Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1905-12-29

ployed would pay a hundred times over
the $20,000000 that the title to the Philip.
pines cost the United States and whose
wage earners outnumber the entire pop
ulation of the Philippines-take distinct
ly contrary view. They have looked into
the matter at least as carefully as did
the junketing excursionists of the Taft
club. They have much more at stake
than had the members of that pleasure
seeking company, and their investigation
of conditions and probabilities may fairly
be supposed to be no less thorough and
their conclusions no less accurate. Their
belief Is that the removal of the tariff
from all the products of the Philippine
Islands will arrest the development and
likely result in the determination of the
agricultural industries named
AS matter of consistency and good
faith the American Economist must stand
with the American and against the Taft
fino policy. 1t cannot be called the
Roosevelt policy. 1t is Taftifno pure and
simple. All the knowledge and the in
SEPARATION underlying the presidents Taft
limo divagation may be traced directly
to the war department. The official re.
ports bearing upon the subject have been
written with Taftifino pens. The excur-
sionists. for the most part invited by
the secretary Of war to join him in
tour of inspection, saw facts and condi-
tons through Taftifino spectacles. Some
of them, however, saw with American
eyes, and their judgment is that the
highly paid labor Of the United States
cannot in justice or fairness be sacrificed
to the cheap cody labor of the Philip
pines. For example, Lafayette Young,
editor and proprietor Of the Des Moines
Capital, one of the great Republican
newspapers of Iowa, declined to permit
his vision to become perverted by Taft
opticitis. He saw things straight and
square through sure enough American
eyes. Upon his return from the Philip
pine tour Mr.. Young wrote and printed in
the Capital a significant series of sup.
positions as to what President Roosevelt
might say in his forthcoming message to
congress. Among other things which he
hoped would not come about through the
presidents departure from safe and
sound protectionism, Mr.. Young specified:
And suppose sugar from the Philippine
Islands should be put on the free list. the
labor in producing such sugar being fur
nished by Chinese. as advocated by a
great many people,"
In summing up the consequences GER
tain to attend the surrender of settled
principles and policies the Capital con-
cludes with this sententious saying:
eff the president should take such ac-
ton the men who forced him to do it or
whose agitation resulted in his doing it
would be praying for the rocks and
mountains to fall upon them inside of
sixty days.
Well. the president has taken such ac-
ton as regards cheap Chinese labor COM
petition, forced thereto. as we firmly be-
lieve, by the Taftifino element. We be-
lieve, moreover, with the Capital that the
policy is a mistaken one and that If it
shall be approved by congress to the eX-
tent of inaugurating free trade with the
Philippines it will bring disaster to
American industry, to American labor, to
American homes, to American prosper