The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1908-10-22

ttAAANANN' NIf"h 'tAl lNtNN NAlNlfl Nlti
prcteXt OF protecting our commerce.
while We practically have no com.
merce OF our own to protect. We seem
to have copied our maritime policy
from the frog that according to the
proyerb. without shir, clamorcd for
drawers or as the German, say. I'm
whilst anden Katzen fangeu und
kannst dir selbst kieup maus fangcn ="
There was never a time Ca our his.
tory when our prospect of CONNER.
cial marine adapted TO our resources
was so bad as it is today. why is
this? It was not always thus So
recently as 1861 and before We began
Systematically to pluudot the people
Of our country under the wotcNi of
protecting them hut actually to en-.
rich privileged class. We owned
about one.third of the entire tonnage
Of the world rs early as l>5G the
total value OF our imports and cN.
ports carried in American vessels cN-
cecdod four hundred aui eighty mill
liens. while the amouu, carried In
torcieu vessels was loss tlan one
hundred and sixty millions
The tariff alone can explain the
shameful fact that We have NOT at
This time a larger commercial marine
than amy other nation BOO tbe world.
Two candidates for rHr presidency
have received tthe nominations OF
the democratic and republican parties
respectively one or thr other of
which is likely to be chosen. have
never enjoyed the acquaintance of
either Mr. Taft. the candidate whom
President Roosevelt has imposed up
on the republican party is personally
am told. a very worthy and cngag.
ing person. He is "a graduate of Yale
college. whatever that may be- worth:
he has been "a judge OF a high court
of judiC?turc In Ohio whatever that
may be worth: he has been the nom
inal though only the nominal. chief
OF the War department at Washing.
ton for the last -four years. and as
such charged with the direction Of
the work on the Panama Canal
where he has spent some fifty mill
lions more than his own engineers
estimated for the total cost OF the
canal. and has left the work in a
condition which threatens to cost
nearly or twice as much again TO
complete.
mean no disrespect to Mr. Taft in
expressing the opinion that he would
probably never have been thought oi
as candidate for the presidency
but for his equipment with some
qualities which were never the outfit
of any distinguished statesman lie
can hardly be said to have been nom
mated by the people of the United
states, or even the republican party.
He Is besides. one of "A class Of be-
nightcd public men who believe that
our prosperity as % nation has been
due to nothing so much. as Gf net en-
tirolD to our tariff on imports. lie
proposes If elected to call an extra
session OF congress and ask for the
appointment of u committee to revise
it, assuming as ne says he does that
are not high enough. lie naturally
thinks that the revision should be con
Quoted by the friends of the tariff;
and as each one of the six or eight
successive alterations of the tariff
that have been made by tie rcpubli-
can party since it's birth has been an
increase on the old one, no one is
either fearful or hopeful of any sub
stantial reduction. while those who
know how republican tariffs have
been made and revised will expect
nothing less than the recommends
tion of farther increase. How he eN-
poets it to be revised may be inferred
from his recent declaration that
among the tariff schedules that are
too low was that upon pottery, though
ii is and has been Tod years notori-
ously twice the cost of production,
Taking pottery for their standard Mr.
Taft's reyisers Will be pretty nearly
stone blind TO any articles on their
list that will not require raising
AS Mr.. Roosevelt has done nothing
for the tariff reform though some
twenty years ago treasurer Of the
New York Free Trade Cub-it is oI
course idle 10 expect any emancipa
tion of our commerce at the hands o
his locum tencns, who is pledged Il
the perpetuation and PRONUNCIATION o
all his policies.
Mr. RrNau WAS NOT originally mA