The Washington times., 1912-09-13

In the current issue of the Outlook
appears an editorial by Colonel Roose-
welt on Progressive Democracy,
which has to do with the tariff, and
which should prove of interest to all
who are interested in this question.
The editorial Is as follows:
II believe IN a protective tariff. but
I believe in It as q principle, approached
from the standpoint OF the interests OF
the whole people, and not as bundle
OF preference to be given to favored IN
dividuals.
~ -'v opinion. the American people
favor the principle Of a protective tarin'
but they desire such tariff to De es-
tablished primarily in the interests OF
the wage-worker and the consumer
The chief opposition to our tarin at
the present moment comes from the
general conviction that certain interests
have been Improperly. favored by. over
protection. agree with this view
The commercial and Industrial expert
ence of this country has demonstrated
the wisdom of the protective policy.
but It has also demonstrated that In the
a application Of that policy certain clearly
recognized abuses have developed.
worker ana consumer rlISt.
ut is not merely the tariff that should
be revised. but the method Of tariff
making and of tariff administration,
Wherever nowadays an industry Is to
be protected It should be on the theory
that such protection will serve to keep
up the wages and the standard of liv-
ing of the wageworker IN that industry.
with full regard for the interest or
the consumer To accomplish this the
tariff to be levied should. as nearly as
Is scientifically possible, approximate
the differential between the cost Of pro-
duction at home and abroad. This DIFF
ferential is chiefly II not wholly. In
labor cost. No duty should be permitted
to stand as regards any industry unless
the workers receive their full share OF
the benefits of that duty. In other
words. there Is no warrant for protec-
ton unless a legitimate snare OF the
benefit gets into the pay envelope OF the
wageworker
''The practice of undertaking a gen.
eral revision of all the schedules at one
time, and of. securing information as to
conditions in the different industries and
as to rates of duty desired chiefly from
those engaged in the industries. who
rates they propose. has peer, demon
strated to be not only iniquitous but
futile. 1t has afforded opportunity for
practically all Of the abuses ,n ,e which have
tariff administration. The day OF the
log rolling tariff must end. The pro.
gressive thought of the country has rec
ogniZed this fact for several years, and
the time has come when all genuine
Progressives should insist upon a thor
ough and radical change In the method
of tariff-making.
Must Prove Right to Protection.
THE first step should be the creation
of a permanent commission of non-par-
tisan experts whose business 1t shall be
to study scientifically all phases Of
tariff-making and of tariff effects This
commission should be large enough to
cover all the different and widely vary
ing branches of American industry. 1t
should have ample powers to- enable 1t
to secure exact and reliable information.
1t should have authority to examine
closely all correlated subjects. such as
the effect of any given duty on the con-
sumers of the article on which the duty
Is levied; that Is, II should directly con-
slider the question as to what any duty
costs the people in the price of living.
1t should examine into the wages and
conditions of labor and life of the work.
men In any industry, so as to insure our
/
less the showing as regards the share
labor receives therefrom Is satisfactory
This commission would be wholly DIFF
ferent from the unsatisfactory tariff
5oard which was created under a pro-
vision of law which failed to give 1t the
powers Indispensable If 1t was to do
the work 1t should do. ..'..'..
1T will be we'll for us to study the
experience Of Germany in considering
this question. The German tariff COM
mission has proved conclusIvely the ef-
ficiency and wisdom of this method of
handling tariff questions. The reports
of a permanent. expert. and non-parti-
san tariff. commission would at once
strike a most powerful blow against
the chief iniquity Of the old log g-rolling
method of tariff-making One of the
principal difficulties with the old method
has been, that 1t was impossible for the
public generally, and especially for
those members of Congress not directly
connected with the committees handling
a tariff bill, to secure anything like
adequate and impartial information on
the particular subjects under copsidera-
ton. The reports of such tariff COM
mission would at once correct this evil
and furnish to the general public full