Show TALKING FOR LOWER RATES Secretary Taft Trying to Induce Con Congress Congress gress to Revise Philippine Tariff Washington ton Feb Taft was heard by the house committee on ot ways and means today In of a revision o of tIle the Phillp Philippine lne tariff Shed ulos ules were presented havIng been p pro pared b by the Philippine commission and subsequently submitted l to confer conference enee ence between the on and the secretary of war Colonel Colon l dards chief of the bureau sf ff th the war department preceded d Secretary Taft TaCt In discussing the question He said the present Philippine tariff might be considered an 1826 1825 per coat cent tariff while the proposed revision would make It about a 20 per cent tariff The revIsion could not be considered as an increase an all along the line as many articles had been changed from a specific dut duty to an duty and in these cases ye re reductions generally had bad been made No Notable Notable table Instances of detre decreases are in machInery The necessity for the revision WH was stated by Taft to be two twofold twofold fold First to admit at a lower Jower duty to the Islands of articles necessary to their development and second the production of an revenue The tariff applies alike aUke to all coun countries tries tiles The commIttee took no action adion Mr lIr Clark ot of MIssouri asked why free trade could not be established arid and the revenues to operate the government tie de ned from taxation The an answer n was that put th the people were too i ito to be burdened wIth internal taxes ti such an extent also that they wert weri n a d to the through tar tariff ift duties wh which h being al Indirect tax was not onerous i Referring to the treaty between the thu United States and Spain ceding the is I to this government ft a pr I or of whIch makes each count country sheil shAr I alike h n any tarIff Mr Williams or of l Mississippi ppl d tl that at it his opinion tile the C court urt Jr it t should ever pa pase s on tIti this would declare It unconstitutional It 11 vIew Of this belief he suggeSted thaI those articles whish the thEt Philippines bUJIn In iii this country which be sa said a avery very e few in number should be b on the free list UstIn listIn In answering a further b by Mr Clark Secretary Taft TaIt s id that thai the th of the govern meat were muck much ude can than Spanish rule A eon of the UI I Spain was derived from a poll tax eat alike aUke on men women aid ehll dren A tariff also was as Imposed Secretary Taft attention to th tb opIum schedule In the t taril measure and said it was an important matter to th the islands The duty on opium Is raised about 25 per cent and provision made mado for tor complete of at atthe the drug by the PhilipPine At present the thc annual revenue from the drug in the islands Is 1 OOOO and thE sett secretary said Id he was bald afraid the FilipInos were becoming addicted to ta the use of opium to some He Be id Governor Wright favored a bl high license e for three years ears instead of a government monopoly but that neither r i these plans could prevail without legislAtion by congress Se Secretary reta Taft TaCt continued d his do detailed explanatIon of the changes in the J t tariff ritt during an afternoon sea as Slon sion of the committee The committee e consider the bill bUl later Inter In e session |