Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1908-10-19
REPUBLICAN PAPER MAKES
STRANGE MISTAKE.
Editor ROSewafer RapS the Tariff
plank of the Republican Platform,
Under the Impression That the
Words We're From a Speech of
w. J. Bryan.

CHICAGO, Oct. 17.-The Omaha Bee,
published by Victor Rosewater, menu
Der of the republican national COM
mittee, and head of the republican
campaign publicity bureau, has made
the blunder of criticising vigorously
part of the tariff plank of the republi-
can platform, the writer being under
the impression that he was pouring
hot shot into Mr.. Bryan. The demo-
cratic leader, in a recent speech, had
quoted that part of the republican
platform which is criticised.
The editorial in Mr. Rosewater's
paper goes on the theory that this
language was Mr.. Bryan's own, the
writer failing to notice that the Ian.
guage was really part of the platform
on which Mr.. Taft is running.
The consequence of this is that Mr..
Bryan and his friends have on broad
grin and they think that the smiles at
Fairview are likely to spread to all
democrats in the country.
The words complained of in the Bee
editorial were these:
"In all tariff legislation the true
principle is best maintained by the
imposition of such duties as will equal
the difference between the cost of pro-
duction at home and abroad, together
with reasonable profit to American
industries"
The Bee went on to puncture this
language in the following style:
Nothing paettier in the catch-all
line has been offered in this campaign.
The most hide-bound standpatter in
the country can accept that as salts
factory and the rankest free trader
can find delight in it. The declara-
tion means simply nothing. An at
tempt to legislate along that line
would simply open the way to INTERIM
Unable wrangling as to what consti-
tutes "a reasonable profit for hair
splitting on wages on one industry,
price of raw materials in another, re-
bates and drawbacks in third, and
so on through the list of thousands of
articles that are now on the tariff re-
vision, at Bryan's direction, would
serve only to halt industrial and COM
mercial progress and keep business
unsettled during his term of office"
The Omaha World Herald shows
that the words complained of are not
q part of any speech of Mr.. Bryan,
but part of the tariff plank of the
republican platform.
Mr.. Bryan had this to say when the
matter was called to his attention:
81 am very much surprised that Mr..
Rosewater should have attempted to
misrepresent my position. A good
many unfair things have been said,
but nothing more unfair than that
said by MIR. Rosewater. To accuse
me of using the language of the re-
publican platform is an outrage. He
ought to apologize for this injustice and
explain to his readers that the Ian
guage which he criticises was taken
from the republican platform ana not
from any speech of mine.
''This is rich find. 1t shows how
absurd the republican platform looks
to a republican when the republican
has chance to look at it in a disin-
terested way. When Mr.. Rosewater
thought that the language quoted
was taken from speech of mine he
could see how ridiculous the language
was. hope that his opinion of the
language will not change when he was
shooting at his own platform instead
of at me.
"The amusing blunder of the Oma-
ha Bee suggests new diversion for
the campaign. Let the democrats
accuse me of using various sections
from the republican platform and from
tue republican platform and from Mr..
Taft's speeches and see how the repub.
lican editors will ridicule the Ian.
guage."