South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1916-01-25

800. 900. 900 year more IMAM
should have been taken on wooden
! goods.
I'VE saw the cotton trust taking
/ out Of the pockets OF the people
\ $50. 900 900 more than what would
/ have been a fair profit. The steel
trust built up such a colossal for
! tune that one Of the beneficiaries
mas been trying 10 give away
snall part of his earnings by build
ing Libraries. During the admins
trations of Theodore Roosevelt and
/ William Howard Taft more than
/ ] 900 trusts were formed represent
/ ing nearly $4,000 900 and all Of
Y them extOrting from the people. The
/ system Of high protective tariff en-
abled these combinations TO keep out
I foreign competition and at the same
/ time exacted from the American
/ consumer the highest possible price
for the things he was compelled to
3uy.
In 1908 every party in existence
I promised if given the power 10 re-
wise the tariff downward The cOun-
| t-y took the republicans at their
word and elected Mr.. Taft president.
/ Instead of revising the tariff down
I ward they revised the duties up
/ ward. Following the passage of the
I Payne law. Pres't Taft went before
\ the country telling the people it
was the best tariff bill ever enacted.
\ The people answered at the ballot
box by changing a republican house
! IN
cratic house with more than 100 ma
/ jority.
Democrats Come to Rescue.
Then the eyes of the country
were turned upon US democrats to
see If we would keep our word We
Immediately passed tariff bills re-
vising the tariff downward and sent
them over 10 a repG blican senate
| They were accepted by that body,
| but when they reached Prest Taft
he vetoed them. Then the following
year we again passed these bills and
again a republican senate accepted
them and again Mr.. Taft vetoed
| them. Then we went TO the coun-
/ try on our record and as you will
remember Mr.. Taft only carried the
two small states OF Vermont and
Utah. If the republican party this
year promises a reenactment of the
Payne tariff law they will not carry
a single state in the union; not even
| Vermont and Utah.
AS revenue producer the I'm
derwood law is a greater success
than either the Payne law or the
| Dingley law. The first year it pro-
duced a large surplus and had it not
been for the breaking out of the Eu-
ropean war it would still be pro-
/ ducing more revenue than would be
needed TO run the government
When imports ceased to come in, as
matter OF course, il was necessary
for us to levy some other tax to take
/ it's place until the war ended and
| imports reach a normal basis.
Had the Payne law been in eff
| feet when the war broke out il would
| have been necessary for US 10 have
| levied a stamp tax of $500. 900, 600
instead of $1OO,OOO,OOO as the I'm
derwood bill provided an income tax
which raised nearly 100000, 600
more in such an emergency than the
Payne law would have done. 1t
makes no difference whether the
tariff is high, medium or low; if i'm
ports do not come In we do not get
any revenues. As soon as the war
/ is over the Underwood tariff law
will produce plenty of revenue to
run the government, and no stamp
tax will be necessary
Farmers Get Square Deal.
THE farmers never did have a
square deal so far as tariff legisla-
ton was concerned until we passed
the Underwood tariff bill. Prior to
the passage of this law he sold his
products on a free trade market
] in competition with the world and
then bought the things he had to
have on a protected market, and
paid the price fixed by the trusts and
combinations. The tariff on his
farm products had never added any
thing at all to the price of anything
he produced because our farmers
produced a surplus, and the price of
\ these products were fixed by the
price the surplus brought in the
markets of the world. We demo-
Gratis placed on the free list agricul-
tural implements, farm machinery,
boots and shoes harness, wire fenc-
ing and many other things the farm
er is compelled to buy. so that he
now buys on a free trade market as
well as sells on a dree trade market,
and il is the first time the farmer
ever had a square deal so far as
tariff legislation is concerned. The
average price Of the products of the
farm have been higher under the
Underwood bill than IL was under
the Payne law. Sheep and wool have
been selling at a much higher price
than they had sold for for many
years
The people had for years. regard
less of party. been insisting upon the
enactment of an income tax law.
Under our republican tariff system
a working man with family OF five
or six children contributed more to-
ward the running expenses of the
government than did the millionaire
who was too proud 10 raise a family,
and who had no one to feed and
clOthe except himself and possibly a
,n-ffa Trndar that sN-Sfaro Wa ware