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The Commoner.
OCTOBER 15, 1909
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Texas Democrats and Real Tariff Reform
well, wo feel better about It. Wben Mr.
Bryan's speech was published, a good friend
he has often addressed the readers of the Journal
under the caption "Fellow Citizens" came and
said that the impression which the reading of
the speech produced was that of mental de
cadence. - We stoutly dissented, but still there
lingered the suspicion that we had been be
guiled by specious argument.
But after perusing carefully Senator Bailey's
speech of Saturday we are entirely satisfied.
We knew, that if there was any weak spot in
the armor of Mr. Bryan's argument the junior
senator from Texas would not fail to discover
it and drive his lance through. The reading
leaves not only the "impression," but the pro
found conviction, that all Mr. Bryan's points
stand absolutely intact.
In the very beginning Mr. Bailey labors hard
to make it appear that Mr. Bryan said what
he did not say. He nowhere advocates a com
pensatory duty. In fact, ho especially demands
tho repeal of such duty on manufactured articles
of which the raw material is on the free list.
Mr. Bryan is not engaged in academics. Ho
is too sensible and too practical to undertake
the outlining of an ideal tariff scheme for an
ideal democracy. The tariff exists; It's about
as bad as anything can be. And Mr. Bryan is
seriously addressing himself to the task of find
ing some way of making it less obnoxious and
burdensome.
Compensatory duties are here. They are im
posed on the manufactured article by the same
power that places raw material on the duty list.
The rich manufacturers collect them by charg
ing it up to the consumer. If it stopped there
the case would be bad but not hopeless. Tho
woolen manufacturers pay tho government a
revenue of $11,000,000 on imported wool, but
by this maneuver they rob tho American con
sumer of many times eleven million dollars. Mr.
Bailey's assertion that the placing of the raw
material on the free list will not tho make the
finished product cheaper is mero assertion; it
is worse, it is twaddle, if it does emanate from
the "tallest statesman on the American conti
nent." Repeal of duty on the raw material is
sure to be followed by a proportionate reduction
of the rate on the finished product.
Mr. Bailey's hair-splitting distinctions about
raw material aTe neither pertinent nor neces
sary. There is no confusion as to the practical
economic meaning of the words.
Mr. Baile;' seems perfectly willing to let the
wool grower reap a tariff benefit that the cotton
and corn raiser must pay for. Any fairness in
that? He makes the bombastic offer to remove
the tariff from tho raw material as soon as it
is off the manufactured article. Well, doesn't
Mr. Bryan's tentative platform declare that
"articles coming into competition with trust
made articles should be placed on the free list?"
What Mr. Bailey says about free lumber is
too absurd to deserve serious notice. He de-
clares it monstrous to vote for free raw material
as long as the duty remains on the manufac
tured article, except when it comes to tho oil
trust interests then Mr. Bailey votes to put
crude oil on the free list. By the by, he fin
ished his speech Saturday night without touch
ing on that point.
The Journal thinks it unnecessary for Mr.
Bryan to return to Texas for the present not
until Mr. Bailey advances a better answer than
the one made at Dallas. Belton (Texas)
'Journal-Reporter.
', IN THE CAMP OF THE PROTECTIONIST
' When Mr. Bailey contends for equality in tax
ation we agree with him. But when Mr. Bailey
Bays that "free lumber" would not affect prices
here in Texas we think him absurd.
A special lumber train of thirty-five cars went
from Texas to Kansas City last week. Is it not
plain that a lessening of the demand at Kansas
City for Texas lumber would, have a tendency
to "bear" the price here at home?
Again, Mr. Bailey is strikingly weak when he
Bays that to remit the $2,000,000 now received
on lumber would require the levying of an ad
ditional tax on other articles. This is a half
truth 'only. The way to get more revenue, as
matters now stand, is to lower the rate, and a
lowering of the rate is what we are clamoring
for, seeing that tho trusts collect seven dollars
lor every ono dollar that goes into tho pooplo's
treasury.
We do not f aver duty-freo luinbor; all articles
should pay. But unquestionably duty-froo lum
ber would benefit tho people as a whole, Includ
ing our Texas people, and to argue otherwiso is
to challenge tho peoplo's Intelligence. And to
say that a tax taken off at one place must bo
made up elsewhere is to Juggle with tho truo
situation, for, as Senator Nelson, a good repub
lican, has stated, the higher tho rate the lcs3
tho revenue; hence, to got additional revenue,
some rate would havo to bo reduced, and thus
a lessening of tho demand on tho people's pock
ets tho demand of tho trusts sheltered behind
tho tariff wall.
Mr. Bailey has not deigned to toll his constit
uents why ho voted for tho higher as against
tho lower rate on lumber. Under tho Dingloy
law tho rate was $2 per thousand. The house,
whore the present law originated, cut tho rate
to $1. When the bill got over into tho senato
the finance committee reported in favor of a'
$1.50 rate. This was resisted by Mr. Bovoridgo
and others. Tho junior senator from Texas
voted to sustain tho committee voted for tho
higher as against tho lowor rato. If that voto
didn't land tho Texas senator in tho camp of
tho protectionists wo shall have to revise our
tarff primer. Waco (Texas) Times-Herald.
A NEW IDEA
Tho Dallas Times-Herald has discovered a
new law in political ethics. In tho platform
suggested by Mr. Bryan appears tho phrase, "a
platform is a pledge given by tho candidate to
tho voters, and, when ratified at tho polls, be
comes a' contract between tho official and his
constituent."
Tho Times-Herald says that it is willing to
take Mr. Bryan at his word and adds, "unless
ratified at tho polls a platform is null and
void," and then proceeds to say that aa tho
Denver platform was not ratified by tho Ameri
can people at the polls, it is no longer binding.
