Metropolis weekly gazette. (Metropolis, Ill.) 1???-19??, 1916-02-25


BILE of producing ct home In sufficient
quantities to supply our own needs.
may be either low or moderate or high
That depends entirely upon one thing
the difference in cost of production
here and elsewhere. AS a matter of
fact. some OF the duties in the Under
wood law are higher than correspond
ing duties in the Payne law. The DIFF
ference Is that when we levy higher
duty. such duty Is in the interest of
our own producers and our own work
inEmen. so that they Ilay live In COM
petition with the balance OF the world.
When the Democrats levy a higher
duty than we. 1t is alleged to be FOR
the sake of reyonue and benefits no
American producer or workingman In
the slightest degree. 1t is true that
sore years ago the Democratic party,
realizing that il was impossible In
practice to construct a tariff law 70"
which the people would stand. upon
the tariff for revenue principle alone.
invented new phrase and called 1t
tariff for revenue. with Incidental pro-
lection. But it was soon seen that
this was n contradiction IN terms aud
the Democrats abandoned the phrase.
The Republican party believes in a
nonpartisan tariff commission. III
deed, the very last tariff law enacted
BY the Republican party created a
board of tariff experts charged with
the duty of aacertaifing the difference
between the cost OF production of du-
table articles at homo and abroad
But when the Democratic party came
into power 1t abolished this board.
And why should it not have abolished
the board? Please tell mo what tar
if commission could do towards franz
ing Democratic tariff And what use
for anybody to ascertain the difference
In cost OF production In this country
and abroad II. when you have asccr-
tanned such differences of cost. you arc
not going to make any use of 1t? IL
the theory of tariff for revenue upon
which they stand is sound, we DO rot
need tariff commission at all. be-
cause 1t does not take an expert to
make a list of tbs things not pro-
duced in this country.
Favors Tariff Commission.
Upon the ether hand. in my opin-
ion q tariff commission. non partisan
II you please. has become an indisr
pensable parf of tariff ff-naking machiB-
cry II VIC are to have a protective tar
If. The business OF production has
become more and more COMPLEX and
difficult. The evidence taken by the
committee on ways and means OF tho
house of representatives must consist
largely of Testimony of producers and
importers. both interested parties, the
producer to have the duty as high as
possible and the importer to have 1t
as low as possible. Congress cannot
itself therefore arrive with any degree
of accuracy at the difference in cost
of production here and abroad: hence
the need of permanent commission
to ascertain this fact This is exactly
what was done by the board of tariff
experts appointed by President Taft:
the bills. based upon the reports OF
this board. which were afterwards IN
troduced upon some of tho schedules
as substitutes for some of the Under
wood schedules were the most scien-
tific schedules ever offered In con.
gress.
Must Determine Principle.
while. however believe In tariff
commission as have just defined 1t.
think that for the present the idea
which scme OF our friends seem to
have-that IL is possible to appoint n
nonpartsan tariff commission which
will take the tariff out OF politics--is
an irdescent dream Somebody has
got to determine the principle upon
which the commission shall proceed.
II the principle Is TO be tariff for rev.
enue only and that principle is once
settled upon. the members of the COM
mission can proceed intelligently up
on that principle without reference
to whether they agree among them
selves upon 1t or not. If the principle
to be followed is the protective prin-
ciple, then the commission. Just as the
Taft board did. composed partly of
Republicans and partly of Democrats,
can proceed in accordance with the
protective principle to ascertain the
difference In cost of production at
home and abroad. IL, however, no
principle is established and you ap-
point a board some of the members
of which believe in a tariff for revenue
only and others In protective tariff.
what under the sun will they be able
to do? II majority OF them believe
in tariff for revenue you will have a
tariff for revenue. and II a majority Of
them believe In protective tariff. you
will have a protective tariff How.
therefore. have you taken the question
out of politics by RELOCATING the whole
subject to a commission. unless you
have first established tho principle
upon which that commission is to pro-
ceed? And who can establish the prin.
ciple except the people themselves.
and how can they act except through
the congress of the United States?
believe strongly in a tariff commission
such as have described before, but
en- not deluding myself with arfy vain