Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-12-03

70 The existence of the tariff board Is the
: result Of the decision of Congress to en-
act a maximum and minimum tariff law
: For several years there has been wide
: spread agitation in favor of taking the
z tariff out of politics. and OF constructing
: schedules with each item standing on its
ON merits rather than through the coilu-
y sion of all interests and the system OF
logrolling that has obtained, making
! them all stand CT fall together.
- But this agitation might have been
barren of result except for the fact that
: when Congress decided to enact a maxi
mum and minimum clause in the Payne
. Aldrich bill it placed in that measure a
: provision that the President might en-
; ploy such persons as were needed to en-
: able him to gather the necessary informa-
ton for the application of the maximum
, and minimum provisions of a tariff An
appropriation of $4,000 was made for the
. employment of these such persons"
- The President found some work to be
done under the strict consideration of the
- tariff law by these such persons" but
he also found q much wider range of
activities for them. He appointed three
@Smen and called them the tariff board.
: After this board-which consisted OF
Henry c. Emery, noted political econ
omist; Alvin III. Sanders the editor OF
an important farm journal, and James b.
: Reynolds, assistant secretary of the
treasury-had completed it's Investigations
into the maximum and minimum features
= of the tariff. President Taft set it to
work ma king further Investigations, and
z''When he made his report to Congress ask
: ing for additional appropriations for the
! tariff board and mapping out the work
= ne proposed to have il do, that body gave
n rI- dc
/. the general idea of having the tariff
board make investigations as to the. cost
: of production in the, United States and
esabroad.
- At the last session of the Sixty-frst
Congress President Taft strongly urged
- the creation of
. Urges Creation tariff commission,
srrn, to be made up as q
vi AdIlH oodiu. bipartisan organ
: ization. its members to inquire into mat
=ters pertaining to the tariff without any
: reference to the political exigencies of
? tariff making So sure was he that the
; tariff commission idea would be enacted
into law that he had prepared list of
commissioners in advance. This was to
: consist of the members of the existing
tariff beard with the addition of former
: Representative William NJ Howard of
. Georgia and Prof. Thomas w. Page of
!. the University of Virginia.
Congress did not see fit to create a
tariff commission, but it was willing to
scontinue the appropriations necessary for
gthe conclusion OF. the work of the tariff
board. Upon the strength of that Presi-
dent Taft appointed Messrs. Howard and
Page as the democratic members of this
tariff board. and thereby made it what 1t
is today
-. The first organized fight in favor of
sthe creation of a non-partisan commits
Sion for the investigation of tariff matters
bad its inception in indianapolis in Febru
=ary. 1902 when the National Tariff Com
: mission Association was formed. This
2 evils of the system of making tariff laws
IN the past, and decided to urge upon all
Interests the creation of a tariff commits
ssion. Tbis association embraces upward
: Of hundred affiliated organizations and
more than hundred thousnd firms. cor
Z porations ard individuals. Its work is
.,also supported by the National Associa-
/, ton of Manufacturers well as by the
National Grange of the United States.
Those who advocated the tariff commits
-ssion asserted that it would put an end
: to logrolling in tariff matters. 1t Is
claimed by the advocates of the tariff
commission idea that the present tariff
hoard has abundantly demonstrated the
value of tariff commission. They as
5 sert that tariff rate intended to prevent
Importation ceases to be tax and be-
ZONES a subsidy, and that in the enact
-7rnent of tariff laws the only side usually
: heard to any extent is that of those who
: are interested in higher duties on COM
. modities.
= Former Senator Albert j. Beveridge of
Indiana was one of the leaders in the
n fight for the
Position Taken creation of a
by Indiana Senator. sinn Ne has
Legislation which he regards as startling
= and ridiculous. He calls attention to the
= fact that the duties fixed in the House
!. and Senate on borax under the Dingley
bill varied from 2 cents In the House
measure to cents in the Senate bill:
sNsugar cane varied from 20 cents in the
House measure to 10 cents, as passed by
sthe Senate; floor mating was fixed at 3
: cents per square yard IN the Rouse and
= cents in the Senate He calls attention
= to the fact that there could be no sci
: entific basis for such tremendous differ
ences as these, and declares that the
conference committee which adjusted diff
+ ferences on the whole BILL which in many
= cases ranged from 50 per cent to $50 per
cent, was in session only five days
After Congress had created the tariff
board twenty-eight repLDncan state con-
: ventions in their party platforms in
, dorsed the tariff commission idea. The
- republican party platforms in fifteen
- states advocated the revision of the tar
i'll schedule by schedule. Not a single re-
:. public an state platform declared against
p either.
= Although there have been many agen-
/. cies advocating the creation Of a national
= tariff commission. whose aim 1t would be
to investigate tariff matters without ref