| trusts
He denounced President Tafts Winona
speech, which, he said. had a disastrous
| effect upon his administration and char
| acterized part of 1t as ''the only weak
and lame palliation President Taft could
advance for the iniquities of the woolen
schedules"
| He declared for lower duties on sugar
! and said the people were demanding fur
| ther reduction In iron and steel.
Remove 45 Per Cent Duty
Now at this point said he. 'it seems
| to devolve upon me as representative
| here in Congress of this reform and as q
representative manufacturer In the iron
and steel industry of New England, en-
gagged in the production of important
| lines of machinery, employing large num-
bers of skilled workmen and using large
quantities of the finished products of the
steel trust. to state publicly here that In
my Judgment my industry and the peo-
pie employed in it would not suffer undet
free trade conditions; that is. If the IS
per cent duty was entirely removed and
provided these conditions apply to tho
whole country of iron and steel industry
| from the coal and iron. ore up. This
statement is equally true of other staple
| industries
'In fact" Mr. Foss continued, 1T be-
! lieve today that under free trade condi-
| tions we can compete in the markets of
the world in most If not all of these in
dustries and compete to better advantage
than we do now"
Coming TO the question of raising rev.
| enue, the speaker said:
ut is no adequate defense Of tariff
| law TO saw that Il is large tax pros