The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1912-12-26
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER
ny CLYDE II. TAvENER.

BY CLYDE II. TAVENER.
Washington correspondence OF The Times.
Washington, Dec. %. -"There is
one way, and one way only, for the
Democrats to remain in power; by
giving the people after election what
they promised before election. The
people don't want excuses, they
want deeds"
This Is Speaker Champ Clark's
idea Of what the Democratic party
must do TO make good and to be re-
tanned in power.
III there is anything ! believe in
strongly" said Mr.. CLARK, at is
that promises made to win an cleo
tion should be religiously carried
out after the election is won.
Men should say what they mean
aud mean what they say; and they
should speak the plain language OF
the plain people so that all may un.
derstand. The voters OF the land
have Il right to be treated honestly,
candidly, fairly and courageously
They are entitled to that square
deal OF which we hear so much and
see so little.
Robert J. Walkers report on the
tariff remains to this day the great
est paper on that subject. In ii he
laid down this general principle;
| The highest rates should be on lux.
uries, the lowest or none at all on
the necessaries of life. That should
be- the basis of our revision Of the
tariff To which we are solemnly con-
mitted.
"The rates should he arranged 50
as TO produce the maximum of rev"-
nue., while taking from IN" ultimate
consumers the minimum Of money
! In the shape of tariff taxes. hat
/ statement may appcay paradokicaI
/ but what IL proposes is perfectly t"as.
/ lille. There is Il maximum revenue.
producing tariff rate on each partic-
| u lhl lA'lll W wv ~ al Wv "T' " Athh'''N'
and which should he ascertained.
| The moment the rate on any article
goes above the maximum revenue
producing rate, the revenue begins
to fall off, aud the more the rate is
increased the more the revenue
dwindles until II disappears entirely,
and the rate becomes prOhibitive.
such Is the case with blankets
nine feet long, worth not over forty
cents per pound, an article OF prime
necessity on which the compound
specific and ad valorem amounts to
tariff tax of between lGj and 1927
per cent.
Without going into wearisome
details, it is safe to say that three
fourths of all the tariff rates Of the
Payne Aldrich. Smoot tariff bill are
above the maximum revenue-pro-
ducing rates and should he reduced
at least to a competitive point.
1.-THE truth is that the words "A
competitive tariff are more easily
understood than the words "a tariff
for revenue only. A competitive
tariff is one which would give
Americans the American market So
long as they sell at fair prices, but
would let in foreign products If
Americans undertake to gOuge
Americans. a competitive tariff
would in practice be n tariff Tor rev
enue. The revenue can be increased
more frequently by reducing rates
than by increasing them.
"The present tariff, If thoroughly
overhauled, could be made to pro
duce IA great deal more revenue and
at the same time not cost the tax
payers One-fOurth of what they now
pay, for under the present system
where one dollar goes into the fed
eral treasury four or five dollars go
into the pockets Of the tariff barons.
"The rates in new bill or new
bills should be fully as low as the
rates in the bills which we passed
during this Congress, and in some
cases lower.
"All the talk about the Democrats
wanting to injure business is abso-
lutely preposter"us.
"What We want to do Is to give
every man an equal opportunity in
the race Of life, ana not pamper a
few at the expense OF many. That
plan would foster every legitimate
industry in the land and injure none.
That is one way in which Congress
can aid in reducing tn" exceedingly
high cost of living, which i really
, the most pressing, veNatlous, and
Important problem with which we
have to deal. What the people de-
mand is cheaper food, cheaper cloth
ing, cheaper necessaries of life gen
orally, and any cuts In TART! rates
which we do not accomplish that are
not worth the trouble and labor Of
making.
! nThp rpyis sim nuUbt Ia be p1udp