The Penn's Grove record., 1911-02-10
FAVOR RECEMEAL
TARIFF REVISION
Leading Democrats Believe 1t
Should Be Done One Schedule
at a Time.
THEIR ARGUMENT SET FORTH
Thorough Investigation of the Numer
GUS Accidsnts on American War
Vessels Is Needed-StanIey's
Resolution for Probe Of
Steel Trust.
BY WILLS ]. ABBOT.


Washington. = Among a great
number of members Of the house
with whom l have talked l fine
that the overwhelming sentiment is in
favor Of the plan Of taking up the
tariff in the next congress schedule
by schedule and going before the
country with something accomplished
If not all-instead Of trying to &C.
complish all, as Senator Bailey has
suggested, and accomplishing nothing,
The following, 1 should say, is the
dominant opinion among the Demo
Gratis, and as 1t is a sort of com
posite picture of the views of many
men ! will not ascribe it to any one
by name:
Argument for PiecemeaI Revision.
There are many reasons why the
Democrats should not attempt to en-
act a complete tariff bill. These are
some:
i. The business community to
which nov the Democratic party ap-
peals more than does its historic rival
does not want the whole tariff ques-
ton reopened. 1t would probably bring
on a business depression which might
be fatal to the party In 1912.
2. The party is not fitted, and can
rot be before the next session, to
bring in a complete bill. The experts
who have been advising the ways and
means committees of the past have
been Republicans and high protection
ists without exception. A new organi-
cation cannot be built up during the
summer recess by a party without
power to employ statistfcians and in
vestigators until it comes into power
December 4 next.
80. A bill reducing the tariff on wool
and woolens could be presented and
passed without arousing the bitter
hostility of the lumber barons.' A
later bill reducing the tariff on lum-
Der might easily be enacted without
awakening the steel interests to &C
tivity. Lump them both and a score
Of others into n omnibus bill and
every interest menaced would log
roll with all the others and eventual
ly cause congressional impotence and
Democratic disaster"
Navy Accidents Need Probing.
1t is high time that something more
tHan a merely bureaucratic fnvestiga-
ton was made into the accidents" on
American men-of-war. l quote the
word accidents" because 1t seems to
me that most of them are less acct
dental than the fruit either OF faulty
construction, or Of bad discipline
among the crews. The latest n was
on the battleship Delaware, In which
nine men were killed by the explosion
OF steam tubes in the boiler. An in
vestigation, solemn, serious and made
picturesque by much gold lace and
many brass buttons, is now being held
by the navy authorities.
What does the board of inquiry an
pointed in this particular case inves-
tigate? VIII 1t go back of the mere
question of the methods EMPLOYED in
the stoke-hole of the battleship or will
1t proceed to look into the character
OF the tubing, the boilers and the 9th
er vitals of the ship furnished by its
~builders7
Getting After Steel Trust.
The most interesting and far-reach-
ing investigation ever conducted nv
q house committee is f~oreshadowed
by the action of the committee nm
rules in the matter of the Stanley res.
olution providing for an investigation
OF the United States Steel corporation
more briefly and accurately known az
the steel trust. This resolution has
been pigeon-holed in committee for
seven months, but has finally beer re.
ported to the house, where it will IN
douptedly De adopted, though probably
aIter a bitter debate. Its author does
not mince matters either in describing
the purposes of his resolution or ay.
planning It's necessity.
Restraint of Trade Charged.
The steel trust, he says, is abso.
lutely a criminal trust, not organized
TO manufacture steel, but merely to
maintain prices through methods OF
combination In restraint of trade. The
absolute uniformity of prices among
all the subsidiary corporations shows
that. Somebody on the committee
asked Mr.. Stanley if the facts-or al
iegat1ons-presented by him to the
committee were well founded, why
ne did not take them to the attorney
general instead of asking for a special
committee of congress. His answer
was calculated to make that distin-