In response to the resolution of the House of Representatives of April 20, 1910, relative to the recent tariff negotiations between the Government of the United States and foreign governments made necessary by the tariff act of August 5, 1909, I transmit herewith reports by the Secretary of State, with accompanying papers, and the Secretary of the Treasury.
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The danger is not so much that the class of users in whose favor the classification purports to be made will receive more benefit than the framers of the law may have intended, but it is that many who do not belong to the class intended to be favored will import articles suitable for the prescribed use under the general terms of the statute, but will use them for other and general purposes.
But there is another, and a very important, reason why the bill ought not to become a law, and that is that in many instances it adopts the principle, rarely permitted in any revenue system, on whatever theory constructed, by which the finished product is made free from duty, and the raw material and the machinery necessary for its production are kept on the dutiable list.
I am in full sympathy with the concern of reasonable and patriotic men that the valuable resources of Alaska should not be turned over to be exploited for the profit of greedy, absorbing, and monopolistic corporations or syndicates.
If I fail to guard as far as I can the industries of the country to the extent of giving them the benefit of a living measure of protection, and business disaster ensues, I shall not be discharging my duty.
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