Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1911-06-30

The explicit statement in the Consti-
tuition to the effect that all bills for
raising revenue shall originate in the
House of Representatives., is so entirely
in accord with all past, present and
possible future notions Of popular gov
eminent, that to even discuss seriously
any other way for raising revenue would
seem like rank disloyalty to the whole
spirit and purpose of the republican
form of government. But, just as there
is no doubt as to the propriety of main
tanning forever that consistent prov-
sion so there is no doubt that so long as
it is maintained it will be one of the
most troublesome items of the whole
system, necessitating action of some
sort to offset the certain possibility of
harm in it.
A tariff for revenue there must al
| ways he, unless all could agree, as they
certainly will not do, to get along with
out any sort of government at all. The
people will elect a representative body
until the Millennium. And until that
time many individual members of that
representative body will work might
and main for the benefit of some partic
ular branch of industry in which he is
interested, instead of combining himself
to the hard task of finding out what
sort of tariff fixing would really make
for the general welfare. And as it il
more than probable that the govern
ment will never again be so overwhelm
ingly republican, for time long enough
to create belief in the security of {
decided measure of protection to indus
try and as plan for tariff for revenue
only--if such one could be agreed up
on by representatives of the democratic
party could not survive serious reverse,
in the business of majority of wag,
earners we shall have, internationally thu
political discussions of tariff changes
that as effectually halt business as woulc
dense fog. That condition of thing,
will be so for just as long as the priv
lege of tariff fixing is put to illegltimats
purposes
The establishment of tariff board
whose duty it shall be to keep posted OF
trade matters and give to the President
or the Congress expert advice may
check any tendency to improper, adroi
political use of the privilege of voting
or dealing ia any way with the revenue
business, but it is not coercive. It's
work is too remote from the attention
of the people themselves. If the advice
of the tariff board went hard against
some particular interest that interest
would still be opposed to the limit Of
the influence of this or that Congress
man. And it is in the very nature Of
expert tariff board advice that many in
terests would be hard hit.
| The whole number of the people or a,
least controlling number must, ulti.
mately study the whole science of reve
nue. raising for themselves, and also
unite in a demand that the politician,
must prove by simple logic that tariff
revision in any considerable degree will
bring reasonably permanent benefits t.
, make up for the losses due to changes.
, The best writer's on political econom,
? show that stability in methods OF taxa
' ton is of the very first Importance, a
I wages will, when there is sense O
, security on the part of capital, gradual
I rise to meet any rise in the cost of Ii,
ing that can be directly traced to a pre-
tective policy. The only way of off sett
+ ing any fault in the sound plan of orig
8 mating and dealing with the tariffs b
Il the representative body is for the peopl
9 to see to it that the best interests of a
i are served by congressman.
It Both sides of the questions that occv
y as to tariff revisions proposed from tim