Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-09-21


both houses of Congress. L gave tne
project as strong support as possipe
and made q number of pubic addresses
in support of it, aid sent speclhc rec
ommendation of the plan in cohstes
Sional message. The republican cohNeh-
tions of twenty-eieht states adopted res
olutions strongly advocating statutor!
tariff commission and deprecatlnS any
future revision until needed evidence hau
been gathered and impartial conclusions
drawn as to the facts upon which such
revision could be properly made. quote
the resolutions from Ohio. New YORK,
| Wisconsin, Iowa and Kansas.
Resolutions of Five States.
.'Ohio: Recognizing inequalities due to
changing conditions or that otherwise
NAV be found to exist, Congress has
provided q tariff board. with an ample
appropriation, for the investigation of
the differences in the cost of production
at home and abroad so that If any rates
are found to be higher than necessary
| to afford labor high wage and capital
fair return those rates Will be re-
duced
| New York: In providing, upon the
| suggestion of President Taft. for a tariff
| board. il affords the means of still more
accurately determining the difference In
| the cost of production at home and
abroad A republican Congress is neces-
i
this board and to assure business and
labor that changes in rates will be made
only TO equalize the difference in cost OF
production and not to reduce rates TO the
free trade or purely revenue basis Ia
yored by the democratic party.
"Wisconsin: The present tariff board
has no power of investigation and is not
required to report to Congress. We favor
the creation of non-partisan tariff COM
! mission. empowered to ascertain the cost
of production in this and other countries.
and required to make frequent reports
of the information gained to Congress
L Don the information so obtained, Con-
gress should proceed to revise the differ
ent schedules Independently of each other.
according to true protective tariff prln-
| ciples.
Iowa: We favor the creation of an in
dependent. non-partisan tariff commission:
which shall be the instrunlentallty of
| Congress to ascertain the difference be-
tween the cost of production here and
| in other countries, and publish the facts
| SO that not only Congress but the peo-
| pie shall be advised of the results of its
4 investiga tions. Until such commission is
/ authorized they approve the effort of the
| President to secure the desired lrformd-
| ton through a board of experts employed
| for that purpose
kansas: We pledge the people of Kan
| sas that the republican senator's and con-
! gressmen from this state shall work and
| vote for legislation that will maintain
| tariff commission with ample power and
| sufficient appropriation to ascertain ac-
curately the difference between the cost
of production at home and abroad. and
after such information has been obtained
we hereby pledge our republican senator's
and representatives Immediately to fix
the duties upon the basis of this informa-
ton.
.Of course. with republicans. in order
to secure a proper revision on the basis to
which they We're committed it was essen
tial TO know from an unbiased source the
and home production. for this was the
limit of protection which the moderate
protectionists among them and the last
party platform had set. They did not
wish to injure the important industries of
the country by taking away from them
the measure of protection needed to ena-
bic them to live against foreign compete
ton. but they did intend in the next revi-
sion not to give more than this.
Pass Tariff Board Bill.
"Of course. the democrats recognized no
such measure of protection as just, but
many of them contended that such a
commission was necessary to secure the
facts upon which a proper tariff for rev.
enue only could be framed. The result
was that by republican and democratic
votes. and among the republicans the So
called progressive or insurgent republi-
port, bill creating a permanent tariff
board of five, to be appointed by the Pres
ident. with power to summon witnesses
and SECURE their evidence under oath, was
passed by the House. No more than three
members of the same political party
could be appointed members of the
board. The Investigations to be under
taken and the reports to be made were
set out in the act and included as proper
Ia rot tfNyaa
home and foreign production. The board
was to report to the President and to
Congress as either directed
THE bill went to the Senate and was
there amended in few unimportant par
ticulars, one requiring confirmation of
the appointment of the members by the
Senate and another modifying in somc
respect the mquisitorial powers of the
turn of the bill to the House for its con-
currence in the amendments, but a
small minority was able to beat
the bill by filibustering in the last
hours OF the session. In the uncer-
ia inty as to the passage Of the bill both
houses had provided $225.OOO for me to
continue the tariff board then existing if
the bill for the other board failed OF
passage. In this appropriation bill the
statutory tariff board. if established, was
directed to investigate and report upon
schedule *. on wool and r-oolens by De-
eember |. 1911. This direction was the
result or an amendment offered by q
democratic senator
pom the failure of the bill for
statutory board. and in an earnest ef-
iort 10 enable Congress to act with ac-
curate knowledge on schedule X and in
deed, on schedule Ion cotton manufac-
tures-l issued an order to the tariff
! board already appointed to continue the
necessary investigations of these sched-
uies and to report upon the same De-
cember ] next. In order TO make as good
TO fh.
as could. added two competent demo-
| Gratis TO the board. The board consists of
two professor; of economics Of the high
est standing. one Al Yale and one at the
| University Of Virginia, former as
sistant secretary OF the Treasury in
] charge OF customs, the proprietor and
editor OF an agricultural and stock rails
| ing neWspa per-an authority on these
subJects-and former democratic con-
| gresham of great ability and ex-
! perienne from Georgia. Except the for
mer assistant secretary. who IS a re-
| publican, and the former congress
/ man, it is hard To say that the members
| have any politics at all. certainly none
which will prevent impartial insestiga-
| ton and judgment. They are to report
| on the glossary and the facts as to
| the comparative cost o. foreign ard do
| mestic production after Investigations
| made by experts in their employ. They
| have eighty persons under them working
! hard to complete the work marked out
| for them.
/ Need of Information.
q. have gone over with care this his