Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1901-06-21
POLITICAL COMMENT.


When congress tackles the tariff
question, the Porto Rican, Cuban and
Philippine tariff will give the admin
istration a good many sleepless nights
Funds are getting short in the Phil
ippines and sundry expenses formerly
borne by the insular treasury are now
being paid by the treasury at Wash
ington. This is to be expected, for
extravaganza and high salaries are
running riot there. We shall either
have to be taxed to keep the Philippine
government going or the natives will
have to be burdened with more taxes
than they can bear. This is one of the
results of imperialism.
The meeting of railroad commits
sioners at San Francisco shows the
changed conditions between.i the, rail
roads and the public that. has taken
place during the last twenty-five years.
Since that time the supreme court Of
the United States has decided that con-
gress, in the case of interstate rail-
roads and the states, has the power to
regulate and control them. The law
is on the side of the people, but the
railroads evade that by controlling the
commissioners and congress. Where
the railroads are charging too high
rates jthe people are themselves to
blame, they must select congressman
and commissioners who will attend to
their interests.
Looting from your enemies seems to
come within the Golden Rule of some
of the, missionaries in China. Now
and then l branched out to loot from
those who were our enemies" says
Rev. Gilbert Reid. This foreign
devil" is, according to his own show
ing, worse than the Boxers, for they
at least pretended to have patriotic
purpose in expelling or killing all fer
eigners who had invaded their coun
try and if any proportion of these for
eigners were like Gilbert Reid, they
certainly were fully justified in doing
so. ~
It Is one of the strange political
changes wrought as result Of the
new policy of expansion that an ad-
ministration headed by statesman so
prominently identified with protection
as was Mr.. Mckinley should now be.
organizing an effort to break down the
tariff walls for the. purpose of OPEN
ing new markets to American manu-
facturers and of building up depenT
denotes by opening our own markets
to the products of the islands of the
sea- 1t is a situation which Demo-
cratic tariff reformers are justified in
regarding with much satisfaction, since
it vindicates the principles for which
the Democracy battled for years.
Buffalo Courier. =
What sharp revulsion Of feeling
has taken place in the public mind
on the tariff question. When the Ding
ley tariff bill was passed it was the
boast of the Republicans that the tar
if question was settled for a genera
ton and that it would be treason to
change it. The business interests of
the country demanded a rest from tar
if tinkernig. Now we have leading
Republicans advocating revision and
a bill introduced wiping out one Of the
principal schedules. 1t is true that
Hanna says the tariff will not be MED
died with, it being too scientifically
constructed to stand the strain, and
that reciprocity to small extent
might be necessary. But Hanna is
known to be in league with the trusts
and it is opposition to the trust mo-
nopolies that will force tariff revision.
Sugar magnate Havemeyer in his
testimony before the Industrial Com
mission was forced to admit that "the
tariff is the mother of the trusts"