zens and to most Congressmen, so that we begin our surveys with the description of the product concerned and a statement of its chief uses. How the Commission gathers information concerning commodi We proceed to consider the domestic production of the article; the materials out of which it is made, whether they have to be im- ties. ported, or are produced in this country; the nature of the equipment used in the industry, whether foreign or domestic; a sufficient description of the methods of production to give to the Congressmen and the citizen some idea of what the industry is like; and then we study the organization of the industry, whether it is conducted on a large scale, under highly centralized control as, for example, in the meat packing business, or whether it is widely distributed in small scale units under individual ownership, as is for the most part the case with the fruit and vegetable packing industry. . . [We also] show the amount of production and give an estimate The quesof the domestic consumption with a view to showing whether the domestic industry has a capacity to satisfy the domestic demand, not imports or whether imports in considerable quantities are necessary. The latter case might well be illustrated by reference to woolgrowing, many millions of pounds of wool being necessarily imported. Naturally we also study the amount and character of the exports, if there are any. ... tion of whether or are neces sary. 172. Tariff principles of the Democratic party 1 1 the great parties has a more or less definite tariff policy. Each of the great political parties has long had a more or less definite Each of tariff policy, and consequently it is possible somewhat to predict the effects upon the tariff of a change in administration. The Republican party was in power for most of the period between the Civil War and 1912, and the general tariff policy during this period was one of protection. The Democrats charged that the high cost of living and other evils were the result of this long-continued protection. In 1912 the Democratic party platform expressed the following views on the tariff: We declare it to be a fundamental principle of the Democratic I From the Democratic National Committee, Democratic Campaign Text-book, 1912; pp. 2, 4, 166-167, 169. The Democratic party declares a protective tariff unconstitutional. Evils of the Republican policy of protection. The Democrats de mand a downward revision of the tariff. President Taft's tariff policy denounced, and the people appealed to. party that the Federal government under the Constitution has no right or power to impose or collect tariff duties except for the purpose of revenue, and we demand that the collection of such taxes shall be limited to the necessities of government honestly and economically administered. The high Republican tariff is the principal cause of the unequal distribution of wealth, it is a system of taxation which makes the rich richer and the poor poorer; under its operations the American farmer and laboring man are the chief sufferers; it raises the cost of the necessaries of life to them, but does not protect their product or wages. The farmer sells largely in free markets and buys almost entirely in the protected markets. In the most highly protected industries, such as cotton and wool, steel and iron, the wages of the laborers are the lowest paid in any of our industries. We denounce the Republican pretense on that subject and assert that American wages are established by competitive conditions and not by the tariff. We favor the immediate downward revision of the existing high, and, in many cases, prohibitive tariff duties, insisting that material reductions be speedily made upon the necessaries of life. Articles entering into competition with trust-controlled products and articles of American manufacture which are sold abroad more cheaply than at home, should be put upon the free list. We recognize that our system of tariff taxation is intimately connected with the business of the country, and we favor the ultimate attainment of the principles we advocate by legislation that will not injure or destroy legitimate industry. We denounce the action of President Taft in vetoing the bills to reduce the tariff in the cotton, woolen, metals and chemical schedules, and the farmers' free list bill, all of which were designed to give immediate relief to the masses from the exactions of the trusts. The Republican party, while promising tariff revision, has shown by its tariff legislation that such revision is not to be in the people's interest; and having been faithless to its pledges in 1908, it should no longer enjoy the confidence of the nation. We appeal to the American people to support us in our demand for a tariff for revenue only. The high cost of living is a serious problem in every American home. The Republican party, in its platform, attempts to escape largely responsible for the high cost of liv ing. true that the Demo cratic tariff policy breeds panics. from responsibility for present conditions by denying that they are Protection due to a protective tariff. We take issue with them on this subject and charge that excessive prices result in a large measure from the high tariff laws enacted and maintained by the Republican party and from trusts and commercial conspiracies fostered and encouraged by such laws, and we assert that no substantial relief can be secured for the people until import duties on the necessaries of life are materially reduced and these criminal conspiracies broken up. It has been frequently asserted that the Democratic party was It is not responsible for the panic of 1893 and the years immediately following. . . . It is asserted that the hardships of that period were due to Democratic tariff, that the tariff is responsible for success or failure; that the protective principle in tariff taxation means material progress, while the tariff for revenue only means financial adversity. If