The Washington times., 1901-10-21
Mr.. Foraker on the stump.

mr. tOrHkcF the
Senator Foraker's address at Della
ware. Ohio. can scarcely be called in
fairness the effort of statesman. In
truth it was simply a stump speech
To his own satisfaction, presumably
the Senator demonstrated that Tor three
decades, at least, the Democratic party
has been wrong in everything. and the
Republican party right in everything.
The "demonstra ton" however, is
mere assumption on his part He enum-
crates many things which the Demo
cratic party has advocated and subse-
quently dropped, from which he draws
the very illogical conclusion that all
of these things We're wrong. Any per
son of broad intelligence knows that the
posed governmental policy is wrong is
to try it, and observe now it works.
The truth is that with the single ex-
ception of the Wilson tariff there has
not been a distinctive Democratic meas
ure placed upon the Federal statute
books since the close of the civil war.
Our national policy has been essentially
try has grown and prospered under it
does not prove that the policy has been
the best that could have been pursued.
Countries live and thrive under all
sorts of policies.
Mr.. Foraker is manifestly unfair in
his intimation that the Wilson tariff
was a free trade measure. 1t was moth
ing of the kind, and he certainly must
know il. 1t, of course, provided for lower
duties than either the Mckinley or
the Dingley tariff, but with those two
exceptions, it was one of the most
strongly protective laws we have ever
had. Whatever may be said in a the
oretical way on behalf Of free trade,
every intelligent Democrat knows that
with all our Industries adjusted to a
high tariff policy, it would be imposs.-
Bile TO go to free trade at a single step,
or at two. In practical legislation the
aim has been to eliminate abuses, AMI
move in the direction CT free trade as
rapidly as business conditions will per-
mit-no faster The Wilson law may
not have been free from, defects in
some Of its details, but it was far more
defensible in this respect than the
tarin which preceded it or the one now
in force
To claim that the Wilson law was the
cause Of the hard times which prevail
ed during the Cleveland Administration
is nothing short Of reckless demagcgy.
The great panic of 1893 struck the coun-
Try about fifteen months before the Nc
kinley tariff was superseded. 1t was
claimed by men high in the councils Of
the Republican party that the Sher-
man law was the cause Of it. Mr.. Sher-
man himself so declared. and asserted
upon the floor of the Senate that the
repeal of the purchase clause of that
law would restore prosperity in ten
days
The greatest mistake in the Wilson
law was in enacting it at a time when
the clouds of depression hung heavily
all over the business world. The law
never had chance to demonstrate its
real merits. On the other hand. the
Dingley law was passed at a time when
the wave Of business revival had al
ready rolled over Europe, and it was
only q question Of few weeks or at
most a few months when it would reach !
the shores of America. For Mr.. For !
aker to say that we had prosperity |
under Harrison, lost it under Cleveland, /
and regained it under Mckinley, is |
mere catch-phrasing. i proves nothing !
in the absence OF a clear and definite |
statement Of how the policies Of the !
two parties operated to create such con !
ditions. The whole commercial world /!
changes of a similar charac-
ter during the twelve years to which |
Mr. Foraker refers.
Nor does the circumstance that the !
Democratic party has abandoned some |
of its former demands prove that those |
demands were wrong. They had refer
ence to conditions existing at the time, |
and as conditions have changed, policies |
Rave changed also.