The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-09-18

with Gen. Henderson and with all Re-
publicans who believe with the latter
that it is wise to let we'll enough alone.
IF. on the other hand, he asserts that the
present tariff is wise and equitable and
that revision will not remedy the trust
evil, he places himself in opposition to
the rapidly increasing number of West
ern Republicans, who are determined to
bring about this revision, even if they
have to accomplish this object by voting
for Democratic Congressman. Under the
circumstances, the President must ham
die the tariff question with great adroit-
ness
Whatever else it does, the withdrawal
of Mr.. Henderson accentuates the tarlff
and trust issue. The Democrats do not
contend that withdrawal of protective
duties will kill all trusts, for they ad-
NIT that there are a few trusts that do
not depend upon tariff help, but they are
able to prove that it would. without
injuring any private interests, put an end
to the extortion practiced by the steel
trust and many other trusts that sell to
foreigners at a lower price than to
Americans. They will continue to de-
duties as necessary step in the fight on
trust robbery. The fact that 80 MANY"
Republicans in Iowa are in favor of
withdrawing these bounties will go far
toward stiffening the backbone of Re-
.publicans everywhere to stand against the
trust schedules in the Dingley tariff law
On the very day that Mr.. Henderson
gave out his letter of withdrawal a con-
ference was held at Oyster Bay, where
the four leading Republican Senators de-
cided that there would be no tariff revis-
ion at the coming session of Congress,
and that the President would continue his
talking against trusts and in favor of
reciprocity. The program is for the
President to try to check the exodus
from the Republican party because it is
trust party by advocating policies that
the trusts know are utterly impracti-
cable, such as amending the Constitu-
ton, while the Republican Senators give
assurance to the trusts that no bill that
is Objectionable to them shall pass that
body.
Speaker Henderson's sensational with
drawal, in which he takes strong ground
against any revision of the tariff, in line
with the conference at the Presidents
home at Oyster Bay, may be significant.
The trusts fear the withdrawal of tariff
duties more than any other immediate
legislation that could be directed against
them. They dictated the declaration from
Oyster Bay that no such legislation
would be enacted at the coming session
of Congress. The President goes on
Western tour to try to line up his party
against any tariff fight on trusts. Is it
not more than coincidence that Speaker
Henderson makes his spectacular dech-
able the President to try to demorallze
Republican advocacy of Withdrawing the
duties on articles controlled by trusts?
If the declination and Roosevelts
speeches will drive the Iowa Repubh-
cans from their State platform, the Re-
publicans feel that they can go on max
ing a show of opposition to trusts by adj
vocating impracticable legislation that
everybody knows cannot be enacted in
dozen years without losing the support
and contributions of the trusts. Are the
edeclination, the conference, and the
Roosevelt tour parts of grand farce?