Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1900-03-30

by the tariff advocates as a reason for
passing the house bill. Under the err
cumstances it is difficult to imagine what
advantage there j. In "harmonzing" a
hundred Republicans in congress if the
result CRATES 50 harshly on the ears Of a
million Republicans out of congress,
/ Party harmony AID party discipline are
necessary for The effective working of
the machinery of legi.latlon, as every
one recognizes, but ins; what is be
gained by preserving party discipline IN
this congress at the cost of party con
I troll in the next does not appear. Yet
that is likely to be the result if the tail
persists in tagging the dog. 1t ought
not 70 be necessary to remind the Repub-
lican leaders that it is vastly more i'm
portant that the Republican party should
elect majority of the next house of
representatives than that the ways and
means committee, or any other group of
/ statesmen, should be sustained. The
members of the committee may feel sore
over the reception which their taril
proposal has met from the press and the
people: but they will feel "A great deal
+
their Republican colleagues, shall hap.
pen to be left ut home next November,
thus throwing the house into the hands
of the democracy. The spectacle of a
president elected for second term but
facing an opposition house has not been
infrequent in our political history. 1t
will be exceedingly unfortunate If,
through the failure of congress to per-
form its ''plain duty" toward Porto Rico
by giving the island free trade with the
United States, the spectacle shall be re-
peated in the case of President McKn-
ley. Talk of a "campaign of education"
to bring the people around TO the tariff
notion is almost nonsense. Nothing can
he said that has not been said already,
and pretty carefully weighed. The ig-
nOrance Is not quite as dense as some
of our representatives seem to believe,
and campaign of education" would be
likely to be merely an explanation that
did not explain.
When it is generally recognized in the
senate that any change in the house bill
would ieopardize the whole tariff propo-
sitOn by neeessitating another vote In
the house, where a large number of rep
resentatives are anxious to set themselves
right with their constituents, it would
seem to be pure foolhardiness, from a
political standpoint. to insist on the tariff.
The only possible reason why the house
members desire to go back on their pre-
vious record is because they have found
that large number of their consttu-
ents are dangerously Disconnected A
change of only eight districts will throw
the house to the Democrats. If the to-
bacco and sugar interests are SO dead
against the tariff as Mr.. Tawney has
Informed us, it is some ones turn to
explain what influences or what section
of public sentiment will be offended by
/ free trade comparable to the hundreds
of thousands OF voters in all parts of the
country that will almost certainly be
dsgruntled if tariff is imposed. If
Mr.. Tawnev was mistaken and the to-
bacco and sugar interests will be offended,
are they so powerful in any Republican
district, except perhaps in ne or two in
/ Connecticut, that congress can afford to
/ ignore Indiana, Illinois. Wisconsin. Mich
/ igan, Minnesota and North and South
/ Dakota TO placate them: Whatever the
merits of the tariff proposition may be,
political eXpedency is overwhelmingly
against it. \ revenue producing tariff
very possibly would be better for the
island than free trade, and an early de
termination of the constitutional ques-
ton involved Is certainly desirable, but
looked at merely from the narrow view
of political strategy, As the senate seem
TO be viewing it. there could be nothing
more fortunate for the Republican party
than that the senate and the house
should repudiate the previous action of
the latter and pas free trade measure.
Pioneer Press-Rep.
What the Prohibition Law Prevents
If the law is violated the violation is
noted an evidence that The law Is a failure
and should give place 70 law thaAgives
the saloon legal protection. If onA man
get, drunk in spite c. the law, Nlow
many men have been helped to keep
sober because of the law; Every one
knows that the number is great. 80
| boy or young man wishes for intoXicat-
( ing liquors before he has formed an an
petite for them. Some form the appe-
| title with fewer drinks than do others.
The man who has not yet had his first
drink never misses it. and will never
look around for it, unless some outside
pressure is brought to bear upon him.
Our laws stop all saloon-keepers from
making public appeals to boys and
young men to drink. No signs, no ad-
vertisements, no display of goods, can
be resorted to. If any one thinks he
could work up as large a trade on the
sly and in hiding as he could by adver-
Using and by display of goods, let him