Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-05-19
THIEF PANAMA PURCHASE
A Seven Days Wonder in
Political Circles.
ITS POLITICAL EFFECT
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY WILL
BE REINFORCED.
The Presidents Friends Are Not Per-
turbed by Clamor That It is
Step Toward Free Trade.

The Panama purchase proposition contin-
ues to be seven days wonder in politics
and President Roosevelt gets a front page
display in the N wspapers every day. In
terest In the s!tGa ion Is growing as the full
significance OF the commissioners action be-
comes more apparent. Nothing else is talk
ed about wherever politicians gather and
even the man on the street is beginning to
sit up and take notice OF things.
Opinions to the political effect of the
new deal differ. How will it affect the re-
publican party. as an organizaton?" is one
of the questions frequently discussed by the
gossipers. There will be almost as many
different answers as there men in the
group The democrats will jublantly cry:
our old republican party is surely bust
ed now. wide open. You will see Roosevelt
leading the tariff revision hosts composed of
republicans as well as democrats
The stand patterS will admit that things
look pretty dark for the policy of high pro-
tective tariff. but they do not admit that all
is yet lost. They shudder TO contemplate
the suggestion that any one will leave the
republican party and they are hopeful of be-
ing able still to dominate the councils of
their party.
Republican Party Will Be Reinforced.
There will be others who will advance still
another suggestion namely, that the re-
publican party will be reinforced rather
than depleted by this latest move of the ad-
mlnistration. Their reasoning runs some
thing like this:
Ihat the administration will advance the
oHclal standard of the party. and invite all
citizens to rally around it. If the admjnjS
tration is able to whip out the stand patters
ana control the organization. The theory is
that tAe impression has been growing too
strong OF late that the republican party is
the party of monopoly, plutocracy and of
organized wealth; that it is about time for
some one TO take big stick and knock that
p, D. iI..o smlthereens. which they think
fFesident Roosevelt is capable of doing
see. they say, how cheaply he can fx the
ldea among the people that the republican
party Is not the protector of greed The
aet.on IN the canal purchase demonstrates
that the administration stands for economy
ana against monopoly Ii does not cost
huch, In dollars and cents. for the actual
loss TO me American producers will not
be material "
To be sure. the principle is demonstrated
that the present tariff is too high in some
respects and needs revision Well that
ldet prevails rather extensively among re-
pubhcans who have stuck to their organi
zation because their leaders have advised
them Go ahead and revise the tariff: can
not the principle of protection be main
tanned? Can not American labor be pro-
tected with a moderate tariff wall that
sun is not high enough to shelter mo-
nopoly? ~
Suppose it is contended, they say. that
thls Is admission of the democratic charge
that the tariff fosters the trustsp They
answer that the most complete refutation
OF that charge will be the action of the re-
publican party in reducing the tariff be-
cause no longer Will monopoly be encour-
aged.
Not Disturbed by the Clamor.
The Presidents friends are not perturbed
by the clamor that his canal purchase plan
Is step in the direction of free trade.
They retort that If it was necessary for
the President to take such radical action
the nigh tarin men brought it on them
selves by their stubborn resistance to any
kind of tariff reform. They go further
however, and say that this action in the
Panama case ought to be considered on it's
merits irrespective of future tariff ques-
tions,
They claim that it is merely a matter of
administrative eXpediency, in the absence
Of legislative direction. He is not COM
PEELED by law to purchase American goods
Tor the canal construction, and he holds
that he should exercise his discretion In
the absence of a Congress mandate and
buy for the best interests of the govern
ment.
If that action involved political compli-
cations distasteful TO a faction of the
party, he holds that he is not to blame.
Material for Canal Work.
Chairman shonts of the isthmian COM
mission, speaking today of the policy
enunciated with respect TO the purchase of
ships and materials for canal work said
that while the commission would much
prefer 10 ship in American bottoms that
was found to be impossible. as the vessels
wer not to be had here. He said also that
they would prefer to buy American goods
but the laws made II their sworn duty to
purchase materials where they could do
so most advantageously. thus obliging
them to pursue the policy recently an
nOunced.
Congress, he said, had been requested by
Secretary Taft and by the Secretary s
predecessor to direct the action of the
commission in the matter of purchase for
the canal. but had not enacted legislation
therefore the commission had found It
necessary to act.
The commission, he said, would be glad
to ship all supplies and goods for the zone
In American bottoms and would be glad to
purchase all materials in the home mar
kets If Congress should so provide but in
the absence of direction in the matter
nothing was left for the commission to do
but TO pursue Il course in accord with the
duties imposed by the Congress.