The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1902-11-14

paign more inopportune time for facing
the tariff issue could hardly have been
chosen. The country is prosperous but still
quaklng from the awful panic from which It
but recently emerged That panic is be-
lieved by thousands and tens Of thousands
to have been precipitated by a democratic
victory and the prospect of tariff tinker.
ing"
Republican orators and newspapers have
been cultivating this sentiment for years.
and they were particularly active in doing
SO in the late campaign. more tariff tinker
ing. another panlc"--that was the one and
practically the only argument on the repub-
ican side. When the democrats sought to
appeal to the antitrust sentiment they we're
met by voluminous promises from Mr. Roose-
welt and others that they would deal with
the trusts without touching the sacred
tariff.
Disguise It as we may, and despite the
growing dread of the power OF the trusts,
there could hardly be proposed at this time
a more unpopular policy than that of making
deep and radical changes in the tariff. It is
not so much position of faith In the benef-
icence of the protective system as a blind
dread of tariff tinkering." 1t must be ad-
mitted that there is basis for this appre-
hension, for when business has been ad-
justed to a vicious system there must be
more or less disturbance when the system is
reformed. It is only when it becomes mani
fest that the evils of the system are work
ing greater hardship than the remedy would
cause that public sentiment will support the
reform. The opportune time for such an
issue to be made is not time of present
prosperity, with the memory OF recent
panic fresh in the mind
The attempt to give the question of tariff
reform as 1t is cautiously designated by
Mr.. Cleveland and his followers, a special
prominence in the campaign seems to have
been made rather with view to calling that
statesman back into political activity than
for any other purpose We can not think
that the manner of his appearance on the
scene was at all beneficial to the democratic
party. His tariff speech, with its volumi
nous quotations from his message of 1887,
was simply an exhibit OF himself as the
personifcation of tariff REFORM" Mr..
Cleveland had been one of the strongest op-
ponents of the Philippine infamy, and nearly
all the members of his cabinet had stood
with him. He, Secretaries Olney, Carlisle,
Herbert Smith and Attorney General Olney
had written and spoken unanimously
against policy which they charged to be
! subversive of American principles and full
OF danger to the country But circum.
| stances made Mr.. Bryan the leader Of the
opposition to this policy. and Mr. Cleveland
and his followers could not brook the thought
Of playing second to Mr.. Bryan even to save
the country. So they quietly dropped out Of
the fight and to all intents and purposes
went over to the enemy. II Mr. Bryan had
not been there is no doubt that Mr.. Cleve.
land and his leutenants would have been
foremost in the fight against imperialism
and all the 'anti-Bryan" newspapers would
have been with them. AS it was, a number
of them such as the Nashville American
and the Chattanooga Times. which started
out vigorously against the Philippine policy
went over to the other side rather luan be
found with the democratic party
Now a word as to getting together
The democratic party will never get to,
gether' under the leadership of men and
newspapers who never speak of the demo.
Gratis who have stood by the party in all its
battles except in terms OF insult and OPP
probium; who have been more vindictive
than the meanest republican organ in revil.
ing and misrepresenting the democratic
membership of the senate and house and
who will not recognize any man as a demo.
crat unless he supported the republican
ticket in the last two campaigns.