to engage in a partisan controversy.  As I do not think any change in the special taxes, or tiny permanent reduction is practical, I therefore urge both parties of the House Ways and Means Committee to agree on a bill granting the temporary relief which I have indicated.  Such a reduction would directly affect millions of taxpayers, release large sums for investment in new enterprise, stimulating industrial production and agricultural consumption, and indirectly benefiting every family in the whole country.  These are my convictions stated with full knowledge that it is for the Congress to decide whether they judge it best to make such a reduction or leave the surplus for the present year to be applied to retirement of the war debt.  That also is eventually tax reduction.

PROTECTIVE TARIFF

It is estimated that customs receipts for the present fiscal year will exceed $615,000,000, the largest which were ever secured from that source.  The value of our imports for the last fiscal year was $4,466,000,000, an increase of more than 71 per cent since the present tariff law went into effect.  Of these imports about 65 per cent, or, roughly, $2,900,000,000, came in free of duty, which means that the United States affords a duty-free market to other countries almost equal in value to the total imports of Germany and greatly exceeding the total imports of France.  We have admitted a greater volume of free imports than any other country except England.

We are, therefore, levying duties on about $1,550,000,000 of imports.  Nearly half of this, or $700,000,000, is subject to duties for the protection of agriculture and have their origin in countries other than Europe.  They substantially increased the prices received by our farmers for their produce.  About $300,000.000 more is represented by luxuries such as costly rugs, furs, precious stones, etc.  This leaves only about $550,000,000 of our imports under a schedule of duties which is in general under consideration when there is discussion of lowering the tariff.  While the duties on this small portion, representing only about 12 per cent of our imports, undoubtedly represent the difference between a fair degree of prosperity or marked depression to many of our industries and the difference between good pay and steady work or wide unemployment to many of our wage earners, it is impossible to conceive how other countries or our own importers could be greatly benefited if these duties are reduced.  Those who are starting an agitation for a reduction of tariff duties, partly at least for the benefit of those to whom money has been lent abroad, ought to know that there does not seem to be a very large field within the area of our imports in which probable reductions would be advantageous to foreign goods.  Those who wish to benefit foreign producers are much more likely to secure that result by continuing the present enormous purchasing power which comes from our prosperity that increased our imports over 71 per cent in four years than from any advantages that are likely to accrue from a general tariff reduction.