Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1912-09-12
Mr.. Tan Was Mistaken.

And stiu President Taft said In ais
speech at Boston, April rs last.
cit (the Payne-Aldrich bilD was
vastly better bill than the Dingiey
bill. II / had refused TO sign the
Payne bill II would have maintained
the Dingley bill with higher rates than
the Payne bill"
When Mr.. Taft made this statement
he must have known that 1t was I'M
true. AS for the wool schedule, ne
knew that the rates were not nigner
in the Dingley law than In the Payne
Aldrich law, for right after signing the
latter bill did he not denounce its wool
rates as ''indefensible" And, as lor
the cotton rates of the Payne bill, ne
knew they were just az 'indefensibie
M the wool rates, for at the time he
made this statement in Boston ne nao
the tariff boards report on cotton De-
fore him.
II Is true that the cotton report OF
the tariff board did not make TINS IN
formation available at a glance 10 MI
Taft or to congress or to the pubic.
The tariff board carefully avoided CIV
Ing this information In getataoie'
understandable form.
Suppressed the Answer.
WAS the tariff raised or lowered!
has been an insistant question ever
since the Payne-Aldrich law was en-
acted three years ago. The tarin
board avoided answering 1t.
In making my official report to the
board I submitted table that did an
swsr this question in respect to each
one, excepting three, OF the 100 cloth
samples around which our months OF
investigation conferred. After mucn
sidestepping and discussion this table
was expurgated and published In Its
emasculated form. The boards ex-
euse was that It was not its duty TO
answer the question; congress could
make its own computations. The offi'
cial explanation for refusing to pub
lish the table showing whether the
tariff had been raised or lowered was
that the market fluctuations made II OF
no value. This was only bubble,
because the respective tariff acts were
so arranged that the increase In duty
on a sliding scale kept pace with the
price fluctuations.
The tariff board chose to print tables
that would show only the assessment
OF duty under the two acts and left IL
TO anybody who desires the informa-
ton TO figure out for himself the Sig
niacant facts above set forth.
BENEFIT Only TO Privilege
From every point OF view OF the
tariff CRATER It is no doubt highly de-
sirabls that such facts, staggering as
they are to the dishonest pretensions
that the cotton tariff was really lower
ed. should be buried as deeply as pos
sible In a mass of unexplained Stats
tics. But II Is to the advantage OF
every honest manufacturer and msr-
chant who Is seeking stability In busi-
ness and fair opportunity to make a
reasonable profit, that the truth should
be made known. Just such policies OF
official evasion and suppression have
made possible In the past the juggling
of tariff legislation by and In behalf OF
the privileged few.
II ia undisputed that the cotton
schedule as written in the house ways
and means committee by Representa-
tive Serene q. Payne Of New York did
not provide the full measure OF "revi-
sion downward" that the Republican
party had promised. Still 1t was not
until after the Payne bill went to the
senate finance committee, OF which
Mr.. Aldrich was chairman, that the
Interests" got in their most deadly
work. II ia we'll known that Senator
Aldrich freely consulted, II he did not
actually permit, the LiDpitt-McCon In
terests to write into the amended bill
the duties affecting their own products
the fancy weaves made by only q
few of the largest and richest New
England mills--New York World.