The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1906-10-12
CRIMINAL, HIG II RIFF
AND CORPORATION CON
TRIBUTIONS.

Speaking of high tariff, and there is
much discussion of this issue amongst
ali classes of people today, reminds US
of the high-handed proceedings and the
deception practiced ut the time the
Dlngley Tariff Bill was passed. Sena-
tor Rayner sometime ago in discussing
the matter called attention to o. e
special feature of the passage of this
measure, which in substance is as fol
lows:
1t is an inconttslable fact of our po-
htical history That the Diugley tariff
was raised above all prot, clive eQuITe-
ments, So as to pr,vide Il margin for
reciprocity reductions Senator Hale
Of Maine was nWittingly instrumental
in ellcittng Il full disclosure of the facts
Of the case With indiscreet zeal he
undero ok to contradict Il report in Gil
culation that the method 10y which the
tariff was prepared 10y the HonSe Com
mitlee was TO fix Il high protective rate
and then add enough to cover any re-
ductiOn that could be made in the com
mercial treaties authorized and Invited
by Se ton of the bill. Senator Hale
treated this account as an aspersiOn on
Mr. Diugley's character, and he denied
it with much show of virtuous indigna-
ton. But his denial h,,a The effect of
drawing statements from members If
the committee that framed the bill
showing that just that process had teen
followed Sona or Deliver of Iowa
had been "A member Of the committee.
and both from his own knOW ledge and
citations from The record he showed
that the Dlngley rates We're made
higher than they need have been or
would have been Were il not that the
committee ANTICIPATED modification
through reciprocity agreement ; The
idea vas in eff ct Ia introduce the prn-
ciple of maximum and mi imam
schedules, and the matter was thus eX-
planned to the House when The bill was
reported.
There is not in all our history such an
Instance of party perhdy as the benav-
Tor of the Republican party in this mat
ter. Tie national platform Of 1896 de
clared that protection and reciprocity
arr twin measure of Republican policy
and 90 hand in hhud.p They went
hand in hand only for the purpose of
raising tariff rates to an eXcruclating
pitch, and then reciprocity was aban-
douei. Commercial treaties were ne
goliated making no greater tariff re-
durtion4 titan Were expressly allowed
for in The increases Of duty provided by
the Dmgley tariff but the Senate
pIgeou-hulr d them all The net effect
of the reciprocity pretenses of the Re.
publican party has been advances of
tariff rates that the very committee
members who framed them regarded as
unjustifiable on protectioni,ts priuci-
pies. As Senator Rayner points out,
Democratic speakers have here an
opening Tor attack to which no honest
defense is possible heatlitude of the
of sheer etirontery.
Another thing that Senator Rayuer
called attention to, and which is also
receiving its due share of thought, was
the def, at by the Republicans of the
Contribution Bill. As one
paper says:
The defeat Of this bill prohibiting cor
! orations from making caupais N con
is a Republican party respon-
sibility that should be press d home
with the utmost severity A corpora
ton has no right to use its funds for
any purposes save those for which it
was specifically created. The tribute
eXacted from corporations by party
is copious source of evil
in our politics The eradication OF this
abuse is a worthy object of fort by the
Democratic party, and one which VIII
make an effective appeal to the moral
sense of the nation.
Just to think of it, the party Of "God
and morality" failing to heed the de-
nand of the people and put stop to
his gross abuse. Do they want to, as
hey do now in Pennsylvania, make
he country think that such corpora
ions as have swelled their campaign
hests in the past, are necessary to the
peoples interest and that they, as the
aviors of the nation, must take care of
hem and not subject them to legislative
especially when it means
1t rolls and checksP Elect Democrats
D Congress, and if they carry out plat
,rm pledges, they will pass such bill
nd they will have the Senate with
lem, for strange as it may seem the
enate passed the bill aud the House
a. n -