The Minneapolis journal., 1906-08-04
Oyster Bay Meeting De-
cLared for q N0n-Tar.
if Campaign.
On Democratic Lead, Pe0.
pie May Voice Feeling
on Question.
BY w. w. Jermane.

Washington. Aug. 4.-For tho pur-
pose Of clearing the political atmos-
phere, 1t will be well to say two or
three things straight from the shoul-
der about the oncoming congressional
campaign:
The tariff will not enter into that
campaign, SO far as the republicans are
concerned. That party will stand upon
it's record in the late session of con-
gress and upon the popularity of Presi-
dent Roosevelt. Practically all the tar
if talk Of the campaign will come
from the democrats, who hope to divert
public attention from what the last
congress did.
At the conference at Oyster Bay the
campaign program was worked out in
detail. The president represented SEN
timent favorable to the readiustment
of some of the schedules Of the pres
| sented the "standpat" principle. The
| president asseuted to having the cam
! paign this year made along the lines
above referred to. Farther than this
he did not GO. .-.-------
to at the conference regarding whether
revision should be undertaken in adj
i vance Of the presidential election of
1908 or after it. The future remains
/ a sealed book. Sufficient unto the
! day is the evil thereof said all those
who attended the Oyster Bay confer
i ence. .-- --:
Tariff Revision Depends on November.
This means that tariff revision, or
the attitude of the republican party
toward twill depend entirely upon
what the people do at the polls in No
4 vember. Should the republicans con-
tinue to control the house by com;
i Portable margin-and margin would
q be thus comfortable :" which was con-
siderably narrower than that existing
in the house at present-there will be
no revision until after 1908. On the
other hand, should the republicans win
by a slender majority, the democrats
having made the tariff their sole issue.
issue so far as possible, revision will
) be forced t o the forefront, ), and the
president may call special session of
congress next March to take it up.
Both the president and the standpas:
= leaders agree that there was enough
OF proper performance in the recent
}. session of congress to justify the be-
:; lief that the republicans will control
the next house, and, therefore, neither
!. side is fearful of a democratic victory.
7 Whether revision at the hands of the
, republicans will come in 1907 or in
: upon what happens in November.
\ III POSITION OF the President.
That is the tariff situation in nut
shell, as Washington understands it,
! The president had hoped to accomplish
1 revision during his administration. It
is the one remaining big issue he has
(which he got for the rate bill, for meat
inspection and for various other meas
ures last winter and spring, he has
agreed not to force the issue, unless the
people themselves, at the polls, indi-
cate that what was done last session,
while important, Is not enough.
1t is not my intention to suggest that
there has been any q deal'' between The
president and the standpat leaders. The
president has made no such adeal. d
and the standpat leaders have known
q better than to ask him to make it
o What they did, however, was to appeal
I, to his ssymLathies and then to his duty
9 to the practically unanimous way IL
9 which all republicans in congress came
: to the president g support last session
: and then they gave him the benefit OF
;, the standpat argument in full form
IL winding up with the conclusion that 4
) J the tariff into a campaign which fur
s nished so many other legitimate issues
AS the chief of his party, they toli
,, the president that he ought to reserv.
y the tariff issue until some later time
/ when issues might not be so plentiful
: as they are this year.
RI The presidents reply to this state
l. ment, it is understood here, was tha'
8 he would yield so far as to wait unit
. the election this year was over, reserv
'e ing the right to take such action re
n garding the tariff in his December mes
: sage as the results Of the election nigh.
10 dictate. ,-...
He made no promise that he wouIt
not make the tariff an issue during hi
administration.