Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-08-30

4
Years. and rate his capacity high, hn}
he is not q tariff expert. so far "a
have heen able II learn, the others are
NOT experts.
| "On the other hand several members
Of the House. both Republicans and
| Democrats, including Mr.. Underwood
land my self, have spent half ne
lume studying and debating the tariff
MANY Of us participated IN debate On
the Dingley bill; many of us partiel-
pated later in The hearing ana debat p
Ion the Payne Aldrich- Smoot b'i''
which the President has declared IL
the hest tariff hill ever PASSED. AMI
/ which | conhdentially assert is the
worst.
The services If some House and
senate members even goes hack to he
Mckinley bill the springer bills. the
lNiUs bill, ana the Morrison bills. Then
| why should we wait for the verdict o.
| the Presidents board Of tariff nor
Iexperts2
| 1t will be noted that while tn
| Presidents conscience would not pei
nit him TO sign a bill revising even
one schedule-the wool schedule. the
rates of which he declared 10 he too
high. and in need Of reduction, VIII
OUT recommendation from his board NJ
uon-experts. he promptly signed tic
outrageous Payne Aldrich- Smoot tar
If bill without the counsel, advice r
tuition of any tariff board whatsoever
That bin was so bad that in
House with Republican majority. We
lacked only five votes of killing II by
recommitting it, That day - patrz-
otIc Republicans voted with us, among
them Hon ]. r. Mann, the present
Republican minority leader, was
privileged as Democratic minoritf
leader To lead in that great aud
righteous fight, which viii he COLI
ISOLATION To me 50 long as life lasts.
1T might as we'll be understood nov
as later that if the Tariff Board Is TO
b. used as pretext for delaying tar
III revision downward. as The President
is now using il. instead ri eXpeditins
genuine and Statutory tariff revision.
Its DAYS will be few. for We Will cnt
off its supply. This board has ALREADY
,ost three or four hundred dollars ana
has not given TO Congress any infet-
nation 10 aid in revising the tarih.
Mr. Underwood and l aid say thai
We would gladly receive information
On The tariff from anybody possessing
| il. but we never did say and never
viii say that We, together with other
members well informed on the sub
;act must wait until the President $
hoard or any other board got ready &c
make recommendations.
"The President himself is man Oh
large general information, as well as
a man of great ability. but certainty
no is not enough OF a tariff expert To
iustifv him in vetoing tariff bills when
na esed th, House by majorities Of
more than two 10 one. il is not a mp
pant or unfriendly statement 10 say
that he possessed only the surface
information on the tariff as Governor
Diugley denominated il, which Is pos
sessed by every citizen, we'll iniofhhed
in a general way.
The President implied that ne re-
fused TO sign the wool bill because II
was introduced and rushed through
without due consideration. Let US see.
The caucus Of Democratic members
elected TO the sgd Congress met Jan
10 and selected the Democratic mem
hers of the committee on ways anu
means. making Mr.. Underwood chair
man. They personally and with their
helpers at once began to assemble III
formation for the wool schedule me
hin was reported TO the House about
the middle of April, period oil three
months on the preparation OF one
schedule out Of a. Whereas the hear
ing on the Payne bill with II sched-
Mes hogan Nov. II, and the bin was
reported TO the House March 10, a
period of little over four months de-
voted to il schedules. Any tyro IN
arithmetic knows that as we devoted
three months to one schedule ana the
trainers Of the Payne bill devoted on
the average only two-seVenths OF one
month to each schedule we devoted ~
and a half times as much time 10 d
schedule as did Brother Payne ana MS
Republican coadjutors on ways ana
means. Nevertheless and not"lth-
standing the President signed the
pavne- Aldrich- Smoot bill and vetoed
ours.
I'm this connection it should not be
forgotten that when Mr.. Underwood
renorted the wool bill, every line, par
agraph and section. was thrown open
TO DEBATE anu ''i@
debate continued until the members
discussed il all they wanted TO. IN
stead of being slapped together haslly
without due consideration, it was one
Of the most thoroughly and careiuliy
considered tariff bills ever presented
to ary. President for his signature.
Tn view of the foregoing facts "
surely must be that the President III
his zeal to reform the broken INES oil
the standpatters. forget that all men
were entitled to q square deal Whei
no uttered this monstrous and nrepos-
| ferrous sentence:
THE bills bear internal evidence
OF The fact that they rested on ha-
sis of not tariff for revenue only, pu'
tariff for politics only
! "RealiN I don't see how he count
find ii in his heart to utter the lore
going words. for which there is no pa
sis Of fact in the universe.
Never in the history of the gov
lernment, ! venture to say, have I'M
lportant public interests been dear
with in such a light hearted way. Wltf
| such absolute ignorance of the effect
| ,yyfIl N O.