The Colville examiner. [volume] (Colville, Wash.) 1907-1948, 1908-04-18
The Democratic Position

The following address made by William Jennings
Bryan at Denver is a comprehensive statement of
the important political questions of today. The
logic of the situation is plain and the position of
democracy is clearly sustained by the events of
the past years. Mr.. Bryan said
On the tariff question the democrats position is
being strengthened by both the democrats and re-
publicans. Secretary Taft started out to make his
campaign on platform which declared for tariff
revision-the revision to be postponed until after
the election. AS he travelled over the country he
found the tariff reform sentiment so strong that
he finally reached the conclusion, in the platform
of his state convention, that tariff reform is so
urgent that special session of congress should be
held Immediately after March 4. But even more
significant is the surrender made by Vice President
Fairbanks for his state convention declares in
favor of special session of congress to be called
Immediately after the election -four months earlier
than Secretary Taft's special session. And we
have two candidates to hear from yet. 1t remains
to be seen whether Candidate Knox and Candidate
Hughes will attempt to make better bid than
those already submitted by Candidates Taft and
Fairbanks. 1t is gratifying to see republicans
vying with each other in their advocacy of tariff
reform. But the people are not likely to entrust
the reduction of the tariff to men who are not
willing to have tariff reform at once and who have
not discussed the tariff until the exgences of the
campaign made it necessary.
Our protest against the trusts has been shown
to be we'll founded, and the whole country now
understands that private monopoly is indefensi-
BILE and uncomfortable.
On the question of railroad regulation we have
another democratic vindcation The democrats
have been asking for regulation for IL years. and
yhavo Of 1ocf fho foEi hiC ircp
from the democratic platform, asked for an enlarg-
ment of the scope of the interstate commerce law,
he received more loyal support from the democrats
than from the republicans. But railroad regula
ton is not yet effective We must know how
much the railroads are worth and must prevent the
future issue of watered stock But since the states
began to legslate this subject of railroad regu-
lation, the railroad managers began to demand the
surrender by the states of power to egisate in re-
gard to railroads and insist that congress shall
exercise exclusive control. The president has
yielded to this demand and recommended the
national incorporation of railroads. and as Secretary
Taft is endorsing the presidents policies, he is
supposed to favor this.
But the national incorporation of railroads is a
step backward rather than forward, and it must
be resisted by the democrats and it will be re-
sisted by large element of the republican party
for those who have had taste Of regulation will
not be willing to surrender the power that the
state now has. National remedies ought to be
added to state remedies, not substituted for them
Congress has ample power to regulate interstate
commerce without interfering with the right Of
the states to regulate internal commerce. Secre-
tary Taft seems to be regarded as the representa-
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