The Jackson herald., 1906-10-18
BRYAN ON ISSUES.
TRYING TO FIND SOMETHING
SAFER THAN THE TARIFF.
Would Be Glad to Use War on Wealth
and Government Ownership Of
Railroads as Substitutes for
the Always Dangerous Ad.
vocacy Of Free
Trade.

OF August ~ was devoted to the tar
iff. The other eleven-twelfths were
taken up with the effort to frame is
sues that may override the tariff
issue In the campaign of 1908. With
the tariff as paramount issue, the
Democrats have not Jared well in
presidential elections. They would
greatly prefer some other issue. Mr.
Bryan has been trying to find ono.
In his search he has uncovered some
rather dizzy substitutes for the tar.
in as an issue. War on predatory
wealth" and death to plutocracy" is
one of them. Railroad rate regula.
tion through United States govern.
ment ownership of other than trunk
lines is another Issue which Mr..
Bryan hopes may obscure the tariff
issue. Roth propositions are sufli-
Ciently radical to divert attention
somewhat from the Democratic par.
tvs hopclessly bad tariff record. pro
vided the party can be induced to
stand for so radical a departure in
the direction of socialism and cen
tralization. But there are unmis.
among the predatory plutocrats and
the southern Democrats. Already Mr..
Bryan pGrCeives his blunder. and is
Fastening to give assurance that these
revolutionary ideas are his own mere
ly. ana not intended for incorporation
in the national platform.
So, in time, Mr.. Bryan will be com
PEELED to get back to the tariff There
will be little else left to talk about.
for the Republican party has shown
that railroad rates can be regulated
without ConisCatiOn or government
ownership. and that trust evils can
be rcmedied without disturbing pro
lection to American labor and indus
Try. The Democratic nominee for 1908
promises To consider the tariff ques.
ton more at length at an early day
Assuredly he will. Being compelled
to abandon some Of his startling radi-
calisms lest he friChten away the sup
port that was unanimously his prior
to his speech of August so, he will
have no choice but to fall back on
the tariff. Here he will be on ia
miliar ground. Always a free trader,
always an enemy of the policy of pro
lection, and always certain of sym
pathetic hearing on the subject, he
can safely launch his rhetorical thun.
dcrbolts against any tariff designed to
foster domestic industrialism and do
mcstic wage paying. Mr.. Bryan's
line of procedure on the tariff ques-
ton was distinctly marked out when
in his speech at Madison Square gar
den he said:
The tariff question is very closely
allied to the trust question, and the
reduction of the tariff furnishes an
easy means OF limiting the eXtortion
which the trusts can practice. While
absolute free trade would not neccs-
sarily make Il trust impossible, still
it is probable that very few manufaC-
turing establishments would dare to
enter into a trust if the president were
empowered to put upon the free list
articles competing with those con
trolled by trust. While | shall take
occasion at an early day to consider
the tariff question more AT length, |
cannCt permit this opportunity to pass
without expressing the opinion that
the principle embodied in the proteC-
tive tariff has been the fruitful source
of a great deal of political corruption
as we'll as the support of many of our
most iniquitous trusts.
1t is difficult to condemn the man
ufacturcrs for uniting to take advan.
tage of a high tariff schedule when
the schedule is framed on the theory
that the industries need all the pro-
lection given. and it is not likely that
the beneiiCiaries of these schedules
will consent to their reduction so long
as the public waits for the tariff to
be reformed by its friends.
But one of the worst features of a
tariff levied not for revenue, but for
the avowed purpose of protection, is
that it fosters the idea that men
should use their votes to advance their
own financial interests.
The manufacturer has been as
sured that it is legitimate for him
to vote for congressman who, what
ever else their opinions on other sub
jects may be. will legislate larger div
idends into his pockets; sheep grow.
ers have been encouraged to believe
that they should have no higher aim
in voting than to raise the price of
wool and laboring men have been
urged to make their wages their only
concern. For a generation the fat
has been fried out of the manufac-
turers by the Republican campaign
committee, and then the manufac-
turers have been reimbursed by leg
islation.
with the public conscience edu-
Gated to believe that this open pur-
chase of legislation was entirely prop
Cr, no wonder that insurance com.
panios have used the money of their
policy holders to carry elections-no
wonder that trusts have FASTENED to
purchase immunity from punishment
with liberal donations. How can we
draw a moral distinction hptEaan tho