The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-24

grounds for withholding my approval | from the bllls. which are set forth In the
 messages. but for the present do not wish to consider them. I am anxious
 here to bring forward the issues as to the
 necessity for tariff board to advise Con
 sress of the facts in respect to dutiable l articles and the operation Of a tarin De- fore it shall be adopted into law.
 It has been said that the tariff board
 is a mere preteXt, that 1t is a board 1 of my hirelings and clerks, and that it is absurd for me to delay Con
 gress in the enactment of that which
 is it's highest privilege-to-w rev
 enue measures-until I can secure through an agency of mine. informa : tion as to the wisdom of the proposed bills. The reform aimed at in the or l ganiZation of a tariff board for the purpose of making an impartial in vestigation into such facts are rele- want to these issues Is of the highest l importance to the country. In the long
 run | believe il to be of higher im-
 -portance than the reduction of any 1 particular schedule. The agitation for | such a board in the last two years
 has been greatly in the public in | terest, and now to throw away the
 benefit secured by this public move ment toward a better method of re- adjusting the tariff Is 10 take retro grade step.
 The tariff board has been referred to 1 sometimes board of experts on
 the tariff This is hardly correct
 description. It would be impossible
 to secure a board all the members Of
 which had expert knowledge upon all 1 the subjects of the tariff for the II
 or 15 schedules are very broad in their scope and include much of what IS
 manufactured or produced in the world
 Indeed, 1t is by no means clear that | it would be of advantage to have In l the board itself men who are experts 1 upon the making and sale of particular
 articles mentioned in the tariff. It is far
 better to have In the board men who are in the habit of making inVestlga- tions. who are in the habit Of cal
 culating costs who are in the habit l of digesting and analyzing great col 1 lections of evidence and reducing them l to intelligent conclusions which may I be stated for the benefit of those Who intend to use them.
 | S'rhe board is board of the highest l intelligence and ability, and well quaiifled l by their previous experience to act as investigators, analyzers of evidence, and | judges of issues of fact They are under | instructions to draw their conclusions without respect to their effect and ven- l turo to say that Nthere Is no board in 1 the country less likely to be influenced | by political other improper consider ations than the tariff board as it is now constituted. Even the attacks made upon it. prompted by the heat of political con- troversy and impatence at my vetoes cannot turn it from judicial attitude toward all questions that it is now con- sidering.
 in prepa ra ton for this work Professor Emery visited Europe and devoted very considerable time to consultation with bureaus in Germany, in Austria, and 'n other countries in which similar bureaus were engaged in this same work. He
 made a full report to the Secretary of | the Treasury, and. proceeding upon the lines of experience which were pointed out by the reports of these foreign bu- | reaus, the board has organized an or | flee in which they employ so personst of whom many are technical experts m | the investigations that they are making ] and reporting to this tribunal for Its | analysis and consideration
 They were called upon to make re- l port upon the comparative cost Of the | manufacture of print paper in Canada
 and in this country. They first made a l preliminary report. and then they made | final report, and I venture to say mat never before has report so complete, so | comprehensive. and so satisfactory as To 1 the comparative cost of any product in | two countries been made as this upoh the pulp and news print paper.
 l candid impa rtial observer of the complete I candid, impartial observer of the compete- ness with which it is possible to secure | information without the inquisitorial .sx- | animation under oath, and the greater accuracy that may be had in quiet, | friendly. examination of the books than bv necessarily anta agonistic cross exam l nation of the proprietor of the business when on the stand. The report Nindl- | cates the judgment of the European an- thorities, whom Prof. Emery consulted, that the use of formal cross examinations l to secure facts in regard to the cost or | the manufactured articles is not the best | course for getting at the facts.
 It is said with respect to the tariff board l that its investigations are not be relied upon because it must secure it's informa- l ton from interested parties, and that no | information is available to 1t that IS not l available directly to the ways and means l committee, and that the committee can 1 secure testimony of such people more ef- | fectively than the tariff board. Such a | statement fails entirely to recognize tho | real character of the investigations of the 1 tariff board. Material secured by that | board is not in the nature of testimony | of different parties examined as 10 Wna | they think on any of these facts. It IS l the substitution of records compiled from | the books of the concerns for the testf- l inony of individuals.
 Then again it said that other bureaus or agencies of the government longer estap- | lished and of better organization nave l made, or are making, all the investiga- | ,ions of this kind necessary. The maker | of such an objection fails to appreciate .he marked difference between the work
 Of the beard and most other agencies or the government. The work of the tariff l board is not primarily statistical. Other agencies of the government, especially ] i1l the department of agriculture and the 1 dc pertinent of commerce and labor, carry l on statistical investigations of much i'm | portanee much of which has to be used 1 hy the tariff board. and in all cases the | tariff board cndeavors to avoid any dupli- | oaticn of work of this kind. But such | statistical work to production, 1m- | ports and exports. number of people em- | ployed, earnings per week, etc., are very | small part of the investigation necessary for consideration Of tariff problems Nc | agency of the government has ever done even statistical work primarily with a
 view to considering the effects of tariff I rates or producers and consumers.
 The best way to understand the peculiar ] character of the investigations of the
 tariff board is to compare their published
 report on pulp and news print papel
 either with the statistical work of other
 government agencies regarding this in'
 dustry or with the hearings before tht
 ways and means committee. It is showT
 that this investigation does not in anA
 way duplicate the statistical work of tht
 i other departments, but that its scope | quite different and yet the investiga