When "the party of intelligence" undertakes tariff meddling with the business of intelligent men, it is apt to get into trouble. This old truth is freshly exemplified in the remarkable protest against the duties on books proposed by the Fordney bill, signed as it is by all the leading publishers of the United States. They state in the first place that they do not need higher rates on imparted books than those of the existing law, and have not asked for them. Next; they point out that, if the new system of "American valuation" were to be applied to books brought in from abroad, the result would be to make the duty not the 20 per cent, nominally written in the Fordney tariff, but actually 50 or 60 per cent. This would necessarily have the effect of greatly cutting down the importation of books.

Many books of foreign origin are desired by American students and scientific investigators. Such volumes do not compete with the domestic product. Yet their price would be much enhanced by the proposed duties and method of valuation, with the inevitable result of placing a needless and vexing burden upon American scholarship. As books of the kind mentioned would have to be imported in small lots, if Mr. Fordney has his way with the publishers, the additional cost would bear heavily upon those who must have them. Altogether, this gratuitous and senseless levy upon the tools of education is one of the most offensive provisions of the pending Tariff bill, and should be stricken out by the Senate. --New York Times.