The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-25
TAFT TSENDSLETTER
 ID HARDWARE MEN Speaks of Rejection of the Metal Bill
 NEED TARIFF BOARD
Industrial Peace Cannot Be Secured in the Absence of National Pros- perity = Men Differ on
 Protective Tariff

Atlantic City, N. J.. October 24-A let ter from President Taft to the American Hardware Manufacturers association was read today at the session of the assoeia- tions convention. It follows:
 Beverly Mass, october IS. 1912
 My Dear MT. Jantz l am very glad to send a message of greeting to the members of the American Hardware Manufacturers association and the Ma tlonal Hardware association on the oc- cason of their annual joint convention
 "one of the members of your associa- ton wrote me the other day that what this country needs most is industrial peace There can be no such peace in the absence of national prosperity, and am glad to believe that the members or your association are doing their full share to welcome the prosperity which is just at our door by maintaining our present economic business basis and by the en- eouragement of business through the legitimate use Of capital
 The Tariff
 i''I am firm believer in tariff board or tariff commission. l do not contend that the tariff can be taken out of poli- ties in the sense that it will never be made the subject of political controversy. Men differ radically as to the educational wisdom of protective tariff or a tariff for revenue only. and that must always be the subject of political discussion. But there Is means of taking the ascertain | ments of facts away from tribunal like 1 the ways and means committee which Is | necessarily hurried in it's conclusions and necessarily lacking in the thoroughness l and temper which are essential to reach 1 impartial conclusions. Probably no indus tries affected by the tariff need scientific and impartial conclusions more than those which are represented in your con vention.
 In my message of August h. last, returning to the Congress without my approval the bill to revise the metals schedule iron and steel as primary prod ucts are less than a third In value of the subject matter covered by the schedule. I presented a table showing that included in the metals schedule are | 90 allied industries Of sufficient im- lpartance 10 Justify s--,afate elasgiii- cation, study and report by the census bureau. l pointed out further that foundry and machine shop products, which are secondary products of the iron and steel industry are made by more than 13,00O competing establish ments with an invested capital of more than $1, 500, 900, 900, with more than 500- 900 wage earners employed and produc- l ing nearly s1,250,000,000 in value of products annually. Every dollar of this 1 capital and every workman employed 1 in the industry was directly effected by the bill, and l could not find either in 1 the report of the committee on ways and means of the House, or to any extent In the discussion of the sched- u1e that serious consideration had been given to the effect of this revision In this particular branch of the industry and the same is true In more than two thirds of the industries covered by the schedule.
 Little Logic in Bill
 There was little logic in the re- duction made by this bill in the sched- ule. For example steam engines and machine tools in the present law are dutiable at 30 per cent. In this re- vision steam engines were reduced to 10 per cent and the whole machine tool 1 Industry was put on the free list with out any reason whatever being assigned in the report of the ways and means committee in either case for such ac- ton
 ''The term machine tools has already | been the subject of much litigation, and its scope should be clearly defined be- | fore the great variety of articles which it now seems to cover are placed on the free l list. The expansion of our foreign trade would seem to demand that a transfer | to the free list. like the one made in the l bill, of such an enormous range of unde- | termined products and the opening of the 1 best market in the world to free and un- restricted competition should not be made | without at the same time at least secur- | ing, as is the case now of specified agri- I cultural implements, me privilege of |. | like free entry into the markets of our l competitors.
 l "I refer to these facts to bring home to the members of your association some of | the dangers of i'll advised political tink- | ering with business. vetoed the bill which would have spelled ruin to many of you because I was not willing to ap- l prove legislation which yitally affected not only millions of working men and the | families dependent on them. but hundreds of millions of dollars worth of stocks of goods analysed in the hands of storekeep- CTS and distributors generally. without first providing for careful and disnter- ested inquiry into the conditions of the | whole industry.
 And so. I say, we must not make Legitimate business the football of pol- tics We must have investments from
 which osecure large wage fund
 which is needed to support the wage earners. We must inspire fin the bus- ness men who control those Investments the confidence that they win not be driven out of business.
 Let us put our shoulder to the wheel.
 together in an effort to promote pros perity by frownlng down those attacks
 that are engendered, not by q real de-
 sire to eliminate abuses but emanate
 from lazy persons who wish to arouse
 ir the people an unjust prejudice and
 take away from their clear perception as ] 10 their real interest in encouraging the investment of small capital in commend ing it's thrifty. correct and lawful use to
 secure good and reasonable profit and
 10 enjoy the widespread influence of the
 prosperity that business thus encouraged Is bound to shower upon the people at large Sincerely,
 CIVILIAN HOWARD TAFT.
 "G H. Jantz, President of the Amer ican Hardware Manufacturers Associa-
 ton. New York"
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