Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1906-09-12
HAS MUCH MEANING
PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF
THE TERM STAND PAT"
It Meant Great Deal More When
Hanna Injected u Into Politics
and II Meanc More as the
Years Roll BY.

patt' This is the question PROFOUND
ed in a double-leaded and rather nerv-
GUS editorial by the New York Mail
OF July %. 1t is easily answered. TO
stand-pat means now precisely what
it meant when that non.political eu-
phemism was projected into politics
by Mark Hanna five or six years ago
Mr.. Hanna saw country on the top
wave of sea OF unparalleled prosper
fly. "Stand-pat," said he.
He saw domestic production in
creasing at a tremendous rate To- meet
domestic demand "Stand-pat,"
He saw domestic labor fully en-
ployed. at increasing high wages
"Stand-pat,"
He saw savings bank deposits in
creasing at the rate OF half a billion
dollars year. "Stand-pat!"
He saw railroads carrying more
freight and passengers and building
more miles of new road than ever be-
fore. 'Stand-pat,"
He saw 100000 farmers with
paid-off mortgages of the tariff revis-
ion period of 1S93-97 and buying pia-
nos and automobiles. "Stand-pat,"
He saw an internal trade amounting
to twenty billions year and growing
very fast. "Stand-pat,"
He saw a foreign trade pass the
two-billion mark and growing at the
rate of $200,000,O0O year. cit is now
over three billions) "Stand-pat!"
He saw the outside world taking
more and more of our agricultural
and manufactured exports. Stand
pat!"
He saw big increase in our i'm
ports alike of non-dutiable articles
for use in manufacture and of dutia-
Die goods of the competitive sort
"Stand-pat!"
lie saw that the duties collected on
imports were yielding ample revenues
for the governments increasing re-
quirements. "Stand-pat,"
He saw the excess of exports over
imports bringing to us annual trade
balances averaging more than half
billion dollars. Standpat!"
He saw in consequence a vast in
years has added 100000. 600 to our
supply OF yellow metal. "Stand-pat,"
lie saw American securities held
abroad sent back to aid in settling our
favorable balances of trade, and the
amount of American money sent
abroad to pay interest and dividends
on foreign capital invested in this
country reduced to less than half
what it was ten years ago in a tariff
revision period. "Stand-pat!"
He saw the United States paying off
its debts to foreigners and rapidly be
coming the money center, as it has be-
come the industrial center OF the
world. Stand-pat."
He saw. in short, the most extraor-
binary prosperity. the highest rate
OF wages, the highest standard of liv-
:ug that the world has ever known.
So he said. "Stand-pat."
What Mark Hanna saw five wears
ago is to be seen to-day on a much
bigger scale. If he were living to-dav
he would again say, "Stand-pat."
He did not say nor does anybody
now say as the Mail seems to think
'h"I ploCtCIlOH is Il nOOp OF iron, an
infiexible, memorable thing that will
never permit of the change of a single
tariff schedule. The Mail ought to
know better. That is not the s;and-pat
attitude. That is not what stand-pat
means. To suppose it is to suppose a
silly thing. Free traders and chronic
tariff refOrmers ought to be given a
monopoly of that kind of supposing
This is a standpat year. So will
next year be. and the year after that
and many years after that, we should
all hope. When a different condition
comes. and when revision of the tariff
Is called for 10 promote the general
good-when a decrease of some Of
the schedules and an increase Of some
OF the schedules shall obviously work
TO the advantage Of the country as
wholc-then tariff revision should
come and will come.
Should it come any sooner than
that? The best craftsmanship Of the
country says no. The business inter.
ests Of the country say no. The wage
earDcrs Of the country say no
That is what it means to stand.pat