South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1919-05-20

Many OF the minor taxes pro-
vided for i'm the revenue legislation
of 1917 and 1918 though no doubt
made necessary 10y the pressing
necessities of the war time. can
hardly md sufficient justification
under the easier circumstances OF
peace. and can now happily be got
ten rid Of Among these. I hope YOU
Will agree, are the excuses upon
various manufactures and the taxes
upon retail sales They are unequal
i'm the incidence on different dis
tricts. and on different individuals
Their collection is difficult and eX-
pensive. Those which are levied up
on articles sold al retail are largely
eyaded by the readjustment of re-
tail prices. ON the other hand, 1
should assume that it is eXpedient TO
maintain "a considerable range Of in
direct taxes: and the fact that al
coholic liquors viii presently no
longer afford a source Of revenue by
taxation makes ii the more neces-
sary that the field should be care
fully re-established in order that
equivalent sources of revenue may
be found which it viii be legiti-
mate. and not burdensome, 10 draw
upon. But you have at hand in the
treasury department many experts
who can advise you upon the mat
ters much better than 1 can. l can
only suggest the lines Of a perma-
nent and workable system, and the
placing of the taxes where they viii
least hamper the life OF the people.
NEED NOT CHANGE
IMPORT DUTIES.
There is. fortunately. no occa-
sion for undertaking in the imme-
date future any general revision of
our system of import duties. No
serious danger Of foreign COMPETE
ton now threatens American indus
tries. Our country has emerged
from the war less disturbed and less
weakened than any Of the Euro
pean countries which are our com
petitors in manufacture. Their in
! dustriaI establishments have been
subjected to greater strain than ours
their labor forced 10 more serious
organization, and this is clearly
not the time to seek an organized
advantage. The work of mere re
construction will, | ann afraid, tax
the capacity and the resources of
their people for years TO come. So
| far from there being any danger or
need Of accentuated foreign compe-
tition, il is likely that the cOndi-
tons of the next few years viii
greatly facilitate the marketing OF
/ American manufactures abroad.
/ Least of all should we depart from
the policy adopted i'm the tariff act
OF 1913, of permitting the free en-
try into the United States of the raw
materials needed to supplement and
enrich our own abundant supplies.
PARTS OF SYSTEM
| NEED ATTENTION.
Nevertheless. there are parts Of
our tariff system which need prompt
attention. The experiences Of the
war have made il plain that in some
cases too great reliance of foreign
supply is dangerous and that in de
Itermining certain parts of our tariff
| policy domestic considera tons must
be borne in mind which are political
/ as we'll as ecCEomic. Among the in
/ dustries TO which special cOnsidera-
ton should be given is that of the
manufacture of dyestuffs and related
chemicals. Our complete dependence
upon German supplies before the
war made the interruption of trade
a cause of exceptional economic dis
turbance. The close relation between
the manufacture of dyestuffs. on
the one hand and of explosives and