Evening star., 1911-08-27
TAFT SPEAKS OUT
ON REVISION BILLS
Scores lnsurgent Republicans
Who Combined With Demo-
Gratis in Congress.
FREE TRADE MEASURES
MENACING TO BUSINESS
Presidents Keynote of 1912 Cam.
paign at Hamilton, Mass.
JUSTIFIES HIS RECENT vEToEs
Views Proposed Legislation as In
tudicious and Dangerous, Resting
on Basis of Tariff for Poll
tics Only"

tlcS Only.'
HAMILTON. Mass. August n6-Presi-
dent Taft began the presidential cam
naign Of 1872 here today. his friends be-
iieve. In speech that breathed de-
nance he scored the ''insurgent' men,
bers of the republican party I'm Congress
ana the democrats who combined to re-
wise several schedules of the present
tariff at the special session of Congress
Just closed. He singled out Senator La
Toilette of Wisconsin. Speaker. Clark
and Chairman Underwood of the House
ways and means committee as leaders
of the attempted revision and gave
them special mention.
Several times he referred TO Mr.. La
Toilette and mentioned the other in
surgent senators merely as ''the latter's
associates" He indicated that. he re-
garded the proposed revision as inju-
dicious and dangerous to business. but
made 1t plain that IL the tariff board in
December reports that downward revision
OF the cotton and wool schedules should
be made. he will recommend the use OF
the pruning knife
Scents Smoke of Battle.
Standing on the broad terrace of Rep
resentative A. p. Gardners farm, with
senator Lodge and other Massachusetts
republican leaders. the President seemed
In mt Ia A1-
Many of the 800 members OF the Essex
County Republican Club gathered below
to listen. thought they heard the key
note" speech of the coming campaign.
and their cheers were loud and long
| Senator Henry Cabot Lodge supple-
mented the Presidents tariff remarks
by few words, while two of the three
candidates for the republican nomina-
, ton for governor in MASSACHUSETTS,.
Lieut.. Gov. Louis A. Frothingham. and
Speaker Joseph Walker spoke also
The Presidents Speech.
President Taft said in part:
i am here to speak words of en-
couragement as to the outlook for re-
publican success You have a state
election Immediately before you into
which 1t seems to me national issues
ought to enter. We have Just fin
ished an extra session of Congress, and
the matters considered were of such
Importance to the commonwealth of
Massachusetts that / do not see how
the people of the state can withhold
an expression of opinion upon them.
The extra session of Congress was
called for the purpose of confirming
the Canadian reciprocity treaty, which
1t did by support made up of votes
from both parties. / have no doubt
Massachusetts. by both parties, would
confirm it's adoption.
Our democratic friends however wara
not content to allow the session to pass
with the accomplishment of the purpose
for which Ii was called. They assisted
most of them-in the passage of the reci-
procfty bill because they believed i'm it's
usefulness. and in doing they united
with the republican support and did not
play politics in its passage. / am very
sorry to say, however that, having pur-
sued a purely statesmanlike course with
reference to reciprocity, they did play
politics OF the most irresponsible char
acter in respect to three tariff bills. which
by uniting with certain republicans i'm
the Senate they were able to pass and
present to the executive for his signature.
Tariff for Politics Only.
The bills bear internal evidence Of the
fact that they rested on a basis of not
tariff for revenue only but tariff for
politics only The first-the wool bill
was introduced into the House by Mr..
Underwood, the democratic leader. with
the statement that 1t was free trade
bill. and was not intended to provide pro-
lection to the wool or wooden industry.
but that the % per cent tax which was
placed on raw wool imported into this
country was made necessary as a reve-
nue. measure by the prospect Of deficit
in the national revenues.
This was a most profound error. made
by Mr.. Underwood, through @ mistake in
adding up the columns of the estimated
revenues and expenditures. so that in
stead of there being a deficit, as suggest
ed there is I'm reality surplus OF
$40, 600. 900. Though this error was mace
known to him the 20 per cent tax upon
raw wool was. nevertheless, retained.
'The measure then passed as q free
trade measure to the Senate of the United
States. where. being defeated. the demo-
Gratis and the so-called republican IN
surgents united in passing as substitute
the amendment OF bill prepared by Sen
ator La Toilette on the floor without ref
erence to, or investigation by. any COM
mittee.
''The bill went TO conference ana
emerged after further compromise. pro-
viding a duty OF % per cent on raw wool
and an average of ~ per cent on woolen
manufactures. This compromise was
Conceived in Unnatural Alliance.
THUS the bill is seen to be a compro-
mise between avowed free traders and
avowed protectionists. bill conceived
In an unnatural alliance a bill the prod
uct OF political log rolling for the purpose
of securing its passage. bill framed In
ignorance of the exact effect of its OPP
Grafton, and bill that presents only
those methods in its adoption which had
been generally condemned in the making
of previous tariff bills.
Mr. Underwood and Mr.. Clark. in the
House. and Mr. La Toilette and his as
sociates In the Senate. had earlier been
CONSPICUOUS in the support of a measure
which was avowedly adopted for the pur-
pose of securing scientific information to
assist in revisions OF the tariff. Indeed.
they earnestly deprecated any future re-
vision without an accurate knowledge or
the facts. But now. IN the opportunity