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Show SUPPORT FOR TARIFF BOARD. The assault of some of the Democratic Demo-cratic leaders in the House upon tho Tariff Board has arousod the business interests of the country to an activity good to see. There was recently held in New York City a meeting of the executivo committee of tho National Retail Dry Goods Association, which represents about one-fifth of the department de-partment stores of this country, and an aggregate investment of some $400,-000.000. $400,-000.000. At this meeting, tho representatives represen-tatives of this great interest declared emphatically in favor of the maintenance mainte-nance of the Tariff Board, with a view to having the tariff laws shaped according ac-cording to information obtained and supplied to Congress by that Board. These business interests are tired of having tariff legislation at haphazard, and basod upon ignorance and presumed pre-sumed political advantage, rather than knowledge. The meeting referred lo represented forty-two States of the Union, and it is likely that its voice will be listened to in Washington. The plea which was made is earnost and practical. In tho language of the Xew York Times, which roports the meeting, " they asked to be saved from uncertainly as to what will happen, and from the certainty cer-tainty that whatever happens will come from the scramble in committees, aud will be one-sided, unjust, ami harmful." harm-ful." With regard to the Tariff Board, it J is admitted that, "it i a fairly compe- j tent aud pairiilaking board of inquiry, with unusually good equipment for investigation, in-vestigation, ' 5 and further that "it has won a remarkable degree of approval from the business men with whom it has had to djgal." The Board has not escaped criticism, to be sure, and neither is it infallible, ;ior are its investigations in-vestigations universal. But "it does supply a great deal of information that has a certain authority, which is something which wo have never had before since the grabbing for tariff favors fa-vors began," as the. New York Times expresses it. Thoro is no doubt of the good sense and business reasonableness of the demand de-mand made by the department stores; and we arc glad to see that the great department stores of' Keith-O'Brieu, Walker Bros., and others in this city join in this demand. It in beyond all question that legislation based upon tho information .supplied by tho Tarifl Board will be. legislation conformable to and supporting the business Interests Inter-ests of the country. It will not spring unpleasant surprises, as tho ignorant proposition to abolish thp tariff on load and .inc. did to thone producing these metals. Tariff legislation will become, under the shaping of tho Tariff Tar-iff Board, a business proposition, and not merely political jobbery with pork barrel attachments. The system heretofore here-tofore has been to lump together tlie representatives of the most clamorous intoroflts, voprcscnt thorn in full, giving giv-ing them practically what they want, nnd leaving out those interests (as the enrded-wool manufacturers in the revision revi-sion of inoi) to whom SinooL made his famous "what the hell do I caro," re-1 tort), which can safely, from the po litieal standpoint, bo disregarded. The Tariff Board, of course, is criticized, criti-cized, and wherever it fails it ought, to be criticized. But. there has been no device formed since the organization of the Government so well calculated to givo Cougvoss tho kind of information informa-tion that it ought to have in framing tariff legislation as the creation of the Tariff Board. Ft is the body that ought to bo supported by all the business busi-ness interests of the country, and we are glad to see the department stores nfoving with tho - onergy and activity that they display in it8 support. |