The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1906-11-01

Mr.. Hanly of Indiana charged me with
dreaming In view of the testimony
of these distinguished Republicans,
may not be able to prove my limo.
cence and assuming that they may be
able to establish a case against me
and convict me of being dreamer,
| have been looking up the subject of
dreams. l find that one poet, james
Whitcomb Riley. says that The
deamer lives forever, while the toiler
dies in day." This would lend a
little encouragement to dreaming, but
it is not always safe to base an argu.
ment on a poem, for poets some
times take license, but surely l am
safe in basing my argument on holy
writ, for the Bible tells us of dream.
ers. The most noted one was Joseph.
His brothers called him dreamer
and they plotted to kill him because
of his dreams. They did go so far as
to sell him into Egypt, but they after.
wards Vent down into Egypt and
bought corn of him.
las have been looking over the
past year, have come to the conclu-
sion that our party ought to be given
credit for a triumph quite like the
triumph of Joseph. will not take to
myself the credit of doing all the
dreaming, for have invented nothing
in the way of political principles.
have simply advocated those princi.
pies which l believed to be right but
our party for years has had vision
of reform. 1t has dreamed of better
methods of government. better poll
cies and better conditions, and now
Its dreams are beginning to be real
lied. Fourteen years ago, and more,
the party dreamed of an improvement
for the election of senators and it
embodied that dream in a resolution
submitting to the people an amend.
ment providing for the election of
United States senators by direct vote.
This dream was endorsed by Dem
ocratic congress, and the next con-
gress, also Democratic. endorsed it.
Then we had two Republican congress.
es that did not dream, and they adj
journed without adopting the resolu,
ton. Then we had third Republic
an congress and it was SO calloused
by public opinion that it had to admit
the truth of the dreamers dream and
following the Democratic example
long way off it finally endorsed the
election of senators by the people
Now, some two-thirds of the
states of the Union declare that
the Democratic dreams ought to be
realized, and Governor Cummins is
one of the loudest in endorsing the
dream that the Democrats had so
many years ago. But should the gov
ernor be given more credit for seeing
the dream now than the Democrats
deserve. who saw it earlier?
Tariff Reform.
Years ago the Democrats dreamed
of tariff reform. They saw the class
es taxed for the benefit of the few.
and in their vision they pictured a
peoples living according to Gods law.
which adjusts the reward to the intel
ligent laborer. They proposed TO
lican party had inaugurated, and un.
der which the people have been so
heavily taxed, that those have grown
richest who labored least and those
have accumulated least who labored
most. Can anyone wonder why the
Democrats have held tenaciously to
this vision through victory and
through defeat? From time to time,
Republicans have gotten glimpse Of
this vision and tariff reforms have
arisen from time to time. Governor
Cummins is among the recruits who
| have come with hating step and at a
limping pace to admit the necessity
/ for reform in the tariff. If advocat-
ing thorough going reform. he could
not claim superiority to our candidate.
Mr. Porter, who has for many years
advocated tariff reform, but the gov
ernor is not only slow in advocating
the tariff reform, but he even now ad.
vocates it under conditions which
make reform impossible. Even when
he had control of the state convention
and could have secured any platform
that he wanted he consented to a
platform which began by declaring
uncompromsingly for protection and
against revenue tariff. There is not
word in his platform that would
offend the men who have grown rich
levying taxes upon the classes. Fol-
the Strengthening of Governor Cum
Minis platform, he says the tariff
should be revised by its friends. but
that is fraudulent pretense that has
/, been used for half century to de
ceive people Mr.. Cummins is too in
telligent a man to believe that the
beneiciaries of high tariff will ever
reform it. He stands almost alone
among Republican leaders as advo
eating it. and his advocacy of it is
coupled with conditions that deny tt
the public the realization of the
action which his words are intended
to inspire. Among the rank and fil'
of Republicans there are many tariff