The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-09-26
JUDGE PARKER'S LETTER PROPOUNDS
 UNDYING PRINCIPLES OF DEMOCRACY

| trade. g. The period of exclu-
 siveness q ast. The expansion of our
 trade ar commerce. is the pressing problep : Commercial wars are un-
 profita'S A policy of good will and frienS relations will prevent repri-
 sals. eciprocity treaties are in har- mony with the spirit of the times: l 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 kets requires our urgent and imme- | diate attention" He had come to re- alize that the so-called stand pat policy must give way-that there must be a reduction of duties to enable our manufacturers to cultivate foreign markets. The last words of this Pres ident-who had won the affection of his countrymen-ought to be studied by every man who has any doubt of the necessity of a reduction in tariff rates in the interest of the manufacturer. They present with clearness a situation and a proposed remedy that prompted the provision in our platform which declares that. We favor liberal trade arrange ments with Canada and with peoples of other countries where they can be entered W1tn penent to AmeTlCan a&Tl- culture, manufactures. mining or com merce."
 The persistent refusal of the Repub- lican majority in the Federal Senate to ratify the reciprocity treaties ne- gotiate in pursuance of the policy ad. vocated alike by MT. Blaine and Mir. Mckinley, and expressly sanctioned in the Dingley act itself, is a discourag- ing exhibition of bad faith. As already mentioned by me, the exorbitant duty imposed on many an imported article by the Dingley Tariff was avowedly intended by its author not to be per. manent, but to serve temporarily as a | maximum. from which the Federal Government was empowered to offer reduction, in return for an equiva- lent concession on the part. of for eign country. President Mckinley un- dertook honestly to carry out the pur- pose of the act. A number of recipro- city agreements were negotiated, which. If ratified, would have had the two-fold result of cheapening many | imported products for American con | sumers. and of opening and enlarging foreign markets to American produc- CTS. Not one of those agreements has l met with the approval of the Republi- can masters of the Senate. Indeed | they did not even permit their consid- eration In view of the attitude of the present Executive, no new agreement need be expected from him. Nor does | the Republican platform contain a fa- vorable reference to one of the sus- pended treaties. The reciprocity clause of the Dingley act seem destined to re- main a monument of legislative cozen- age and political bad faith, unless the people take the matter in their own o,Ia LA h.Ia k | a reduction of duties in return for re- ciprocal concessions.
 Independence for the Filipinos. In some quarters it has been as- | stunned that in the discussion of the Philippine question in my response, 1 the phrase 'self-Rovernment," was in- | tended to mean something less than | independence. It was not intended 1 that 1t should be understood to mean, | nor do I think as used 1t does mean less than independence. However to eliminate all possibility for conjecture. I now state that am in hearty accord
 with that plank in our platform that
 favors doing for the Filipinos what
 we have already done for the Cubans;
 and I favor making the promise to
 them now that we shall take such ao- | ton as soon as they are reasonably prepared for 1t. If independence, such | as the Cubans enjoy. cannot be pru-
 dently granted to the Filipinos at this | time. the promise that 1t shall come | the moment they are capable of receivs
 ing 1t will tend to stimulate rather than hinder their deveiopment. And
 this should be done not only ip jus | tice to the Filipinos, but to preserve
 our own rights; for a free people can | not withhold freedom from another | people and themselves remain free.
 The to1eration of tyranny over others
 will soon breed contempt for freedom | and self government, and weaken our | power of resistance to insidious usur-
 patton of our constitutional rights.
 American Citizenship.
 The pledge of the platform to secure | to our citizens. without distinction of | race or creed, whether native born or | naturalized, at home and abroad, the
 equal protection of the laws and the
 enjoyment of all the rights and privi-
 leges open to them under the cove
 nants of our treaties, as their just due. | should be made good to them. In the | accomplishment of that result 1t is es-
 sential that a passport issued by this
 government of the United States to
 an American citizen shall be accepted the world over as proof of citizenship.
 Civil Service.
 The statute relating to Civil Service | Is the outcome of the efforts of
 thoughtful, unselfsh and public spir- tied citizens. Operation under 1t has frequently been of such a character as
 to offend against the spirit of the stat ute, but the results achieved. even un- der a partial enforcement of the law. have been such as to both deserve and
 command the utterance of the Demo- cratic party that 1t stands committed
 to the principle of Civil Service reform
 and demands It's just and impartial en-
 forcement.
 Reclamation of Arid Lands.
 A vast expanse of country in the | West, portions of which are to be found
 In each of the sixteen States and Terri
 tories, mentioned in the law. is directly | affected by the national statute-the
 outcome of intelligent and persistent | efforts of leading citizens, providing
 for the reclamation of the arid lands
 for the benefit of home me-seekers. Dur
 Ing the years of the development of the
 measure which finally received the vote | of every member of the upper houee l of Congress 1t encountered opposition,
 based to a large extent upon the view 1 that the aim of it's promoters was to
 secure the benefits of irrigation to pri- vate owners at government expense. | The aim of the statute Is, however, to
 enable this vast territory to recla Inn
 it's arid lands without calling upon the | taxnayers of the country at large to
 pay for it. Whether the purposes of the bill will be fully accomplished must
 depend in large measure upon the abil ity sobriety of judgment, independence ' { hf of nf