Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1905-11-23
PARTIES AND The TARIFF.
Revision Will Gene Whether tie
Republicans Consent to It
OF Not.

It sometimes occurs to a republican
paper. on looking over the field and not
Ing the widely prevalent discomfort of
republicans with the gross inequity of
tariff schedules and their rank favorit-
ism toward special interests, to admon.
ish the leaders of its party that if repub-
licans do not revise the tariff democrats
will attend to that work by and by, says
the Washington Post. The Brooklyn
Times performed that duty, not long
ago, but did not do it skillfully, for it
ignored a highly important feature OF
the situation. to-wit, the fact that the
house of representatives is not the
whole of the congress, and is manifestly
incapable of doing any legislative work
without the concurrence of the senate.
The Times said:
ut would be the part of prudence to
readjust the tariff, so as to remove all
just cause of complaint, while the
friends of protection retain control, in
stead of taking any chances on what the
future may bring forth. The election of
a democratic majority to congress next
year is not so far removed from the lin
its of probability that the republicans
in the present congress can afford to ig-
more it."
The election Of a democratic house in
1906 would not be surprising. That
party has suffered six successive defeats
in congressional eleations since 1892,
and it would seem to be quite time for it
to wake up and do something if it is not
content with its chronic impotency. 1t
is much easier for a party that is rent
with a feud on national issues to win a
victory in an off year congressional cleo
ton than in a presidential campaign. If
there is anything in the so-called law of
averages, why may not the democrats,
by reasonable exertion, gain a victory in
1906? hut if they should be triumphant
then, and if they should repeat their vic
tory in 1908, carrying the house with the
presidency, the senate will still be re-
publican. Judge Parker stated repeat
eddy in his Inflated canvass that the
political complexion of the senate could
not be changed before the end of the
presidential term for which he was the
democratic candidate. The American
Economist, special organ of thu leagued
standpatters, takes up the warning OF
the Brooklyn Times for a %reproving re-
ply. which it ends with the remark that
the party of protection has for nearly SO
years taken chances on the future, anG
only twice in that period of time has,
been defeated at the polls. 1t would
seem to be a good chance to take to let
the tariff alone"
1t is true that the democratic party
lost control of legislation in 1858; that
the last %ante-bellum democratic house
came in with Buchanan, in 1856; but il.
is not true that the republican party has
been defeated, SO far as relates to the
house Of representatives, only twice
since that far-off time. But the stand
patters' organ is too generous to the
opposition if it uses the phrase defeated
at the polls" as implying that twice
since 1856 the party of protection has
been completely ousted, unable either to
dictate or prevent the passage of a bill.
The democrats achieved an immense
in the election of the Forty
fourth congress, in 1874, in the middle of
President Grants second term. The
election of 1875 was a democratic VIC
tOrv all around hllt tho defeated nroc;
dental candidate was inaugurated, and
two years sent a long list of vetos to
democratic congress. The fact that
Samuel ]. Randall, John G.. Carlisle, Nil
chael G. Kerr and Charles F. Crisp we're
democratic speakers of the house shows
that the republicans were repeatedly de-
Still, there has been but one
congress since the middle of the
Buchanan administration during which
he democrats have had full legislative
power; and, if we may judge the future
by Patrick Henry's lamp, the prospect
of a democratic revision of the tariff is |
not imminent. But, nevertheless, tariff
will come. The republican par
ty will not be likely to permit itself to
be disrupted by the conflict over this
question. Internal forces will compel
revision of schedules which nc senator
u representative ventures to defend,
and which the best republican author
ties have denounced as utterly inde-
fensible..