The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1906-07-24


to practice on Il community III Maine
or i'll Ohio.
Secretary Taft has great hopes of
the tariff and talks as though he hopes
the South Will turn Republican for the
protection il gets in the DngIeY bill.
l have been hearing that for thirty
years-that the South would some day
trade its principles for pottaGc. One
difficulty about Mr.. Taft's invitation is
that the pOttaSc is lacking. The chief
Industry of the South is growing cot
ton the price of which is fixed in the
free-tradc marked of LiverpooI-th that
is, the South that sells; but the South
that buys must make its purchases in
the monStrousIy protected American
market. Cotton is on the free list. /
know that raw cotton cannot be ma
teflally protected by a tariff, but Il
duty on cotton would afford that pro
duct more protection than Il duty on
corn would afford that staple. and
there is Il duty on corn. Why2 Be
cause the men who grow corn are
mainly Republicans, while the men
who grow cotton manage to return
Democratic majorities. Cotton ties,
that the cotton grower must buy are
enormously protected. Binding tWine,
that the wheat grower must buy, is
free. The wheat States vote Republic
can; the cotton States vote Democratic
Would it not be we'll enough for Mr..
Taft to overhaul the tariff before he
swaps it for the South's politics?
Mr.. Taft may be the next President,
and whether he is or not. the South
would be nightly pleased to see the
tariff the issue. Whatever one may
think of Mr. William Jennings Bryan s
views on finance, there is no question
that on taxation he is supcrlatiyely
Democratic. in line With-perhaps a
little iii advance of-those who hold
With Morrison. Carlisle, Mills, on that
issue. 1t was i'll tariff discussions that
Mr.. Bryan earned the title of boy
Orator" 1t was fervid Grafton in
behalf of Springer's ''popgun' wool
bill that first introduced Mr.. Bryan to
the nation. No one who was there
Will ever forget how he swept Con-
gress off its feet on that occasion.
Perhaps it Was unfortunate that Mr.
Bryan permitted them to rub out the
word "Only'' in the tariff plank in
1896, out that platform was made for
Senator Teller and his squad.
don't know wherein Bryan and
Roosevelt differ unless it is about the
tariff, though it is possible that il Mr..
Bryan is elected President in 1905 he
Will restore to it's former place in de-
partmental administration the lowest
bid. Mr.. Roosevelt has not entirely
abolished the lowest bid it's true but
he has pretty badly crippled it, and
very greatly discouraged II. lie was
a-chasing of an octopus, too, at that
very identical moment, and had the
thing cOrnercd and its tentacles chop
ped off. There are some things Sol
ONION did not knOW-the way of an
eagle i'll the air. the way of Il serpent
upon rock. the way of q ship in the
midst of the sea, and so on. The
way of the present OCtOpuschaSing
and trust-bUStnG administration with
the armOr plate trust is another thing
passing all understanding.
The Midvale competing company is
doubtless in the humOr to serve notice
on Roosevelt that if he wants another
octopus run to earth he can do it him
self as Sir John FalStaff would put it.