The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-08-09
REPUBS MAD WITH MIR. TAFT Protectionists Express Their Disgust. ANGER or .STAND-PATTERS Believed That Many Will Support
 NIT. Bryan. Death of Senator Allison Brings About a Complicated Political situation
 Ia Iowa and Cummins
 VIII Rule.
nY ALFREn ,. sToFER.

Washington. Aug. s.--(Special 1--- The prominent men connected with the American Protective Tariff League were mad and disgusted when Secre- tary Taft was nominaed for the Pres idency.
 Some of these people were around Washington during the last session of Congress, and so confident were they that Taft would be defeated at Chicago that they openly boasted of their power to sidetrack him, even though they might not be able to force the selec- tion of candidate entirely to their liking.
 The American Economist, organ of the Protective Tariff League, kept up a steady fire of abuse of Judge Taft before he won the nomination. Then that sheet was as silent as the grave for a couple of weeks regarding the Republican ticket. Not a word did 1t have to say of the nominee. The ed- itors were too busy trying to make themselves and their readers believe that even though the administration had triumphed in spite of the brazen ''stand.pat" element in the Republican Party who had been sputtering for months as to what they were going to do, the situation wasn't really as bad as it might be for the industries of the country" as they like to state 1t. The Economist waited for the Denver platform as to the tariff and then the sheet plucked up a little courage. and by putting the two blanks side by side in a column on the editorial page 1t commenced to shout that the Republi- can position on the tariff was satis- factory to protectionists even if the candidate was not up to the mark.
 Tafts name up to that time had been studIously kept out of the col
 "a. N.vs ...w axa A rial reference was concerned. Then the big 300-pounds candidate of the Republican Party one day gave The Econornist a thought and sent In a large photograph of himself, at the bottom of which he wrote with his own hand; ITO The American Eco- nomfst: With the best wishes of your friend, William H. Taft" That tickied 'em just a little up in that ofice, for the next week the picture was repro dueed Tn a highly creditabIe manner in The Economist as frontispiece. But since then a number of the old rock rtbed protectionfsts throughout the country have been bombarding The Economist with long letters in which they hatly find fault with the tariff plank in the Chicago platform, they also express dissatisfaction with Judge Taft on account of his utterances oh the revision question and take it all in all the American Tarin League fel- lows appear to be in a laundering fix.
 They are now trying to tell the ''lxickers@ in the ranks of the high pretectionists that Taft knows a great deal more now than he did in 1906 and in 1907 when he went for the robber tariff without gloves.
 "stnnd-Patters" and Taft.
 The 'stand-pat" element in the Re- publican Party have never liked Judge Taft and they never will He shcked and disgusted them when he proposed to buy supplies for the Panama Ca- mai in foreign countries because he said he could get them cheaper. That statement created a sensation here among Republican Congressmen. They could hardly believe the story when it first got out. Discovering that 1t was only too true they berated secfe- tary Taft soundly, and tried to have President Roosevelt read him lecture, only to find that the President and Secretary Taft had the same views.
 It is only fair to Candidate Taft to say that he is earnestly in favor of general revision of the tariff. He would not go as far in revising the slhedules downward as would the Dem ocrats in the event they should be in a position to force this Legislation. But the American Protective Tarin League and all their followers are shouting loudly these days that if there Is any revision next year 1t will be upward rather than downward. Those people do not want revision of any sort But if Judge Taft is elected they are be- ginning to realize that the Dingley law will get a shaking up.
 In their private conversations many of the "stand-pat" advocates have ad- mitted during their visit to Washing ton that they will not worry them selves sick if Bryan instead of Taft is elected President. Unless explained this would appear to be a remarkably strange statement to emanate from the ranks of the high protectionists. But 1t is easily explained The United States Senate is overwhelmingly Re- publican. The Republicans in that body are nearly all ardent protection ista. If the biggest political landslide ever heard of were to occur this year. and should the Democrats win every