The Daily Missoulian., 1912-08-07

cure ample royalties to inventors with.
out permitting them to be tools q
monopoly or shut out from genera
use; ana parcels post, on the zone
principle. should be established.
/ The Tariff.
believe In a protective tariff, but
peiieve IN II as a principle. approached
from the standpoint of the interests pI
the whole people, and not as bundle
OF preferences to be given to favored
individua1s In my opinion, the Amer.
ican people favor the principle or II
protective tariff. but they desire such
q tariff to be established primarily IN
the interests OF the wage worker and
the consumer. The chief opposition "a
our tariff at the present moment comes
from the general conviction that cer-
tain interests have heen improperly
favored by over protection. I agree
with this view. The commercial and
industrial experience OF this country
mas demonstrated the wisdom OF the
protective policy. but II has also dem
rnsfrated that In the application OF
tnat policy certain clearly recognized
abuses have developed II is not mere-
~ the tariff that should he revised
but the method of tariff making and
or tariff administration. Wherever
NOWADAYS an industry is to be pro-
tected II should be on the theory that
such protection Will serve to keen ,,r
the wages and the standard of living
of the wage worker In that industry
with full regard for the interest Of the
consumer. To accomplish this the tar
iff to he levied should as nearly as Is
scientifically possible. approximate the
| dtfHnrpnfiut hofucn,, hn -
duction at home md abroad. This diff
ferential Is chiefly. IL not wholly, In
labor cost. No duty should be per-
mitted tn stand rs regards any in
dustrv unless the workers receive their
fmll share Of the benefits OF that duty
IN other words. there Is no warrant
for protection unless n legitimate sha re
OF the benefits gets into the pay en-
veiope Of the wage worker.
| The practice of undertaking a gem
eral revision of all the schedules at
one time and Of securing Information
as to conditions In the different indus :
tries and as to rates of duty desired
CHIEFLY from those engaged In the In :
dusfries. who themselves benefit III :
rectly from the rates they propose, has
been demonstrated to he not only In
iduitous hut futile. II has afforded
opportunity for practicable all of the
abuses which have crept into our tar.
making and our tariff administra :
tfon. The dav OF the log rolling tariff
must end. Tho progressive thought
RI the country has recognized this fact
| Tor several years and the time has
come when all genuine progressives
shou'd insist upon a thorough and
radical change In the method of tar
making.
| The arst step should he the creation
| OF II permanent commission of non
partisan experts whose business shall
be to study scientifically all phases of
tariff making and of tariff effects.
This commission should be large
enough to cover all the different and
widelv-varving branches of American
indnstr". It should have ample powers
IN enable II to secure exact and re-
liable information. II should have
authority to examine closely all cor
related subjects. such as the effect, of
any given duty on the consumers of
the article on which the duty is levied:
that Is. II should directly consider the
question as to what any duty costs the
people In the price Of living. II should
examine into the wages and conditions
"f labor and life Of the workmen In
any industry, so as to insure our re-
fusinc protection to any industry un-
loss the showing AZ regards the share
labor receives therefrom la satisfac-
tory. This commission would be who'll
" different from the present unsatjs-
factory tariff board. which was ere
afed under provision of law which
FAILED to give II the powers indis-
nensabI" II 1t was to do the work IT
should do.
II will be we'll for us to study the
experience of Germany I'm considering
this question. The German tariff COM
mission has proved conclusively the ef-
ftcicncy and wisdom of this method of
handling tariff questions. The reports
or permanent, expert and nom parti-
san tariff commission would at once
strike most powerful blow against
the chief iniquitv of the old log rolling
method Of tariff making. One of the
principal difficulties with the old meth
cd has been that II was impossible for
the public generally. and especially for
those members of congress not d.
rectly connected with the committees
handling a tariff bill to secure any
thing like adequate and impartial in
FORMATION on the particular subjects
under consideration. The reports OF
such tariff commission would mt
once correct this evil and furnish to
the general public full, complete and
disinteresfed Information on every sub
jecf treated In tariff bill With such
reports 1t would no longer be possible
to construct a tariff bill In secret or
to Jam II through either house of con-
gress without the fullest and most H.
discussion. The path OF the
tariff Joker" would be rendered in
finitely difficult
As further means of disrupting the
old crooked. log-rolling method OF
tariff making. all future revisIons of
the tariff should he made schedule by
schedule as changing conditions may
require. Thus great obstacle will be
thrown In the way Of the trading OF
votes which has marked so scandalous-
~ the enactment of every tariff bill
OF recent years. The tariff commits.
slons should render reports mt the call
Of congress or of either branch of con-
gress and to the president. Under the
constitution, congress Is the tariff
power. II should not be the
purpose In creating tariff commits
sion to take anything away from this
power of congress. but rather to af-
ford wise means of giving to con-
zress the widest and most scientific
assistance possible. and of furnishing
t and the public with the fullest dis
Interested information. Only by this
means can the tariff be taken out of
politics. Tho creation OF such a per-
nj tur a.