The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-03-20
WEDNESDAY. MARCH 20, 1907
Men, except In novels. are not all
uood or all bad.--Macaulay.
Back to Democracy!

President Woodrow wilson, OIL
Princeton, says that our trouble ut
the present moment is that tariffs
and all special means OF stimu ,hto'l
have been pushed too far anfi too
last to the destruction of balance and
harmony in the social and economic
development of the country; that we
have lost our heads In our pursuit
of wealth and material power; tnas
we have stimulated material progress
in every way that we could think OF, the
chief instrument of stimulation being !
the tariff: that we have by our own
forEetfulness of the true principles
Of legislation created classes and put
colossal interests at clash with one
another; that these changes of our
own blind continuing have carried us
so far that we are actually invited to
alter the whole plan of our constitu- !
tional system to set matters right and
to push government into every expert
mental function In order to correct the
vaga.ies of development which we fos-
tered but did not understand.
AS for the remedies to DE applied,
lively. He does not believe i'll pun
fishing the prosperous men simply for
having accumulated wealth which the
government invited them to accumu-
late; he does not believe in any tax
as a mere means OF penalizing the
rich, whom we have invited to get
their wealth under the fostcrage of
4 r,f tn |, tx,'
says he, sis not in wealth, but the
special favors granted by such lcgis-
& lation as the cXtravagant tariff laws
a which have been put upon out stutute
books since the war began between
the States"
Contrary to the argument: Of protec-
tionists, nc contends that tho genuine
purpose OF reform cannot come from
friends and bencf,ciarics OF the legis-
lation Of fosterage and privileges; 1t
must come from those who are not
" Its friends, but its convinced arl
earnest opponents.
True enough AS well trust a band
OF robbers to revise and reform a law
under which they were permitted to
the prblicass of old should have been
commissioned to reform the tax laws
of Rome.
But Mr.. Wilson holds that the mere
reform of the tariff is not sufficient
st is not even an Intelligent program
'The tariff" says he. us by no mean.
the whole root of the difficulty. ant
Is slow to change, Every correction
must be process OF adjustment o.
& prudent rcurrangement Moreover, w,
must be careful to deal frankly an,
without favor with class privilege o
B all kinds"
He believes also that the labor or
ganl2ations which have formed them
selves into IA class apart from the bod
polite are quite as monopolistic Il
spirit as the capitalists, and quite a
apt to corrupt and ruin our industrie
by their monopoly.
IL we are to restore the purity 0
our law and the freedom of our life,
concludes Mr.. Wilson, 1--WE must Sc
to it--in all moderation and in a
fairness--that no class whatever
given artificial privileges or adva,
), tages, that our life move free agai
3 of fear or favor from whatever qual
ter, for whatever class, What we nee
is not a square deal. but no deal ,
allan old-fashioned equality aud ha
rnony OF conditions purged bus!ne
and purged law
Well said Professor Wilson. b
YOU might have said it All in thr
%rords--pack 10 Democracy, That
the doctrine. Oh for a Samuel j. II.
Gen and a platform like ,nat on wn,
he stood in 1896 There is but o
remedy for all our his. and that
Jeifersonian Democracy. But that
arremedy. and q complete remedy.
tariff, trusts, monopolies, class distii
lions and all the issues that Ina
sprung up under Republican rule.