Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-08-22


last April. boastfully declared, we
recognize the fact that We have re-
publican majority in the senate, that
we have a republican majority in this
house, that is ready to resort to every
legal, every proper constitutional right
to enact such legislation as 1t deems
for the best interest for the greatest
number of our people, and which is
willing and ready to accept full re-
sponsibility for all those measures
which are introduced here and which
are not enacted into law"
DeIusiOn and Demonstration.
The republican platform suggests
that there should be maximum tariff
and minimum, the maximum to be
used in retaliation and the minimum in
ordinary cases. This is merely adding
delusion to procrastination and uncer-
tainty We have prominent republican
authority, Senator Dolliver and Sena-
tor Hanna, TO prove that in the present
law the rates were knowingly made
higher than necessary with the under
standing that reductions would be
made to secure foreign trade. Mr..
Dolliver said in the senate on Jan. Is,
1909 at is true that in the bill which
he tMr. Dingley) reported from the
committee on ways and means he did
put duties up for the express purpose
of having them traded down" Mr. Dol
liver insisted that the reciprocity pro-
vision in the Dingley act was as dis
tinctly a part of the tariff policy as
the coal schedule and complained that
mot one line of the wisdom of James
G. Blaine remained on the statute
books" and that mot step had been
taken TO fulfill the purpose of the last
Buffalo address of President McKin-
| ley" And yet the very men who pre-
sent this new plan prevented the car
rying out of the old plan.
The schemes resortcd to by the men
who have grown rich by laying tariff
burdens upon the country are more
numerous than novel. Tariff messages
which embody the principles of pro-
lection are not drawn by legislators;
they are really drawn by the represen-
tatives of the interests which demand
protection. These representatives claim
to be the guardians of the laboring men,
and yet they carefully avoid writing
into the law anything that will require
the guardians to execute the trust. 1t
lis strange that so many voters have
been so long deceived as to the object
and the operation of the laws which
tar fn,, hn
tion of the wage earners: it can only
be accounted for on the theory thai
the voters have not understood either
the theory of protection or the facts
THAT are relied upon to support it.
Same In Ordinary Affairs.
In ordinary affairs there is no differ
fence between a tariff reformer and {
proteetionist. They meet together il
business, in society, in the lodge room
and i'll the church. In their daily lif,
they apply the same rules and are
lguided by the same business rules
This similarity manifests itself al
through life and up to the very hour o
death. If protectionist makes will
he makes it upon the same plan tina
the tariff reformer follows AS dealt
approaches, he estimates the value o
his property, leaves to his wife an,
children what he wishes them to have
and then makes such requests as h
; likes to public institutions and to thos
outside of the family; and such part a
he leaves to his wife and children, h
carefully divides among them, givin
each a definite share. He does no
give all his property to one child ant
say that he trusts the child ito dea
fairly with the rest of the family
Why? Because he knows his childre
and would not put child in a pos
ton where selfishness might lead hir
to do injustice to other members @
the family. No, he would not trus
his own flesh and blood to deal fairl
= with those reared at the same firesid
with him; and he is wise in not plat
ing this temptation before one of hi
own family. But when a projections
comes to make tariff law, he acts o
an entirely different plan: he vote
: millions, yes, hundreds of millions, {
dollars to manufacturers whom he ha
never seen, and trusts them to be jus
:, in the distribution of the trust fun
o among their employees. And what ha
been the result? Just what migf
have been expected: the manufactu
q ers have appropriated the trust fund
their own use and have paid their en-
, ployes only such wages as trade eond
y tons compelled
. Case of Homestead Strike.
: The Homestead strike occurred ate
4 the republican convention of 1892. br
/ before the republican candidate wrot
/ his letter of acceptance. He coul
! not ignore the strike, for il presente
: an object lesson which even a higl
e tariff republican could not fail to SCI
: So Mr. Harrison, the candidate. r
I ferring to the strike, said
l Il regret that all employers of labo
? are not jast and considerate and thu
l capital sometimes takes too large
: share of the profits!" TOO large
e share of the profits?" Yes; nor
$ than that. The protected manufa
3 tuTers have secured in many case