The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1908-07-07

Having adopted mOHeniaIS pIdl-
form at Chicago the republican con-
vention proceeded to ratify the white
house choice for president. To secure
the acquiescence of the convention,
the chief executive was compelled to
abandon the most vital reforms that
he has been urging during the last
four years. The war secretary was
either not in sympathy with these pop
ular reforms himself or else he and
his friends feared that their presence
in the platform would sacrifice his
nomination or election by arraying
certain supports against him. In eth
er case the omission of these reforms
is 10 the discredit of the nominee: for
if he favored the income tax. a collat-
eral inheritance tax. law requiring
the publication of campaign contribu-
lions, the physical Or actual valuation
Of the railroad properties in the SUI
peryision of fares and freights and
the issuance of railroad stocks and
bonds; or if he were against the reck-
less expenditure of public moneys
amounting TO over a billion dollars at
the last session of congress, or if he.
like his illustrious mentor. discerned
grave dangers 10 the republic through
the great Capitalization of wealth. he
should have SO declared in unequivo-
cal terms and demanded that these
things be inserted in his credentials,
or he should decline to become the
beneficiary of whatever popularity his
chief has acquired by his strenuous
championship of these measures. The
logic of the situation prohibits the war
secretary in this campaign from rid
ing any hobby but his own The Chi
CagO platform, which must be consid-
cred as his official prOnOuncement,
bears about as much resemblance to
the beligerent manifestoes that have
been hurled from the White house as
a lad bears to his steDfather
If the highest claim that Mr. Taft
has to the presidency is the prestige
Of the white house. it is up to him to
express his sympathy with and pledge
his honest support to, those principles
of democracy that have given the
president the place he occupies in the
hearts of the people.
The idea seems to be creeping into
the popular mind that if the nominee
of the Chicago convention shall be
elected in November we will have a
bisected presidency at the head of our
affairs. The American people are
sticklers on some things, and one of
the things that they will not stand for
is divided responsibility in the white
house. They will demand and they
have right to demand, that the heart
that conceives, the brain that plans,
and the hand that executed shall be
directly answerable to the sovereign
power that built the white house and
selects one man at time to fill il.
AS | have already indicated. we
have something to do in this conven-
ton besides point out evils and call
the republican party to task for the
part it has played in creating and per-
petrating abuses.
With the power and opportunity to
carry our democratic principles, we
will be called upon to revise our tar
iff' laws in the interest of the whole
people. This issue cannot be disposed
of by the assertion that the republican
party also stands for tariff reform.
Republican revision and democratic
revision are two different things
The democratic idea that where the
tariff enables the trusts to maintain
a system of eXtortion the duty should
be removed from all trust made goods
so that competition from abroad may
to
people. There is a vast difference be.
tween the protection of American in
dustries and the protection of criminal
monopolies. Which kind of protection
does the republican party really in.
tend to preserve and what tariff
schedules does it propose to scale
down? VIII it not depend upon the
preponderance of power in the coun.
ellis of the party and in the halls OF
legislation, and with the gigantic
trusts in control of the machinery OF
the republican party, does any reason
able man believe that American
| farms, American labor and honest Am
erican industries will escape the tar
if blade? Can you imagine Cannon
! Dalzell and Payne and others of the
same stripe sitting down at Ions
table deVising ways and means for the
retention Of tariff benefits to the far
mers, the artisans and that class Of
manufacturers who are satisfied with
a fair return of their inve stments
while they use the pruning shears or
the products of the favored trusts
Such an unusual scene would live in
the history of the nation forever.
There are still other reforms press
ing upon the attention of our people
and demanding action at the hands o.
the political parties. The corrupt use
of large sums of money in politica
| campaigns is largely responsible fol-
the subversion of the peoples will a
the polls. The masses are awaken
ing to a realization of the great pow
er of gold in great contests that ough
to be determined according to the
character of nominees and the sound
ness and morality Of political issues
and there is a general demand FOL
publicity in the collection and use o
campaign funds so that our citizen:
may know whether a political party
has purchased its way into office o.
has won its victories by honest means