Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1907-05-16

40 the Republican Solomons who
are running the Washington
administration are cooking up
another juggle with Germany
on the tariff question, and France is
kicking on account Of it. She is in
sisting on "the most favored nation
clause" in the Franco-American treaty
being carried out in good. faith. The
Republican bigwigs had to knock I'M
der to Germany, though they are try
ing to cover up their retreat with IL
sleight of hand performance, hoping
thereby to hide their real backdown
from the people, just as the ostrich
pokes his head into the sand and
thinks, poor silly bird, that nobody can
see the rest of his anatomy. Not long
since that double back acting simon
pure stand patter, Hon. James r. Nc
Cleary of Minnesota, then a represent
ative in congress, now assistant post
master general, demonstrated to his
own satisfaction that Germany would
have to yield to u desires or we
would starve her out! That was a
beautiful theory, but somehow or
somehow else Germany didn't yield
and didn't starve. On the contrary,
we had to do the yielding. That Nc
Cleary prophecy was like Beveridge's
book proving that Russia was fixing to
gobble all of Asia, winding up with
India, but before the ink was dry on
his pages Japan licked Russia clear
out Of her boots. All there is to this
new arrangement with Germany is
that we, to prevent Germany from
putting her maximum tariff into effect
against us, permit her to put such a
low value on her goods-not the price
at which they are sold, but on which
the tariff is charged-as to amount to
a lower tariff than other nations pay
on the same class of goods coming in
to this country, which as certain as
fate will involve us in all sorts of trou-
BILE, perhaps war, with other nations.
Lovely craftsmanship, isn't it? Ger
many ought to be treated fairly-so
ought every other country-no more,
no less. This government in it's for
eign policy ought to return at once to
the Je%ffersonian principle, peace, com
merce and honest friendship with all
nations, entangling alliances with
none" The sooner that is done the
better for US and for all concerned.
AS to this muddle with Germany,
here is the situation: Our blessed Ding
ley tariff law shut out German prod
ucts to a large extent, and Germany
concluding that that was a game at
which two could play, got up a law
which would shut about 5000, DOC, O0C
annually of u products out Of Ger
many. Tit for tat; that's all. She
shook that retaliatory law in the faces
of the Washington powers that be till
they were scared by the farmers and
patched up a truce with Germany. So
McCleary's beautiful theory of starv-
ing the Germans into submission is
'ausgespielt."
Why would not McCleary's theory
work? Simply because most products
which Germany buys from us are ag-
ricultural products, and the Germans
had sense enough to know what our
American stand patters did not have
sense enough to know-that if they
could not swap German manufactures
for u agricultural products they
could swap them for South American
agricultural products and leave ours
to rot on our hands.
If our stand patters could get some
German brains into their heads, the
aforesaid stand patters would be great:
ly improved.