St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1911-08-23
The Work of Congress.

ne f0LO VI tAS HOO4 LdAA0s AdA LII
ers' free list and cotton tariff bills
by President Taft brought speedy
end to the special session of con-
gress which adjourned yesterday.
The special session has accomplish
ed just what President Taft wanted
it to and no more and the record
must go to his credit or discredit as
the case may be. Three important
things were accomplished, the pas
sage of the reciprocity bin, the
campaign publicity bill and the re-
apportionment of the members of
congress.
To our mind the most commend
able act is the campaign publicity
bill which as finally agreed upon in
cludes the senate amendment ex-
tending the requirement for pub
licity of campaign expenses to pri-
mary and special elections and
nominating conventions as well as
to general elections. The amend
ment limits candidates for senator
to a campaign expenditure of $10,-
900 and candidates for representa-
tives to $4,000. The conferees dis
agreed to the senate amendment
which would have forbidden any
candidate from spending ga sum in
the aggregate exceeding more than
ten cents for each voter in his dis
trict or state y
So far as the law can make it so
we can expect pure elections of
congressman and senators as the re-
suit of this act.
OF course the feature of the
special session that will be discuss
ed most in political speeches is the
attitude of the president on tariff
reform. He defined his attitude
clearly in the veto of the wool bill.
He said he was elected president by
a party whose aim is to maintain a
protective tariff by imposing such
duties as will equal the difference
between the cost of production at
home and abroad together with a
reasonable profit to American in
dustries, that to secure exact infor-
nation as to the effect of new rates
in all future revisions of the tariff
he had created a tariff board
and instructed them to secure
information as to the comparative
cost of production at home and
abroad He gives the results of
that board as follows
1.-The board took some months to
investigate the methods pursued in
other countries in producing infor-
nation on tariff subjects and to or
ganize it's force. In October, 1910,
it's work of investigation began with
a force of forty that has now in
creased to ninety. In addition to
the glossary which is near COM
pletion, and other work connected
with furnishing information in con-
nection with the enforcement of the
maximum and minimum clause OF
the Payne tariff act and in respect
to the Canadian reciprocity measure
its attention has been especially di
rected to comparative cost under
schedule K (wool and woolens)
under schedule NJ (paper and pulp
and under schedule 1 Cotton manu-
factures). The report on schedule
NJ (pulp and paper) has alread!
been sent to congress. Full reports
on wool and cotton will be submit
ed to congress in December. l have
also directed an investigation int
the metal and leather schedules
the results of which it is hoped cal
be submitted to congress at its frs
regular session in time to permi
their consideration and legislativ,
action, if necessary"
The President, after quoting from
a report of the tariff commission as
ISOLATION commencing the work o
the tariff board, continues:
II have thus reviewed the histor.
of the movement for the establish
ment of a tariff commission or boart
in order to show that the real ad
vance and reform in tariff making
are to be found in the acquiring o
accurate and impartial information
as to. the effect of the proposed
tariff changes under each schedule
before they are adopted, and turtle,
to show that if delay in the passag,