It is worth while, in view of the great importance of the question, to quote the section of the Law which provides for this radical modification of the protractive tariff system. The New York "Sun" of October 30th says: In accordance with the declaration of the Republican platform of 1896, the Dingley revenue law, enacted in 1897 by the votes of the Republican majorities in House and Senate, made the following provisions in section 4:—"That whenever the President of the consent of the Senate, with a. view to United States, ky and with the advice and
secure reciprocal trade with foreign countries, shall within the period of two years from and after the passage of this act, enter into commercial treaty or treaties with any other country or countries concerning the admission into any such country or countries of the goods, wares and merchandise of the United States, and their use and disposition therein, deemed to be for the interests of the United all pro-specified not exceeding five years, of the mposed by this act, to the extent of not more than twenty per centum thereof, upon such goods, wares er merchandise as may be designated therein of the country or countries with which such treaty or treaties shall be made as in this section provided for; or shall provide for the transfer during such period from the dutiable list thereof of such goods, wares and merchandise, being the natural pro-and not of the United States; or shall ducts of such foreign country or countries provide for the retention upon the free list of this act during a specified period, not exceeding five years, of such goods, wares and merchandise now included in said free list may be designated therein; and when such treaty shall have been duly ratified by the Senate and approved by Congress, and public proclamation made accordingly, then and thereafter the duties which shall be collected by the United States upon any of the designated goods, wares and merchandise from the foreign country with which such treaty has been made shall, during the period provided for, be the duties specified and provided for in such treaty, and nang other."
We print in full the long and somewhat complicated text of this section, because it is omitted from some of the summaries of the law which have been published for popular information and commercial use, and because, also, its provisions and requirements are confused by many people with the wholly independent power granted to the President in section 3 of the same act, to suspend duties on certain specified articles of import, or to reimpose duties on certain free-listed articles, accordingly: as in his judgment reciprocal advantages are by other Governments conceded or withheld.
As to the actual programme proposed, a Washington dispatch of October the 28th say: on the button which moves most of the President Roosevelt to-day put his finger
wires in the United States Senate. Senator Aldrich of Rhode Island is the button. He is the greatest wire-puller in Une upper branch of the American Congress. In all matters pertaining to tariff and finance he la by long odds the most influential man in the Senate. He is the acknowledged ince of the politicians of that body. He Fas fixed more tariff schedules to suit interested parties, detested more legisla. tion that some one of wealth and power did not want, achieved a greater success as a managing editor of the dignified Senate, than any other man in all. it history.
President Roosevelt had Mr. Aldrich at the White House' to-day for a luncheon and a conference. What was said by either of them no one knows, But it is presumed that the President endeavoured to secure Mr. Aldrich's consent to the ratification of the French reciprocity treaty as a sort of start on the reciprocity programme which the President has' very much, though not too much, at heart.
In this connection, the state of the revenues and the plea for free sugar are of especial interest. The Chicago " Record-Herald" in the course of an editorial discussion of these subjects says national treasury at the end of this fiscal The prospect of a large surplus in the year has alrendy started a discussion as to the wisdom of scaling down some of the import duties at the coming session of Congress. While the country at large is opposed to tariff agitation at this time it is the opinion of some of the leading representatives that a reduction may be effected in certain schedules without a prolonged discussion of the whole tariff [question to the general disturbance of business. will hardly be possible to open up the tariff question without precipitating some discussion of the appeal that will be made for the abolition of the duty on sugar. The acquisition of much sugar-producing territory and the development of the beet sugar industry are incidents that bring the sugar question into the foreground, and the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.