The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1919-05-21

different individuals. Their collection
Is difficult and expensive. Those which
are levied upon articles sold at retail
are largely evaded by the readjustment
of retail prices, on the other hand, /
should assume that it IL expedient to
maintain considerable range or indi'
rect taxes; and the fact that alcoholic
! liquors will presently no longer afford
a source of revenue by taxation makes
| II the more necessary that the heid
should he carefully restudied in order
that equivalent sources of revenue may
be found which 1t will be legitimate and
not burdensome to draw upon. But you
have at hand in the treasury depart
ment many experts who can advise you
upon the matters much better than l
can. | can only suggest the lines OF a
permanent and workable system, ana
the placing of the taxes where they VIII
least hamper the life of the people.
There is, fortunately, ITO occasion
for undertaking in the immediate iu'
ture any general revision of our system
of import duties No serious DANGER
of foreign competition now threatens
American Industries. our country mas
emerged from the war less disturbed
and less weakened than any of the Eu'
ropean countries, which are our com
petitors in manufactures. Their IN
dustrial establishments have been sub
jected to greater strain than ours thelF
labour force to a more serious dlsor'
ganization and this is clearly not the
time TO seek an organized advantage.
The work of mere reconstruction VIII
| am afraid, tax the capacity ana the
resources of their people for years 10
come. So far. from there being any
danger or need of accentuated foreign
competition, it is likely that the con,
ditionS of the next few years VIII
greatly facilitate the marketing OF Am
erican manufacturers abroad. Least
of all we depart from the policy adopted
in the tariff act Of 1913 Of permitting
the free entry into the United States
of the raw materials. needed to sup
plement and enrich our own abundant
supplies.
To Protect Dyestuff
Nevertheless, there are parts of our
tariff system which need prompt at
tention. The experiences Of the war
have made it plain that in some cases
too great reliance on foreign supply
IL dangerous and that in determining
certain parts of our tariff policy do
mestic consideration must he borne
in mind which are political as well aS
economic. Among the Industries to
which special consideration should be
given is that of the manufacture Of
=, al .har,iap1G
complete dependence upon German
Supplies before the war made the in
terruption of trade Il cause of eXcep-
tional economic disturbance. The close
relation between the manufacture Of
dyestuff on the one hand. and of er-
plosives and poisonous gases on the
other moreover, has given the indus
try an exceptional ;Sig'nNidlnce and
value. Although the United states
will gladly and unhesitatingly Join in
the program of International disarma-
ment it WILL nevertheless, be a policy
of obvious prudence to make certain
of the successful maintenance of many
strong and we'll equipped chemical
plants. The German chemical indus
try, with which we will be brought
into competition, was and may well
be again, a thoroughly knit monopoly
capable of exercising competition of
a peculiarly insiduous and dangerous
kind.
The United States should, moreover,
have the means of properly protecting
itself whenever our trade is discrimi
mated against by foreign nations, in
order that we may be assured Of that