The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-06-23
CONGRESS COMMITTED TO
"HIGH TARIFF OR BUST"

| The tariff has been regarded by the pres
| ent Congress with all the veneration a@-
! corded to the sacred white bull of the Bur
| mese. The slightest suggestion of tamper-
! ing with the schedule in any direction has
| been resented. Not single safety valve
has been provided by the Republicans for
| the feeling of unrest throughout the great
| Central West over the present tariff. That
there is a tremendous sentiment in favor OF
revision of certain schedules is admitted
! everywhere. but the leaders have decided
again to "let well enough alone"
Even when the tariff as a whole was nos
! to be affected, no difference was to be
noted in the attitude of the high-tarih men.
| Not even the fact that Cuba was starving,
and that we were in honor bound to afford
her relief, would lead Congress to make the
slightest concession in that direction. The
arguments in favor of reciprocity have all
! fallen on unheeding ears.
Mr.. Mckinley was in favor of reciprocity
with all countries. In his last speech he
took the view that We must seek other and
greater markets, buying from other coun-
tries the things which We did not exciu-
| sively produce. and selling to these countries
our surplus.
But in the lexicon Of the Fffty-seventh
Congress there is no such word as "reciproc
ity." The party has gone back to where 1t
was in 1898. It has made the portion of the
Dingley bill providing for reciprocal COM
merciaI relations a dead letter, and it has
prepared to go before the people at the COM
ing congressional elections on the platform
of "high tariff or bust"
How the Democrats are preparing to meet
them on this issue was shown at the meet
ing in New York Thursday night. How un-
easy the Republicans over the question
is shown by their absolute refusal to per-
NIT tariff to be discussed in the Senate.
NEXT CAMPAIGN WILL BE
DEMOCRACY vs.. PLUTO
To the minds of most political observers
in Washington the campaign of 1904. of
which the campaign this fall will be mere
ly the preliminary skirmish. will be fought
on the lines of 1ss2-the Democracy against
piutocracy, the people against the trusts,
the public interests against monopoly.
The attitude of the Senate with reference
to the reciprocity treaties negotiated by the
State Department under the Dingley bill
is inexplicable. These treaties were on
line with the advanced policy Of Mckinley.
who held that under them We could COLI
summate the commercial conquest of the
world.
Each treaty, standing alone, could have
been readily ratified, but it became neces-
sary to negotiate several treaties and var
ious interests at once combined. For in
stance, it would have been perfectly
simple matter to have negotiated re-
ciprocity treaty with Argentina by which
all sorts of American goods would have
been admitted there at lower duty than
goods of other countries in return for the
admission here of Argentine hides and wool
at similar reductions.
So, too, would it have been possible to
have rstffed treaty with France by which
American goods would have gone into
France at tariff reduction, and cheap
3ewelry. knit goods, clocks and gloves have