one period is considered, accepting that from 1890 to 1897, and all other history were forgotten, this allegation would not be proven. If the failures in business are taken as the test of the law, an interesting fact is developed. The McKinley tariff bill [a Republican measure] went into effect October 6, 1890, and remained in force until August 27, 1894, and included the worst of the panic of that period. . . . Everyone familiar with American history knows that no Democratic tariff law nor Democratic administration was responsible for the unfortunate conditions of those times. . . It has been repeatedly stated that the Democrats would destroy The Democratic party the tariff and that protection is in the interest of the workingman aims to and the only hope of his well-being is in the continuance of Republi- lighten the can supremacy. The people are told that free trade, which they allege is the doctrine of democracy, would stop the wheels of industry sumer. and throw the laborer on the mercy of the government without employment. The truth is that the Democratic party has no intention to destroy a single legitimate industry, neither, as the result of its control, need a single individual be without employment. Its purpose is to lighten the burdens of the consumer. ... ... burdens of the con The Democrats in power. The Underwood-Sim mons act of 1913. Republican tariff principles. Confidence in the protective principle. Uncertainty due to the World War. 173. Tariff principles of the Republican party1 The Democratic party won the presidential election of 1912, and Woodrow Wilson was installed as President. The Democrats proceeded to apply their tariff principles, and the result was the Underwood-Simmons act of 1913. This measure reduced the tariff duties on some important commodities, and placed a number of articles on the free list. The Democrats also won the presidential election of 1916, but during President Wilson's second term there were indications that the Republicans would shortly return to power. It is important, therefore, to notice the tariff principles of the Republican party, as enunciated in 1920: The Ways and Means Committee of the present Republican Congress and the Senate Finance Committee have recognized that the present abnormal situation in foreign trade and the international exchange precludes any comprehensive tariff program or revision until conditions governing the future of our foreign trade can be predicted with greater certainty. There never has been any doubt concerning the principle underlying the Republican tariff policy. Our platform for 1920 says: "The Republican party reaffirms its belief in the protective principle and pledges itself to a revision of the tariff as soon as conditions shall make it necessary for the preservation of the home market for American labor, agriculture and industry." The immediate application of that principle will require new wisdom and new knowledge of the present abnormal international trade situation. Therefore, our platform of 1920 combines its pledge of loyalty to the principle of protection with its statement concerning international trade: "The uncertain and unsettled condition of international balances, the abnormal economic and trade situation of the world, and the impossibility of forecasting accurately even the near future, preclude the formulation of a definite program to meet conditions a year hence." What Senator Harding said on the tariff in his keynote speech as Chairman of the Republican National Convention in Chicago in 1916 1 From the Republican National Committee, Republican Campaign Text-book, 1920; pp. 487-489. shows how firmly he believes in the principles of protection. "Subsistence is the first requisite of existence, and we have the higher American standard of living because of the Republican protective policy which makes, of Americans the best paid workmen in all the world. Senator party re- standard of living. He believes the people want a pro "It is not for me to put the stamp of relative importance on pending issues the intelligent voters will determine that for themselves. But I know what they are thinking, and they believe that tective the protective policy which made us industrially and commercially policy. eminent is necessary to preserve that eminence. I know they want it restored and maintained. For myself I prefer a protective and productive tariff which prospers America first. I choose the economic policy which sends the American workingmen to the savings bank rather than to soup-houses. the traditional tariff policy of the Republican party. "Moreover, I like the abiding consistency of our unchangeable He reaffirms position upon this policy. The Republican Convention of 1860, which gave to the nation and all history the nomination of Lincoln, made this simple and ample utterance: 'That, while providing revenue for the support of the General Government by duties upon imports, sound policy requires such an adjustment of these imports as to encourage the development of the industrial interests of the whole country; and we commend that policy of national exchanges which secure to the workingmen liberal wages, to agriculture remunerating prices, to mechanics and manufacturers an adequate reward for their skill, labor, and enterprise, and to the nation commercial prosperity and independence.' licans are concerned about producers, not consumers. "The Democratic party is always concerned about the American The Repubconsumer. Our Republican achievement is the making of a nation of prospering producers, and by producers I mean every human being who applies muscle or skill or brain or all to the conversion of nature's abundance into the necessities and luxuries of life or participate in the ways and means of their transportation and exchange. Far better a high cost of living and ability to buy than a lowering of cost by destruction of purchasing capacity. . . "The nations abroad and the Democratic party at home are |