But what about men elected to office on plat
forms endorsing that platform, aro these not
contracts between them and th.oir constituents?
If the editor of tho Times-Herald will re-read
Mr. Bryan's speech at Dallas ho will see that
Mr. Bryan vas proposing a congressional plat
form. The question is not whether a platform
is binding on a defeated candidate, but whether
a candidate who is elected upon a platform Is
bound by it. Mr. Bryan says that a platform
is binding upon an official who is elected upon
it. Does the Dallas Times-Herald dispute this?
"FOLLOW THE LINE OF ENFORCEMENT"
In an address at Sacramento, Cal., President
Taft said:
"We havo had evils growing out of our pros
perity. Men have seized power by means of ac
cumulation of wealth and its use in methods
that are not legal and can not be approved, by
way of monopoly and otherwise. But tho diffi
culty is that whenever everybody is prosperous,
when everybody is comfortable, then Is the time
when our old friend Satan steps in and helps
along the evil cause. Then is the time when
wo aTe apt to be inert and enjoy the things wo
havo without looking forward into the future
and seeing that the evils will grow and ultimate
ly swamp us. It is to the people that we must
look for an enforcement of these principles.
You should select your representatives and havo
them know you aro watching them in congress
and see that they follow the line of enforce
ment." In tho language of Uncle Eben, "Satan is rep
resented as runnin' after folks wif a pitchfork,
when de truth is dat so many folks is pullin'
at his coat-tails dat he ain't got time to chase
nobody."
The people should adopt, In tho form of plat
forms, specific rules for the guidance of public
officials and then they should select as their
public officials men who may be reasonably ex
pected to adhere to the pledges given to tho
people and conform to tho program which tho
people, through their platform, havd provided.
When it develops that men have been elected
to public office who have had the habit of
"pullin' at Satan's coat-tails," then those men
should be retired.
President Taft spoke well when he said that
It is to the people we must look for enforce
ment of groat principles and that tho pcoplo
should mako thoir representatives know that
tholr official conduct hi being scrutinized. Tho
application of .this Is that whon the pcoplo glvo
power to a political party after that party's
leaders have led them to bollovo that they would
revise tho tariff downward and tho pledge Is
"redeemed" by rovlsing tho tariff upward, thon
tho pcoplo should drive them from public placo
and send tholr party to oblivion.
Practical Tariff Talks
" " ' "
The casual Investigator of tho now tariff law
will find apparent reason for congratulation
whon ho Inspects tho wood schedulo thereof.
Apparently thore Is a total reduction of 14 per ,
cent on the entire schodulo, but if ho probes
deeper ho will find the fraud. Whon railroads
desire to ralso rates that will cortaluly bo fol
lowed by a protest they Co it indirectly, by
changing tho classification. Tho tariff makers ,
follow the samo process. Timbers of varying'
bIzob mako up tho buildings wo erect. Under
the Dingloy law those boro a duty of a conta
cubic foot, on "timber, hown, sided or squared."
Tho now law apparently reduces this rato GO
per cent by making tho duty a half cent, but
and hero's tho Joker: tho now paragraph reads:
"TImbor, hown, sided or squared otherwiso than
by sawing," tho last four words being now mat
ter. As a cold matter cf fact theso timbers
aro not hown, sided or squared In any other
way than by sawing. Hewing Is a back number
method in lumbering. By the Interpolation of
tho four words, "otherwiso than by sawing,"
squared timber is ptit In tho "boards" classifi
cation, whoro tho rato is an equivalent of a DO1
per cent ralso over tho old rato. ..?
Tho samo trick of shifting classification is
certain to mako another department of building,-,
moro expensive The duty on structural ateol,
ready for use, in tho Dingloy law was $10 a
ton. Tho new law makes tho duty from $G to
$8 a ton, according to tho value, but tho word
ing of tho paragraph has been so changed that
structural steel that has been punched Is not
mentioned at all, tho new rato applying to tho
material that has not been advanced beyond
hammering, rolling or casting. Until structural
iron Is punched It Is of no uso to tho builder,
and under tho new law the punched material
carries a duty of 45 per cent, being Included
under the classification of "all manufactures of
metals not specifically mentioned." This iron
sells at an average of about $35 a ton, and a 40
per cent tariff means $14 a ton, as compared
with $10 a ton under tho old' law. Yot tho sen
ate finance committee calmly issues an estimate
of reductions In which it includes structural
steel and iron.
Ono of tho complaints made by the fruit
growers of California during tho tariff debate
was that railroad rates were so adjusted that,
tho tariff considered, tho lemon grower of tho
Pacific slope was barred out of any market east
of Pittsburg. East of that point the Sicilian
lemon, slipping through on a cent a pound tariff,
was able to undersoil tho Callfornian. As
lemon growing is a very profitable business and
thousands of new trees havo been planted In
the last few years, tho westerners wanted a
wider market. So they went down and saw
Mr. Aldrlch, and ho tacked on a 50 per cent
raise on lemons, to a cent and a half a pound.
Florida pineapple growers felt themselves barred
out of some markets that a higher tariff would
open to them In this country. They didn't get
as much of an increase as they hoped for, but
they didn't expect they would. But the mad
dest men in tho country today are tho lemon
growers of the far west and the pineapple plant
ers of tho southland. After they got their
tariff, tho railroads simply raised their rates
sufficient to enable them to absorb tho tariff
increases. The occasion, however, Is, not ono
that. calls for any laughter from tho consumer.
He will havo to pay more for his lemons and '
his pineapples, the only difference being that s
the increase, Instead of going to the fruit-raiser
is taken in by the railroads.
ms -. G. Q. D.
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