The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1916-10-02

The business interests of the country
may not be- kept too long in suspense
az to what fiscal changes are to be,
to which they will be required to
adjust themselves. 1t is clear to the
whole country that the tariff duties
must be altered.
THE sooner that is done the sooner
We shall escape from suffering from
che facts and the sooner our men Of
business will be free to thrive by the
law of nature (the nature of free
business) instead of by the law of
legislation and artificial arrangement.
Quotes Presidents Message.
I'VE must abolish everything that
bears even the semblage of privilege
or of any kind of artificial advantage
and put our business men and pro-
ducers under the stimulation of q
constant necessity to be efficient, eco
nomical, and enterprising, masters of
competitive supremacy, better work
ers and merchants than any in the
world. Aside from the duties laid
upon articles which we do not and
probably can not produce, therefore,
and the duties laid upon Injuries
and merely for the sake of the rev.
enues they yield, the object of the
tariff duties henceforth laid must be
effective competition, the whetting of
American wits by contest with the
wits of the rest of the world"
In obedience to this executive
mandate, congress - the Democrats
being in control of both houses-pro
ceeded to formulate and enact a new
tariff act, which finally became law
on the Sd day Of Oct, 1913. and took
the place of the Republican tariff law
Of 1909. In making his first assault
upon the tariff, President Wilson and
his party followed in the wake Of
Cleveland and his party in 1894.
But for the great European war and
the great demand for our products
resulting therefrom and the greatly
inflated prices arising from this ex-
cessive demand, this last Democratic
tariff act would have resulted in as
great, yes, even greater, industrial
stagnation and suffering among labor
ing men than prevailed in 1894, 1896
and 1895.
Destructive Features Of Tariff Law.
While this law removed much of
the protective duties on the products
of our various manufacturing indus.
tries and thus, to some extent, Grip
pied them, yet this was mild COM
pared with the havoc wrought on the
products of our farmers. Nearly all
the products of our northern farmers
were either put on the free list or
so greatly reduced as to be practi.
cally on the free list, and afford no
real protection. Those who are
curious about the exact figures can
compare the agricultural schedules of
the Republican Payne tariff law with
those of the Democratic Underwood
law and thus easily discover the diff
ference. Had it not been for the
great European war our northern
farmers would have sustained losses
by the million from the effects of
the Underwood law. With a wheat
crop of over a billion bushels in the
United States and upwards Of $780,
100000 bushels in Canada, leaving a
surplus, over food and seed, in the
two countries, of upwards of six hun.
dred million bushels in 1915, our
wheat farmers would have had, but
for the great war, fifty or sixty cents
a bushel wheat instead of receiving
from 81 to $3.50 a bushel for the
same. And the same pro rata differ
ence would have occurred in respect
to oats, rye, barley, cattle and hogs.
AssaiIs Underwood Tariff.
The avowed purpose Of the Under
wood tariff law was to destroy pro.
tective duties as far as practicable,
and by means of the tariff secure
ample revenues. The law was sue
cessful in destroying the good effects
of protection, but it was an utter
failure as a revenue producer.
The flood of importations and the
paucity of the duties collected during
the fiscal year 1916, az compared with
the fiscal years 1910, 1911, and 1912,
show how open the door of protec-
ton has been and how scant the du-
ties collected have been. In the
meantime, while there was such a
great decline in the duties collected
under the new tariff law, there was
no diminution in internal revenue
taxes, including corporation and in
come taxes, but rather a considerable
increase. Yet, Notwithstanding such
increase, owing to the great decrease
in duties, it became necessary for the
Democratic party to secure additional
revenue for the needs of the gov.
eminent, and this was obtained
through the act entitled AN act to
increase the internal revenue and for