Evening journal., 1918-05-06
rAussIGIAN TARrF VIEWS.

iNpuDHcdn IunDclff Association. Through ite
president Hon Jonathan Bourne. Jr has given oui
the following statement at its Washington headquarters
News dispatches from Chicago recently quoted
Professor f. w. Taussg, chairman OF the Tariff Commits
son as saying that economic fundamentals are misun
derstood to astounding degree His speech t was
said dealt very largely with economic fundamentals and
postwar trade
1T would be interesting to know when and by yyhai
means Mr. Taussg became qualified 10 speak as an au-
thorty on economics and to declare that other people
misunderstood the fundamentals AS soon as the tariff
act OF 1919 was enacted Taussg issued new edition
OF his book. Tariff History OF the United States" In
the preface he declared that the new tariff will cause
no disaster But that is exactly what It did cause In
the latter part Of 1913 and all through 1914 we were
increasing our imports because Of the lower rates of
duty and American factories reducing their out
put or closing down entirely. American workmen were
losing their employment and cities were providing food
and shelter for millions Of unemployed That is matter
OF record though many people forgotten It In the
prosperity which the in Europe brought That war
shut or imports and provided markets for exports
so that money flowed TO factories and factory en-
poyes to our food producers wool producers lumber
men and railroad operators
by his statement last above quoted, Mr. Taussig
demonstrated that he did not then understand economic
fundamentals for II he had understood he would have
foreseen the disaster which resulted from throwing our
markets open to the products OF cheap labor In Europe
and Asia Moreover, Mr.. Tausss demonstrated his ls-
norance OF fundamentals when he wrote in an article In
the Atlantic Monthly TO make thing at home s not
to our advantage II make II at high cost To import
It Is not source Of loss when import the thing more
cheaply than we make It at home,
"Ihsre isn't sound business man in America hut
knows that Taussig was wrong In that assertion We
could import dyes from Germany cheaper than could
make them at home. but 10 would have been TO our ad
vantage II we had made them ourselves For many
years we imported all tin plate We did that on the
hat haffor
because we could buy cheaper than we could mann
facture But the Republican Congress OF 1890 did not
think so, and imposed import duty The Democrats
declared that the duty would be to the price and
thst the American consumer would pay &C. But what
did experience demonstrated Why Just what the Re
pubcans predicted-we built up a tin plante industry
OF cur own with the result that large production brought
decreased COSTS and the price Of tin went down instead
Of up.
I'm his statement that to import thing IS not loss
If we import cheaper than we can manufacture Mr..
Taussg oyerlooks the fact that every dollar expended
FOR labor changes hands average ten times year
Every dollar we send abroad TO buy goods made In other
countries means that much less money circulating here
and that much more circulating in the trade OF our
competitors
There is no evidence that Mr. Taussls has changed
his tarn views since the utterancos above quoted It
manifest that in those utterances he was fundament-
ally unsound BY what right, now. therefore does he
assume to assert that among the people OF this country
economic fundamentals misunderstood 10 an
astounding degree Is there anyone who msunderstands
them more than he9"
Thousands Of Deawareans do not favor the tariff
views entertained and advanced by Professor Tausse
They win demonstrate that fact practical way by
the votes they cast next Fall