On the opening day of the second session of the Sixtieth Congress (December 5, 1908), the following resolution was passed by the House of Representatives: Resolved, That the Committee on Ways and Means, in their investigation and inquiry for the purpose of preparing a bill to revise the present tariff laws, shall have power to subpoena and examine witnesses under oath, and to send for records, papers, and all other evidence that may be necessary to make the investigation and inquiry full and complete, and that the Speaker shall have authority to sign and the Clerk to attest subpoenas during the recess of Congress. Pursuant to this resolution, all witnesses appearing before the committee, beginning with the session on December 10, 1908, were sworn before giving their testimony. The stenographic minutes of each day's proceedings, together with the briefs and memorials filed, were printed and distributed the following morning, and upward of 2,500 copies of this first print were sent out each day. Copies were sent to each witness, with a request that he correct his statement as printed, and return the revised copy to the clerk. Such corrections have been used in preparing this revised edition of the hearings. In this edition the chronological order of the statements has been disregarded, and the oral statements and papers filed on each subject have been grouped together, following, as far as practicable, the arrangement of subjects in the present tariff law. The date of each oral statement is placed at the beginning of it. A large number of letters have been filed with the committee which merely stated the attitude of the writer, or else substantially repeated an argument which had already been printed in the hearings. Such letters have not been included in this work, but instead, a statement is made that such letters have been received. They are all on the committee's files, and accessible to the members of the committee. By this means, the size of the volumes, already bulky, has been somewhat reduced, the printing has been expedited, and, it is believed, many undesirable repetitions have been avoided. JANUARY, 1909. WILLIAM K. PAYNE. REMARKS BY THE CHAIRMAN. Tuesday, November 10, 1908, the chairman of the committee, Hon. S. E. Payne, opened the public hearings with the following remarks: Gentlemen, the hearings will commence at half past 9 in the morning and continue until 1 o'clock, when a recess will be taken until 2 o'clock. The hearings will then be resumed in the afternoon at 2 o'clock, and if it becomes necessary to take a recess at 6 o'clock the committee can do so and continue the hearings at 8 o'clock. The opening hearing this morning, as you are aware, is upon the chemical schedule of the tariff, and it is the desire of the committee to hear the parties interested and others who may desire to speak on the subject embraced in the schedule, and also concerning the chemicals on the free list, and so with each paragraph of the bill as we proceed, so that the discussion may continue intelligently, involving every item connected with the subject. The committee has no apologies to make for the bad acoustics of the hall, as we have nothing to do with that feature. We hope the people in attendance will be able to hear, and I would caution those in attendance that they speak in a sufficiently loud tone of voice that the committee can hear. December 22, 1908, at the close of the formal hearings, the chairman said: Gentlemen, in accordance with the resolution of the committee passed two weeks ago this closes the hearings and there will be no further hearings by the committee unless they desire information on some subject and invite gentlemen to be present to give them that information—that is, there will be no hearings for volunteers as distinguished from those who may be sent for by the committee. Of course, any persons desiring to present briefs and file them can do so, and they will be printed with the hearings. The only difficulty in regard to that is that if they are not brought in promptly they will be printed in a subsequent volume. I think we have material now for five or six volumes, and belated briefs and papers will be printed in a subsequent volume with the index. Before we adjourn I want to thank the members of the committee for their uniform courtesy, and especially their indefatigable inquiries tending to bring out the facts in reference to the tariff and in order to aid in perfecting the bill. I think the minority members of the committee especially are entitled to thanks for their perseverance and patience in getting at the facts. Mr. COCKBAN. As the senior member of the minority, Mr. Chairman, I want to say that nothing could be fairer than the manner in which this investigation has been conducted, and no inquiry could be fuller in its scope or more fruitful in its results. The CHAIRMAN. The chairman is very much gratified at the gentleman's state ment. The committee will now stand adjourned. |