New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-04-08
The New Tariff Bill Keeps Demo-
cratic Promises.

The administration tariff BILL made public yes
terday represents on the whole courageous anu
intelligent effort TO redeem Democratic promises
II is sounder from the point of view OF those WIN
believe in a material reduction of tariff rates IMAM
anything which Mr.. Underwood had previously VI
fered He had shown Inconsistency ana TreSo
luton in his treatment of the wool ana sugar
schedules He put the cart before the morse III
advocating taxed raw wool and free raw sugar III
any tariff for revenue measure tax on sugar i
many times more justifabe than tax on wool
President Wilson has set Mr.. Underwood right
The Democratic party would have stultihed ltseit
by taxing wool for revenue purposes 1t has DOM
party precedent and economic reason on It's side III
making temporary concession to the sugar grow
ers rather than TO the sheep rasers.
The Woodrow Wilson bill Of 1918 is also much
more moderate than the William l.. Wilson bill oil
1894 In the last nineteen years the conditions Of
production in this country have greatly changed
Manufactures are, rule, on hrmer basis ana
do not need as much protection as they did FOR
uerly When William l.. Wilson put into his bill
free wool free sugar free hides free coal ana free
iron ore many people thought that the walls OF
Jericho were about to fall But the high pro'ec
lion Payne bill of 1909 made hides coal ana IRON
ore free and the country has now pretty well recon-
ced itself to free wool and free sugar.
The wool and woOllen schedule is the citadel OF
protection" An antiprOectiOnist bill which ala not
attack the key to the situation would have been an
absurdity. TO remove the duty on raw wool VIII
open the way to dropping the compensatory duty on
woOllen goods and to fu:hcr cuts i'll the rates on
those now to some extent over-protected goods
The sheep raisers worried through the years from
1894 to 1897 when wool free They have
much better chance 10 get along now since the price
of mutton has rapidly increased and it IS becoming
worth while to raise sheep for the mutton alone
Neither the wool growers nor the sugar growers
have ever had any hope of charging their industry
50 as to supply home demands. In recent years
the ratio Of sugar grown at home to home con
sumption has increased somewhat due 10 the devel-
opment of the beet sugar industry But 1T has
always been question. even for stanch protec-
tionists whether it was advantageous to tax 50
large a volume of the imports of necessary of
life in order 10 sustain local industry whose
capacity to expand doubtful.
The changes made in the direction of larger
free list in foodstulfS * also Il reasonable exempt
fication of the policy of reduction. Food supplies
are growing scarcer in this country and prices are
rising The same situation exists in most other
countries and the farmer has little TO fear from
an influx of cheap foreign agricultural products
Most of the present agricultural duties mean moth
ing and the experiment might well he tried of abo
ishing them.
In its essential features the new Wilson tarih
measure at least news to the line of good faith
IL reflects the views Of most Democrats and proba
bly, those of many who are not Democrats. Whether
it will work ont smoothly or not remains To be
seen But It is fair translation into Legislation
of the promises which the voters put the Demo
cratic party back into power.