The Democratic advocate., 1908-09-11
SHEPARD OUT FOR BRYAN.
Bases His Stand Upon the Tariff and
~ROoseyelt Policies"

Roosevelt Policies"
Edwin Al. Shepard, of New York, a
prominent Gold Democrat, announces
that he will support William ).
Bryan in his campaign. for the presi-
dency. He says in part:
The issues being at the last fully made
up, 1 am unable to see that Americans
(of whom 1 count myself one) VINO
cherish the traditional and benehcent
Democracy which was signally repre-
sented by Mr.. Cleveland, can rlgntly
do otherwise than support MT. Bryan:
Considering the protective tarlH
with it's corrupting preferences and
socialistic character and its inevitable
and enormous results in monopoly and
governmental extravaganza and IN
quity, it passes my comprehension
how any American who once read and
believed what Thomas F. Bayard, In
his noble speech dozen years ago
at Edinburgh. said of the modern tar
iff and it's debasement of American
public life. can think it light thing
to entrust political power to Presi-
dent and party who promise-and who
promise-to continue the protective
tariff and probably to raise some of
its rates already scandalously high.
Indeed the Republican programme on
this cardinal article of it's faith is in
1908 worse than it mas ever been.
Faced with financial depression and
popular feeling which endanger the
tariff, not only do the Republicans
,v-yI f,,11 RI
but they give US fair warning that
some duties (and this. of course,
means many duties) are to be raised.
And for the first time in our political
history a truly sinister programme is
set forth. The government, if Mr..
Taft be elected, is expressly to as
sumo, as a duty, the guarantee of 'rea-
sonable profits to the small number
of chief and already opulent beneh-
ciaries of the protective tarin. AS
schedules are made up by Senate II
nance and House ways and means
committees, this means profits Wn1cn
those benefciaries deem reasonable.
That is to say, the United States, at
the expense of all it's people, most OF
them poor men. is to continue the
present profits to the Steel Trust and
the other great beneficiaries of the
tariff; and, if the future is to be infer
red from the past, the effort, in case
of Mr. Tafts election, will be to in
crease the profits.
The second policy which Mr.. Taft
avows with honorable frankness is
called the "Imperialistic" programme.
1t means the perversion of the Ameri-
can government from its true and ira
ditional ideal of democratic and equal
rights kere and abroad to the ideal
of military and naval power abroad,
of rulership of other and weaker
countries, and peoples against their
will and of that sort of over-lordship
and insolent discrimination of the
weaker from the stronger which, from
the American White House, found so
preposterous an illustration in the
Presidents dismissal of the two color
ed companies at Brownsville.
Is there, then, for us anything more
important today than the promotion
or defeat of policies to which l have
referred? Of what difference is it
whether we approve or condemn les
ser items of Mr. Bryan's programme?
What If we dislike the proposal to is
sue Federal licenses to corporations?
Is not Mr.. Taft committed to this, and
more? What if we consider of little
moment the proposal physically to
value railroad properties? What If
we think that to be a detail more apt
to obscure than to prevent the true
and dynamic treatment of transporta-
ton problems in our country? Is not
Mr.. Taft committed to that, end more?
What If we think the problems of
can find no solution, even
partial, in some of the devices approv-
ed by Mr.. Bryan? Which. indeed, of
these devices does Mr.. TAFT or his
party condemn? Which of them. in
deed, does not have the highest Repub-
lican approval?