The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1904-05-24
Tuesday, May a., 1904.
THE TARIFF AT CHICAGO.

OnQeE the aDONe ACduliAAC A
Washington Star OF last Thursday pub
lished it's leading editorial. which we
give in full below. When it is taken
into consideration tina The star Is
not only a stauach republican paper,
but enjoys the reputation Of being the
organ of the administration and the
especial mouthpiece of Mr. Roosevelt,
its utterances on this subject VIII be
considered very significant. And when
this editorial is read in connection
with the extract in this article, which
we take from The Washington Post Of
Friday, an Independent paper, which
views all political situations from a
non-partisan standpoint, the utter
ances of The Star become the more
significant.
The Star never would have publish
ed such an editorial did it not kno
that it would meet the approval OF
Mr.. Roosevelt. We may TAX 1t, then,
that the republican candidate for pres
ident has decided to abandon the idea
of unqualified support of the Dingley
bill n of the Hanna stand pat"
manifesto. He has decided to return
to the principles laid down by Mr..
Mckinley in his Buffalo speech. The
stand pat" theory was good enough
for the republicans so long as they
could fool the people into believing
that 1t was for their best interests; but
tbs party dissentions in the northwest
have taught them a lesson; it has
brought them to a realization Of the
fact that the people of thai section
were no longer to be held in line on
the high protective tariff platform of
the party; that there is a demand
for free trade, for tariff for revenue
only, nor for a general revision of the
present tariff laws, but for a reduction
of some of the tariff schedules whose
present high rates of duty work great
hardship to the people.
UP to a very recent date no one
connected with the management of
a moment to a suggestion that there
should be the slightest change in the
provisions of the Dingley bill.
Now, since the split in the republi-
can party in Wisconsin and n hitch
in the Illinois convention, We have
the organ of the administration declar-
ing that the party's national conven-
tion must do something with the tariff.
In addition to the unpleasant status
OF affairs in the republican ranks in
the states of Illinois and Wisconsin
there is an uneasy feeling among ad-
ADMINISTRATION republicans over the state
OF feeling in Ohio and Iowa. The
republican state conventions in these
two states rode rough-shod yer those
members of their party who advocate
the Iowa idea" 1t is plain hat the
administration now thinks this was a
mistake, and that some concessions,
or, at least, some promises, should
have been made to them Therefore,
they are now trying to take the back
track for the purpose of eoncf1iating
this element in the party. They find
the disaffection is more widespread
and more deep-rooted than was sup
posed. They find it necessary to do
something to conciliate this element
in the party to prevent these states
from casting their electoral votes for
the democratic nominee for president.
The editorial of the administration
organ repudiating the Hanna stand
pat" idea is as follows:
Nevertheless and notwithstanding,
as Mr.. Vest would say. there will be
a tariff question for the Chicago con-
vention TO consider. The republican
campaign cannot be made or a COLO
Quialism, and that borrowed from the
card table. Standing pat is all very
we'll, but going broke in a spirit of
bravado is all very bitter. We should
not only be reasonably certain of the