Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1911-12-01
GIVES OUT AUTHOR.
IzEp INTERVIEW IN CURRENT
ISSUE OF OUTLOOK.
WOULD CHANGE PhRAsEoLooV
J OF DEFENCE or TARIFF Bill
Says Democratic Tariff Bills Vetoed BY
Him Were cruds-Rsvision Would
Not Lower Cost Of Food Prices =
Present Prosperity Due to Tariff
Prepared TO Accept Defeat.

New York. Dec. LIN the current
issue OF The Outlook there appears an
article entitled, president Taft's Own
Ciew. An Authorized Interview" in
which the president discusses current
topics with an interviewer, as follows
in part:
Speaking Of the tariff issue, Mr.
President, II you could begin your ad-
ministrationt again, would you repeat
your Winona speech tomorrow? the
interviewer asked.
In phraseology. no; In effect. yes
Had 1 known as much as do now.
should have realized that there are
some things one can not leave to be
taken for granted. I dictated that
speech to stenographer on the cars
between two stations. and glanced
thru it only long enough to straighten
its grammar; 1t was sent out by the
press with correspondingly little cere.
:noay, SO that papers received 1t in all
sorts Of shapes. If l had prepared II
two or three weeks before and revised
1t deliberately. as ought to have done
1 should have clarified several pas
sagee. And. particularly. should nave
changed the sentence where pro-
claim the Payne tariff act the best ever
passed The comparative would nave
been a better description than the su-
perlative; for, whatever Its shortcom
ings the act still contains less to De
criticized than its predecessors, and II
did. as whole, revise the existing
schedules downward.
Democratic Bills Crude.
"I have no fault to find with either
democrats or insurgents for trying tc
reduce any duties they choose: what
object to is disturbing the business
of the country today. when there Is
nothing better than guesswork to pro-
coed upon. and then disturbing
afresh six months later when the best
available information Is before us. l dc
not Join in the charge Of inconsistency
against the democrats for compromis-
ing with LaFollette on the wool sched-
ule instead Of standing by their own
figures. II they could not get all the
reduction they asked for. they were
quite Justified in taking what they
could get. My chief criticism on their
tarin activities last session was that
they were willing to send to me leSis-
lation so crude and iii digested that
they must have known, If they had
paused to think. that I could not pos
sfbly approve It."
No Effect on Food Prices.
is your tariff reduction program
based on the theory that it will bring
about corresponding reduction In the
cost OF living?"
II think that that effect is greatly
overestimated. Ny chief objection to
needlessly high tariff Is that II nour-
isles monopoly. 1t holds forth con-
slant temptation to the formation OF
little trusts. which often are more d.
rectly oppressive to the consumer thar
big ones"
"Mr. President. there Is your tarif
board You have been sharply criti-
cized for making 1t up Of men who are
not tariff experts"
And that is true: they are not. II
had been appointing board OF tarif
experts I could not have got along
with less than twenty five. in order Il
do justice to all branches Of the sub
ject. What undertook to do was tt
make up a board Of trained investiga
tors, capable Of managing a thorough
inquiry into costs Of production and Of
analyzing It's elements. First. Mr.. Mac
Veagh write to friends in leading uni