The Forrest City times., 1902-11-28
THE TARIFF PERFORMERS.
With Their Hands Tied by the Party Machine Can Accomplish
 Nothing.

A majority of the voters in large number of congressional districts m the western states have been buncoed into believing that the members of congress they have elected will vote to amend the tariff law and control the trusts. The candidates promised that if a republican majority was elected the tariff and trust issue would be settled by those who are the friends of protection and there would be no disturbance of business. Some of these republicans who have been elected to congress on the falth Tn their promises were no doubt sin cere and will strive to carry them out, but that they will accomplish any such results is out of the question. Those candidates who have been re- elected to congress and have had ex- perience in the workings of the ruth less machine, must have known that any such promises were worthless and were only given to once more fool their constituents into reelecting them. That this is fair statement of facts is certain when it is considered that congress is run by majority of the dominant party and that indi- vidual congressman have no oppor- tunity given them to even have their ideas considered unless the party managers think such are desirable.
 When the next congress meets in December, 1903, the caucus of the re- publican members will decide who is to be speaker, he will appoint the com mittees, and if the majority shall de eide that the tariff is not to be re- formed. the speaker will carry out their wishes. He will appoint com mittee on ways and means, to whom any tariff bill must be referred, who will all be reliable protectionists, and who believe that nearly all the trusts are good trusts, and should be aided rather than hindered in their career of piling up profits at the expense of the people. The republican congress man who believes in tariff reform, to any extent. will be helpless. He may introduce a bill, like MT. Babcock did in the beginning of the present con- gress, to reform the iron and steel schedule, but it will be buried, like that notable production in the grave of tariff reform hopes-the ways and means committee. If our new con gressman is insistent to have his bill considered. which, like Mir. Babcock. he will probably not be, all will be se- rene, he will be favored in other mat ters, so that his constituents may be partially satisfied. If he demands that his, or some similar bill be con- sidered and reported so that he may have an opportunity to record his vote, and thus show his sincerity to his con stituents. he will be cut off from par ticipaton in all the inside advantages of belonging to the ma iority party. and be treated much more discourte- ously than the members of the demo cratic minority. Oniy in the almost impossible event of enough republican members joining with the democrats to make a ma jority and then voting to order the committee on ways and means to report a bill to amend the tariff law, will it be possible to have yea and nay vote recorded on such a proposition.
 It will be interesting to watch the actions of those republican congress men from Iowa, Minnesota and other states that have succeeded in deluding their farmer constituents into believ- ing that the tariff will be revised by its friends.
 If the people of any congressional district want the tariff revised they must bring pressure to bear on the congressman they have elected to com pei him to carry out their wishes. It will require a good deal of backbone for republican congressman to stand up and fight for even trust pro- ductions to be placed upon the free list
 Barbed wire being the production ot the steel trust. and selling in Europe for two-thirds less than the trust sells it to the American farmer. would seem to fix the status of the steel trust as bad trust. If the republicans are sin cere in their expressed determination to remove protection from bad trusts the steel trust productions would be good place to begin by looping of the 40 per cent. protection the tariff law now gives them.