New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-10-30
President Shows How Demo-
cratic Tariff Would Destroy
States Big Industries.
BLOW TO ENTIRE COUNTRY
Supremacy Ridiculous" Mr.
Taft Asserts, for Opponent
to Talk of Gentle Re-
duction of Duties.
LFrom No Tribune Buceau. J

Taft says the Third Term party leaders
nave not the slightest hope Of success
but, through a spirit Of revenge, are Will
ne to bring disaster on the whole country
by widening the breach in the Republican
party.
Mr.. Taft points out the disaster that
would have befalIen Ohio manufacturing
Industries, which employ $4,000 persons
and have d capital value Of S,SOOcW'eo
and would have worked serious injury TO
manufacturing industries all through the
country, had he not vetoed the tariH
measures passed by the Democratic Con-
gress.
A vote for Wilson, says the President Is
rot only a blow to the protectionist tarin
policy of the Republican party. but 10
the hundreds Of thousands of wage earn
ars who would be thrown out Of employ
ment II the Democrats were given the
chance TO put into effect their disastrous
tariff for revenue only" policy.
Vital to Ohio.
The Presidents letter in full follows:
. NV Dear Mr.. Geier: ] am most graft
fed to learn Of the splendid work WIlICn
Won are doing to arouse the business men
In Ohio and of the excellent prospects
of victory for the Republican ucket III
my own state. OF course, the fact that
il is my own state makes me All the
more pleased. AS you can well appre-
Ciate no man would care to nave ms
state fail him, but wholly apart from
selfish reasons ] want to see ONO 80
Republican by q large majority.
The injury which Ohio would suffer
from a Democratic victory would PROB
ably exceed that inflicted on any Other
state in the Union. That IS clearly SHOWN
by the efforts which our DemoCIdtiC
friends have already made 10 roo ONO
Industries Of the protection which Is SO
essential to their continuance, 10 say
nothing of their prosperity.
You, of course. realize how disastrous
the steel bill which / was compelled 10
veto would have proved TO our state
Ohio has 523 900 persons engaged in manu-
featuring and capital OF N,5VoVVV'Vy IN
vested In manufacturing plants. HOW
large a proportion Of all this Is involved
in the manufacture OF machine tools you
know better than |, but II Is TACT lHat
the Democrats, without rhyme or reason
put all machine tools on the free Ilst.
Then, too, they cut the duty on steam
engines from 80 to Is per cent, ana
throughout that bill they reduced duties
until the average was 32.O3 per cent, Whlle
even the Wilson bin imposed an average
. duty on the same products OF 1917 per
cent-and you know the disaster Whlch
followed its enactment.
In their wool bill the Democrats struck
q vital blow at the wool industry Inc
report of the Tariff Board, the, accuracy
OF which has never been challenged,
shows that an average duty OF 30 per
cent is necessary to make the raising
of wool profitable. but, absolutely need
less OF that the Democrats reduced the
duty on raw wool TO % per cent, ana as
for the manufacturers OF wOolens, the
Democratic bill would have put them en-
tirely out Of business leaving our farm
ers with no home market for their wool
and throwing hundreds of thousands Of
employees out of work.
Wilson Claim Ridiculous.
Does il not strike you as supremely
ridiculous for Governor Wilson vaguely
70 intimate that If he is elected he will
make such a gentle reduction Of the
duties that business will not be injured,
when his party has so recently put itself
on record as attempting such reckless
changes of the tariff, that had l not
vetoed their measures we would even now
he confronted with a panic?
What think you. could Mr.. Wilson do
In the White House were there Demo
cratic maioTites In both houses Of Con-
gJess-maJo rities made up in large part
of the same men who passed the steel
and wool and the cotton and free list
bills. which i was compelled to veto, and
the vetoes of which he has himself criti-
cised? And. especially, what could he do,
however good his intentions, when he had
been elected on a platform which declares
all tariff imposed for purposes of protec-
tion unconstitutional?
During the present session of Congress
The Democrats lack control of the Sen
ate, and while they have been able TO
persuade a sufficient number of Republi-
can Senators to vote for their tariff meas
uTes those same Republicans have in every
case effected some increase of the duties
over the point fixed by the Democrats in
the House, But II Governor Wilson should
be elected II would mean also the election
of q Democratic majority in the Senate.
and then even the compromises effected
by the inSurgent Republicans would seem
mild reductions as compared to what
Democratic majorities in both houses
would send to Mr.. Wilson for his sigma
ture. and which he could not refuse TO
sign.
What would happen to the pottery in
dustry II the Democrats were in control
of both houses and Of the White House
You and | know how important that in
dustry Is to the welfare of thousands of
families in Ohio. The men engaged in
that industry in the United States receive
an average wage of A.S cents an hour.
in England they receive only II cents an
hour. and in Japan one of our greatest
competitors only 3.25 cents an hour.
Japan in the Market.
Even with the present tariff Japan 10
sending hundreds Of thousands of dollars
worth Of pottery into this market every
year. so that it is not hard to foresee
what would become of the industry were
the Democrats TO win. When they were
IN power before they reduced the duty,
i'm the Wilson bill, from GO to 30 and 30
per cent, and what was the result? The
men in that industry, after being on strike
for several months, were compelled to
accept a 1917 per cent reduction OF wages,
OF course these facts are clearly real
ICED by the third party-so much so that
some of their most prominent speakers
have not hesitated to declare that the
election OF Governor Wilson would mean
financial disaster. And yet they are work
ing for nothing other than the election OF
Mr.. Wilson and a Democratic Congress.
From absolutely dependable sources in
formation comes TO me that none OF the
leaders of the third party believes II has
the slightest chance OF success, and that
they realize that a vote for 1t means a
vote for the Democrats But they are,
most of them. so filled with hatred for the
Republican party because Il refused 10
accept their dictation that they are will
ing TO bring disaster upon the whole
country simply TO crafty their revenge.
Under such circumstances | am sure
Won can appreciate, my dear Mr.. Geier,
how pleased am 10 learn OF the splen-
aid work you are doing. You probably
saw the Republican estimate OF the vote
In New York. You may accept IL as trust
worthy. The great reserve force OF plain,
practical common sense OF the American
people Is asserting itself and that means
victory for the Republican ticket on No
MEMBER g. Sincerely yours,
''''O'' . WILLIAM II. TAFT.