Newark evening star and Newark advertiser., 1916-01-26
TARIFF BOARD
MEETS FAVOR
OF PRESIDENT
Wilson Sees Necessity for
Bureau to Readjust Con-
ditions of Trade.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 26.-An-
nouncement was made last night that
President Wilson favors the creation
of an Independent. non-partisan
tariff commission with broad powers
TO investigate tariff duties, the rela-
tions between industries at home and
abroad and the entire tariff and
commercial machinery of the world.
The President discussed his plan
nj length today with Representative
kitchin. chairman of the House Ways
and Means Committee and asked that
the committee consider il with the
view of getting action during the
present session of Congress. Tomor-
row he proposes to lay the matter be-
fore Senator Simmons, chairman of
the Senate Finance Committee.
Although the President previously
has taken the position that the
powers of a tariff commission al
ready are held by existing govern
ment bureaus, he told Mr.. kitchin he
felt justified in pressing for the
creation of a separate commission at
this time because of unusual eondi-
tions existing in the world on account
of the future interest the United
States will have in commercial ad
/ justments.
/ The President made If plain he did
not think the proposed commission
should be established with the view
of upholding or criticising any par
| ticular tariff policy. but should be
entirely bipartisan and capable of
gathering facts without any political
bias.
As proposed by the President such
a commission would have specific
! powers to:
Investigate the administrative and
fiscal effects of customs laws. deter
mine the relations between rates of
duties on raw materials and those
ON finished or partially finished
/ products: investigate the effects of
ad valorem and specific duties and of
| those which are compound cf the
/ two: examine the arrangement of
schedules of duties and the classified
| tion of the articles on the several
| schedules; investigate the provisions
/ of law relating to the tariff and the
regulations of the treasury depart
ment applying To invoices and other
questions with application to the col
lection of customs duties; and, deter
mine generally the working of the
customs and tariff laws i'm their
economic effect and administrative
method.
In addition. the President believes
a tariff commission would be able
to collect much data of use to the
administrative officers of the govern
ment and to Congress. throwing light
/ on the tariff relations between the
| United States and foreign countries,
the rates of duty imposed on Amer
| lean products by foreign countries,
the existence and effects of dis
eliminating duties, the effects of COM
mercial treaties and preferential
agreements. the results of export
| bounties, and the effects of any
special or discriminating duties i'm
posed by the United States.
1t might be of further assistance he
thinks, by investigating the industrial
effects in the United States of duties
already imposed or about TO be
levied on products competing with
the output of American industries In
this connection he believes dis
covery of the relation between the
output of products at home and
abroad would be of value to the gov
ernment.
A new use of a tariff commission
proposed by the President would be
to discover the possibility of estab-
| fishing new industries or developing
old ones. such as the production of
dye stuffs, by the use of scientific
and practicable methods. He would
| have the commission work in har-
mony with existing agencies of the
government having powers 10 inVesti-
| gate foreign and domestic commerce,
| in order 10 avoid duplication. Par
| ticularly, hc would have it assist in
securing facts on which any dump
| ing of cheap foreign products on the
| American market and the further
| ing of unfair competition might be
! prevented.