Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1916-12-28
THE TARIFF COMMISSION

I1G 1AFN1E z 5,SOM
Congress is elected to do the peo-
Pies will. In order that that will
may be properly expressed the oppos-
ing political parties adopt plat
forms upon which their campaigns
are predicated AND, presumably, the
election of a majority OF any party
indicates the desire of majority of
the people for the enactmenl of such
legislation as will put those plat
form promises into force.
Both the major politicsl parties
this year incorporated in their plat.
forms a promise to enact tariff
commission law which would forever
remove from politics the nations
chief source of revenue. The promise
was given in recognition of a strong
public sentiment, amounting to
peremptory demand, and is not the
sort of promise to be lightly broken.
Before election congress enacted
law creating a sort of temporary tar
III commission, a poor thing without
any real powers any real powers, a
mere she'll that has succeeded in de-
eelving nobody, though congress in
tended it should. Congress now faces
the necessity, which it should speed
lily realize, of either putting life into
the image it created, by giving ahe
tariff commission the power they
must have and by authorizing salae-
les in proportionlto the intelligence
demanded, or of passing new law
altogether which will be all that the
present law is not.
President Wilson, apon whom de-
wolves the task of appointing the tar
if commissioners, finds himself han
dicapped by the ridlcuously small
salary limit which congress set,,
81 500 year for each commissioner,
with no allowance for expenses. Men
of caliher capable of lilling the post
OF tariff commissioner are worth ten
times that salary, and are getting it
in private life. Not even the call of
patriotism is sufficient to bridge the
gap between just worth and paltri-
ness in this case.
Congress must not judge all things
by its own standards. TO do SO would
result IL governmental chaos. There
| rs not congressman Or senator in
| Washington today who does not feel
| himself equal in ability to the presi-.
dent and who does not begrudge the
president his 100000 year. Yet
that IS no reason why congress should
expect a president to accept a salary
OF 81 500 a year. Neither is it good
reason why congress should expect
men of the ability required to make
| good tariff commissioners to accept
the same salary as congressman.
The people of the United States
want men on the tariff commission
who will be superior in ability to any.
congressman. They will need to be
if we are to have tariff commission
| capable OF weighing and balancing
the mass of evidence necessary to
gather in making a scientifically
| proper tariff estimate. Congressman,
as rule, are unable to visualize out
side their own congressional districts,
or, at most, outside their own states.
We want on the tariff commission
men of international vision and the
only way 10 get them.is to pay them
well. Congress must either recog-
nize that or the people will elect a
new congress which will recognize it.
Students home from school over
holidays have found an unusual num-
ber Of dances and social affairs
| planned for their enjoyment during
the short time they will be here.