Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1904-09-26
Judge Parker's Letter
Accepting the Nomination

i Improbable. A policy Of good Will
and friendly relations will prevent re-
prisals. Reciprocity treaties are In
harmony with The spirit OF the times;
measures OF retaliation are not
This argument was made In the In
terest Of our manufacturers, whose
products, he urged, have so multi
Piled that the problem OF more mar
I kets requires our urgent and imme'
diate attention. He Ind come 10 re.
alize that the so.called "stand.pat"
policy must give way--that there
must be a reduction Of duties 10 en-.
able our manufacturers to cultivate
foreign markets. The last words Of
this president-who had won the af-
fection Of his countrymen-ought 10
be studied by every man who has any
doubt OF the necessity Of a reduction
In tariff rates In the interest OF the
manufacturers. They present with
clearness a situation and a proposed
remedy that prompted the provision
In our platform which declares that,
we favor liberal trade arrangements
with Canada and with people OF other
countries where they can be entered
into with benefit to American agricul.
ture. manufactures, mining and com
merce."
The persistent refusal of the republi-
car majority In the federal senate to
ratify the reciprocity treaties negoti.
ated in pursuance Of the policy advo-
Gated alike by Mr.. Blaine and Mr.. Nc
kinley, and expressly sanctioned in
the Dingley act, Is a di%scouraging ex-
hibition of bad faith. As already
mentioned by me. the exorbitant duty
imposed on many an imported article
by the Dingley tariff was avowedly in
tended by it's author not TO be per.
manent, but to serve temporarily as
a maximum, from which the federal
government was empowered to offer a
reduction, in return for an equivalent
concession on the part OF a foreign
country. President Mckinley under.
took honestly to carry out the purpose
OF this section OF the act. A number
OF reciprocity agreements were nego-
tiated within the prescribed limitation
OF two years under the general treaty
power, which, II ratified, would have
had the two-fold result Of ch~eapenlng
many imported products for American
consumers. and Of opening and enlarg-
Ing foreign markets to American pro-
ducers. Not n Of these agreements
has met with the approval of the re-
publican masters OF the senate. In
deed, they did not even permit their
consideration. In view of the atti-
tude OF the present executive, no new
agreement under the federal treaty
powers need be expected from him.
Nor does the republican platform con
tain a favorable reference to one Of
the suspended treaties. This section
Of the Dlngley act stands forth as a
monument Of legislative and
political bad faith.
independence for the Fiiipinos.
In some quarters 1t has been assum.
ed that Ia the discussion Of the Phil
ippine question in my response, the
phrase ''self-goyernment,' was in
tended To mean something less than
independence, It was not intended
that It should be understood to mean,
nor do | think as used It does mean
less than independence. However.
to eliminate all possibility for con-
lecture, ! now state that | am In hear.
ty accord with that plank in our plat
form that fayors doing for the Fill.
pinos what we have already done
Tor the Cubans: and | favor making
the promise to them now that we shall
take such action as soon as they are
reasonably prepared for II. II indie
p~endence, such as the Cubans enjoy,
cannot be prudently granted to the
Fflipinos at this time, the promise
that 1t shall come the moment they
are capable of receiving il will tend
to stimulate rather than hinder their
development, And this should be done
not only in justice to the Filipinos,