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

| constitutional right and is charged with | the duty of making tariff laws. Congress said that it did not want and would not relegate any of this power to a tariff com mission. Yet the President says that after it declined to create tariff commission he took it on himself to create such a com mission out of his tariff clerks assigned him for other purposes and ordered them to perform the acts that it was intended tariff commission should do if it had been created.
 Here it must he remembered that the agitation in Congress for a permanent tariff commission came after the republic ans had failed to keep their promise 10 the people to revise the tariff downward and after the people had begun to rebel against this treachery. They foresaw democratic ascendency and permanent tariff board to which could be switched the machinery of tariff revision was one of the straws that offered some hope of re- lief to the sinking ship of protection. President Taft adds nothing to what he said in his veto message to secure his position or the position of his party. The only word that is added is a virtual ad- mission that the tariff board as an official tariff making institution or aid to tariff making, is a creature of his own political creation. He admits that Congress did not want or authorize 1t and that in ;he face of its action he, President Taft, cr- dered it to make investigations and re- port to Congress.
 Oscar W. Underwood has explained all this. The President has confirmed every thing that Mir. Underwood has charged in reference to the so called tariff board
 MT. Underwood, as chairman of the ways and means committee. is ready, will ing and glad to accept information on the tariff from any source. If the tariff bon I'd presents information of value MT. Under wood will accept 1t and will appreciate it.
 But it must not be forgotten that when Mir Underwood put his tariff bills up 10 the President for his signature he was | informed and knew what he was doias. l The President admitted in his veto mes sage that he did not know If the wool | bill was q just and equitable bill. .iut | he vetoed 1t with the statement that 1t l might hurt the manufacturing interests. l He did not know but it might. There was one thing certain II would not have
 injured 9l,00oO0o consumers In the United l States. It would have helped them but | they are not to be considered
 The President says further in his Gran | Rapids speech:
 | 'I have gone over with care this his tory of the movement for a tariff board
 in order to show how fully committed I
 am to the proposition that we ought not | to nave any revision of schedule of the tariff without accurate information as to the operation and effect of the oro-
 posed changes"
 When did Mir. Taft and his party conl-
 init themselves to such a policy?
 They revised the tariff upward in 1g0q 1 without the least consideration of expert | information from any commission The | conviction that tariffs must be handl ad 1 with extreme care seems to have sud INf1. xrnIn tx.l,a commissioned by the people to make thcit l tarlff laws.
 The republican leaders are plainly dis ! appointed in the weakness of the presi- dents defense. Of course, he squares nirl- | self to those persons and interests that
 desire d continuation of the protective
 policy to which the President admits he
 is pledged. but they had hoped that he
 would come stronger with arguments Cor ! the plain people.