Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1912-10-31
STATEMENTS WHICH ARE o. IN
rgaEsT IN ALL sEcTIoNs-
or THE COUNTRY.
TARIFF REVISED DOWNWARD
oUoosItlon TO President Tam stlmu-
lated by Magazines which Were
Made to Pay Additional Postage"
and Thus Relieve the Peo-
pIs's Additional Cost Of
Postal Services

~
ids. Mich, recently addressed let
ter to the headquarters OF the KepuD-
lican National COMMITTEES In Chicago
in which he said:
az have been q Republican all my
life. and for 80 years have been vos-
ing nothing but straight Repuphcan
ticket for president of the United
States"
He does not say that he will do oth-
erwise this year, for he believes Pres
ident Taft to be honorable and worthy
of the many honors that have come
To him. He adds, however. that the
Republican platform Of 1908 called Tor
a downward revision of the tar'n an0
that this solemn pledge has not Been
kept. He also asserts that the large
majority of the laborers in the wool
en- mills are foreigners instead or
Americans, and are employed at starv-
alton wages instead of being paid
wages upon which peorle In tbs coun-
try can live decently. He further
calls attention to the fact Of state
ment that English automobile manu-
facturers are forming trust TO COM
pete with American companies tnar
are said to be running the English
market. In conclusion, he wants some
information about the panic OF 1907.
The explanations and information
desired by this Republican voter are
SO general in their character that the
answer forwarded to him will certain
" be Of interest to other voters in
every section OF the country. The re-
ply says:
Tariff Revised Downward.
"The past four years have indeed
been most prosperous ones, with few
Industrial or other disturbances, and
with conditions generally satisfactory.
And. after all, is not the real test
of any administration the conditions
which exist in the country while it Is
in power,
1T is doubtful if you could find
statement of Mr.. Taft in which ne
said there had been no promise OF :
revision downward His letter OF ac-
Iceptance states clearly that he did so
Econstrue the pledge of the platform
in 1908. Furthermore, the tarin was
revised downward. The impression to
the contrary is due to three sources.
One is the attack made upon the
PAYNE law by the magazines. That
attack was prompted chiefly by the
hitter resentment toward President
Taft because he had recommended
that the second class postage rate be
advanced so that the magazines would
come somewhere near paying the gov
eminent what it cost to transport their
editions. 1t costs the government
now about $6O,OOO,O0O a year to carry
the magazines through the mails, and
they pay in postage about 10000
600, leaving clear subsidy OF $5O,OOO,-
900 year. The president suggested TO
congress that this was not a square
deal toward the government, and the
magazines determined to break him
down."
/ opposItion TO Taft Explained.
! The reply further stated that the
opposition to the metropolitan press
70 President Taft is due to the fact
that he declined to put print paper on
the free list, while the third source
from which the people derive the Inn
preston that the Payne law shows re-
vision upward instead of downward
was the declaration by Mr.. Champ
Clark in his speech opposing the bill
when 1t was before the house OF rep
resentatives. Mr.. Clark, speaking as
a prophet and not as an historian
said that the duties under the Payne
bill would show an average increase
of III per cent over the Dingiey law.
The-letter continued:
"That statement went out to the
country, and was accepted as fact,
when 1t was merely q guess. But
the law has been in operation now for
nearly three years. and we do not have
70 guess, because we know. And
these are the facts shown BY the
books Of the treasury department:
'sUnder the Dingley law 44.3 per
cent Of all imports were on the free
i list. Under the Payne Law 51.2 per
cent are free.
rUnder the Dingiey law the aver
age duty ran dutlable imports was
2S.S per cent, while under the Payne
flaw the average duty has been 20.1
per cent
In other words. The Payne law
shows . reduction u 10 per cent be-
IIow the Dipgiey law on dutiable goods.
while On all goods imported It shows
4 reduction OF q per cent This -
not prophecy, as Mr.. Clark's state.
ment was. Il ia history"
Mr.. Roosevelt. in 4 signed article II
the Outlook, said: %The Payne law e
better than the one II succeeded and
very much better than the Mckinley