Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-11-24
THEORIES AS REMEDIES

UTHEN President Grover Cleveland
w declared that "A condition, not
! a theory, confronts u.s." he
placed in epigrammatic form a truth
| just as applicable to the present ad-
ministration. but which this admins
! tration absolutely refuses to recognize.
| When Democratic tariff legislation had
almost destroyed American industry
President Wilson refused to recognize
it as a condition, but insisted that It
was merely "a state OF mind" Despite
| his threats to hang someone higher
than Haman" business continued to
| decline and no one was sent to the
| Having caused the bad conditions
which existed. the Democratic party
| had no power to improve them. be-
cause its one remedy was the pursuit
( of theories which had been demon
strated to be unsound
/ The same persistent refusal TO act
in accordance with conditions prevails
to-day. We have an illustration OF it
in the policy which the administration
| indicates its purpose to pursue in pre-
venting the determination of new in
dustries by foreign competition after
the war in Europe has ended. DR.. E.
{ Z. Pratt, chief of the Bureau of For
! dign and Domestic Commerce. ac-
knowledges that Germany has the
/ power to resume its control of the dye
stuff industry in this country, but says
nothing of the same condition which
confronts practically all other Amer
lean industries which come into COM
] petition with European enterprise. The
same attitude of mind is maintained
/ by Secretary Redfeld of the Depart
ment of Commerce. the immediate
superior of DIR. Pratt. Instead of
| frankly recognizing the condition
which confronts American industry
and the certain effects of a protective
tariff he adopts the theory that this
| foreign competition could be shut out
through changes in the Clayton anti
trust act. He went so far as to out
line a law which would make it un-
| lawful for any person engaged IN
! foreign commerce or industry to sell
or purchase foreign products at such
prices as would substantially eliminate
competition on the part of American
producers.
The marvellous thing about this sug-
gestion is that it comes at a time when
the United States Treasury is admit,
| tedly lacking in revenue. Instead of
suggesting the obvious remedy, that
of protective tariff, which would pro-
vide revenue for the United States
Treasury at the same time that it pro-
vided protection for American in
dustry, Mr.. Redfeld suggests the
theoretical remedy of legislation which
would be difficult of enforcement be-
cause each particular offense would
require a criminal trial to determine
whether or not the price at which the
goods were being sold was, in fact
such as to create unfair competition
with American producers.
An adequate protective tariff would
insure against unfair competition be-
fore the foreign goods are entered al
American ports. A remedy which
consisted only of criminal law forbid.
ding unfair competition would invite
the foreigner to invade our markets
because the dealer would be free from
penalty unless it could be proven be-
yond a reasonable doubt that he had
knowingly and deliberately violated
the law. The presumption of in
nocence, as in the case of all criminal
statutes, would be on the side of the