Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 140, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 June 1919 — TARIFFS A LEGISLATIVE PROBLEM. [ARTICLE]

TARIFFS A LEGISLATIVE PROBLEM.

Washington, June 14.—The Republican Publicity association, today gave out the following statement from its Washington headquarters, through its president, Jion. Jonathan Bourne, Jr,t —— “A member of the U. S. tariff commission advocates a law which will ‘authorize the president to levy by proclamation additional duties on goods which are being systematically dumped into the United States, or to prohibit their importation in case he has reason to believe that the result will be to injure, destroy or prevent the establishment of an American industry.’ ; “There- you have one more illustration of the grasping ambition of bureaucracy. More power, is the limitless desire ; ‘Leave it to me,’ is bu-. reaucracy’s motto. Personal government, is the ideal. Government by law is not even a last resort. “Just think of the possibilities of a broad creation of discretion such as that proposed! Certain commodities are shipped in large quantities into this country. Persons interested as manufacturers of the same commodities ask for a proclamation against the importations. The importers oppose the issuance of a ban; Speculators lay in a supply of the goods imported at low prices and suddenly* the country is taken by surprise by the issuance of a prohibition order that shuts out further importations, increases the value of goods already brought in, makes fortunes for those who bought up the supply, and starts rumors as to some one having an advance tip as to the best time to buy, in what quantities, what commodities, and at what prices. “People who remember the rumors of fortunes made in the stock market a few years back by men who got an early tip on a presidential 1 note, will see the danger of repetition of incidents that tend to shake confidence in government. Creating opportunities for that sort of thing is hardly the part of wisdom. “The proper policy for America is to regard importations of articles that can be produced here as ‘unfair’ to American producers. We should prevent such unfair competition by imposing an import duty at least equal to the difference in the.cost of production here and in the country of lowest cost of production, provided the latter country sells to us a quantity sufficient to be a menace to our home industry. But the rate of duty, the time and manner of its establishment, should be fixed by law, so that every person interested may have equal knowledge of the proposed action and the time when it is to become effective. The rights of importers and producers should be fixed by law and not be subject to the varying discretion of a president, especially one who believes in the ‘removal of all economic barriers.’ ? “This discussion has dealt with the subject wholly from the standpoint of governmental policy. As a matter of constitutional law, it is doubtful whether any pretext could be devised that would sustain even technically a delegation of power to the president to fix import duties.”