The Tucson citizen., 1902-09-17
THE REPUBLICAN, SITUATION.

The Republican leaders in the Sen
ate, including Hanna Aldrich, Allison
and Spooner, held a conference with
the President yesterday, and we are
Informed by the Associated Press that
it was agreed that no effort should be
made to revise the tariff at the next
session of Congress.
At the time Roosevelt was comforting
with the legislative representatives of
the trusts. Speaker Henderson was
furnishing for publication a letter ad-
dressed to the Republicans of his cor
stituency, declining to accept their
nomination for reelection to Congress,
Mr.. Henderson declares that he has
ascertained that the people are not in
harmony with his views on the tariff
question. Henderson was made Speak
er of the House of Representatives by
the trusts, and he evidently prefers to
serve the trusts rather than the free
people of his district.
The report of the conference between
the Senate leaders and the President
informs us that ''the President is to
maintain his position as to trusts.
This would be amusing if the matter
under consideration were not OF such
nrofcund and far-reaching Importance
1t simply means that the Republicans
in Congress will continue to protect
the trusts, but that Roosevelt will not
be excommunicated if he continues to
carry on his Pickwickian campaign
against the trusts when he addresses
popular audiences.
The important part of the conference
is the declaration that the present ex-
orbitant tariff is not to be revised. 1t
is a waste of time for anybody to deny
that tariffs mean higher prices to con-
sumers. The primary object Of the
protective tariff was, as every one who
is acquainted with the history of pro-
lection knows, to keep foreign COM
petition out of our market, so that the
home manufacturers could command
better prices for their products. The
Republicans themselves stated that
that was the object of the tariff. Now
it is evident that if it enables the in
fant industries to command better
prices for their products, SO long as it
is continued it will enable the success
sors of the infant industries to do the
same. We all know that the infant
industries of the past are now the
giant trusts. and that the same laws
which enabled these infant industries
to grow rich off the consumer enable
their successors, the trusts, to levy
tribute off of these same consumers.
And it is equally evident that if the
manufacturer is enabled through the
tariff to charge more for his goods
the consumer has to pay more for
them. The great mass of the Amer
ican people are consumers. The tariff
compels them to pay more for their
products of consumption than they
would otherwise have to pay. Every
time they buy a trust-made article
they pay a tribute to the trust which
controls it, tribute made possible by
the protective tariff
The Republicans of Iowa and of the
west generally have discovered this,
and are demanding that the federal
government cease to foster the trusts
by means of the taxing system. The
Republicans of Iowa went nearly as
far as the Democrats of Arizona III
demanding Zee trade In trust-madt
articles. The Democrats have nom
mated Ex-Governor Horace Boies as
their candidate for Congress to oppose
Henderson. This probably awakened
Henderson to the seriousness of his
situation. The defeat of the trust
made Speaker for reelection to the
House of Representatives would not
only be degrading to him, but it would