The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1912-10-30
TAFT WARNS OHIO
AGAINST CHANGE
OF TARIFF
Hopes for Big Majority in the
Buckeye State
IN DANGER
Democratic Victory With Threatened
Reductions in Duties Would
Spell Disaster.

Washington, Oct. 29.-"No man
would care to have his State fail him
but, wholly apart from selfish reasons
want to see Ohio go Republican by
a large majority" said President Tart
in a letter to Fred a Geler of GIN
cinnati, which was made public today
at the White House.
The letter in full says:
II am most gratified to learn of the
splendid work which you are doing to
arouse the business men In ONO, ana
of the excellent prospects OF victory
for the Republican ticket in my own
State. OF course, the fact that 1t is
my own State makes me all the more
pleased. AS you can well appreciate,
no man would care to have his State
fail him, but, wholly apart from sell
fish reasons, / want to see Ohio go
Republican by large majority.
THE injury which Ohio would suf-
fer from a Democratic victory would
prabably exceed that inflicted on any
other State in the Union. That is
clearly shown by the efforts which
our Democratic friends have already
made to rob Ohio industries Of the
protection which is so essential to
their continuance to say nothing of
their prosperity.
You, of course, realize how disas-
trous the steel bill, which | was COM
peeled to veto, would have proved to
our State. Ohio has $4,000 persons
engaged in manufacturing and capt.
tai of $1,000 ,000. 900 invested in manu-
featuring plants. How large pro-
portion of all this is involved in the
manufacture of machine tools you
know better than |, but il is a fact
that the Democrats, without rhyme or
reason, put all machine tools on the
free list. Then, too, they cut the
duty on steam engines from 80 to 10
per cent. and throughout that bill
they reduced duties until the average
was 32.03 per cent while even the
Wilson bill imposed an average duty
on the same products of 1897 per
cent-and you know the disaster
which followed its enactment.
I'm their wool bill the Democrats
struck a vital blow at the wool indus
try. The report of the Tariff Board,
the accuracy of which has never been
challenged, shows that an average
duty of 80 per cent. is necessary to
make the raising of wool profitable,
but, absolutely needless of that, the
Democrats reduced the duty on raw
wool to 20 per cent. and as for the
manufacturers of woolens, the Demo
cratic bill would have put them en-
| tirely out of business leaving our far
mers with no home market for their
wool, and throwing hundreds of thous
| ands of employees out of work.
Does it not strike you as supreme
| ly ridiculous for Gov. Wilson vaguely
to intimate that il he is elected he
will make such a gentle reduction of
the duties that business will not be
injured, when his party has so recent
ly put itself on record as attempting
such reckless changes of the tariff
that, had / not vetoed their measure.
We would even now be confronted
with a panic?
What, think you, could Mr.. Wilson
| do inthe White House, were there
Democratic majorities in both houses
OF Congress-majorities made up in
large part of the same men who
passed the steel, and wool, and the
cotton, and free list bills, which was
compelled to veto, and the vetoes of
which he has himself criticised? And,
especially, what could he do, how
ever good his intentions, when he had
been elected on a platform which de-
clares all tariff imposed for purposes
OF protection unconstitutional?
During the present session OF
congress the Democrats lack control
OF the Senate, and while they have
been able to persuade sufficinet
number of Republican Senators 10
vote for their tariff measures, those
same Republicans have in every case
effected some increase Of the duties
over the point fixed by the Democrats
in the House. But IL Gov. Wilson
should be elected il would mean also
the election of a Democratic majority
in the Senate, and then, even the com.
promises effected by the insureeni
Republicans, would seem mild reduc.
ions as compared to what Democra.
TIC majorities in both Houses would
send to Mr.. Wilson for his signature
and which he could not refuse to
sign.
What would happen to the pottery
industry If the Democrats were in
control of both Houses and of the
White House? You and I know how
important that industry is to the vel
rare OF thousands of families in Ohio
The men engaged in that industry in
the United States receive an average
wage OF 24.S cents an hour. In
England they receive only IL cents an
hour, and in Japan, one Of our great
est competitors, only 3.25 cents an
hour.
Even with the present tariff jap
an is sending hundreds Of thousands
OF dollars worth OF pottery into this
market every year. so that il is not
hard to fOrsee what would become OF
the industry were the Democrats Il
win. When they were in power the,
reduced the duty. in the Wilson bill
from SO to 30 and IS per cent. and
what was the RESULT The men IN
that industry. after being on strike
for several months. were compelled
20 accept a 12z per cent reduction o.
wages.