The Washington herald., 1908-09-06
POLITICAL COMMENT.


election is conclusive as to the result in
November. The Courant says:
It's as easy as It Is unwise to exsg-
gerate the usefulness Of Vermont as a
political weather-vane.' Consult map
Of the United States. and note the space
Vermont occupies on t. Note, FOR that
matter. the space this whole eastern rim
Of the continent occupies The United
States are in the Mississippi Valley. said
a Senator who did not live TO see the
civil war. The center Of population is
now IL Illinois The center Of political
power is at least as far west as that;
perhaps farther west. The Vermont
'vane' may shoW-does shOw-hOw the
wind is blowing in New England. What
does Il know or SHOW as 20 how the po-
liticaI wind IS blowing In the Middle
West, Up around the Great Lakes. to the
prairie States beyond the Mississippi, in
the far mountain States, in the States OF
the Pacific Slope2 It's usefulness as a
pointer for weather observers concerned
70 learn what Is doing and brewing po-
liticany in those remote and vast regions
is exactly NIL
The Boston Transcript doubts # Sc
reno z. Pavne's tariff ideas VIII suit the
mass Of Republican revisers. According
to the Transcript
1T is doubtful if Mr.. Payne's utter
ances correctly represent the views Of
the most sagaclous Of Republican leaders
or that they viii be reflected ia forth
coming legislation without material mod
incation. The popular demand for a re-
vision Of the tariff because many OF the
duties are too high and the cost OF iiv-
ing and Of the raw materials Of manu-
facfure Is too Ereat-this demand is too
strong for Congress 90 ignore The real
issue between the high protertionists Of
the Payne class and Republican tariff
revisionists who believe that cousldera-
tions Of justice. as well as Of economies
are involved in tariff revision is whether
the necessity for protection IS 70 be
eaugeE by the differences in wages or in
the cost Of manufacture. No more tax
ing stump speech can be mace than
that which declares that the wages Of
American vvorkmen shall not be reduced
TO the European level, bat it is by no
means safe 10 assume dangerous com
petition from low-paid foreign labor sim
ply because II is low paid II that We're
the case. free trade with the Filipiu0s
could welI be regarded az wholly perilous-
In every instance the question IS one Of
fact and = IS the hope Of the American
people that the clerks whom Chairman
Payne has set so buSily at work IN Au-
. burn, y. Y and Washington VIII enable
him % lay before Congress an intelligent
collation. of the relative cost at which
identical manufacturer articles are pro-
duced in the United States and in foreign
countries. This IS the real basis on which
the great mass OF American protection
lists expect the tariff 20 be revised"
The New York Evening Post approves
Alr. Bryan's plea for greater economy in
public expenditures, but reminds him that
TIE Democrats IN Congress are not CON
spicuous as economists It remarks
''AIr. Bryan IS by no means convincing
when he urges that the Democratic party
is che only one 20 curb this extravagance-
IN the last Congress Il had no repre-
sentat.vcs that spoke our against our ex-
travaEance as earnestly as Ncssrs. Hale
and Tawuey- in its Denver platform the
party abaudous its opposition to a large
navy. ard takes refuge in the platitude
that Il favors an adequate feet. leaving
the country quite in the dark whether
tine adequate size is TO De determined by
Rear Admiral Evans. with his forty-eight
battle ships, or Hobs0n, with llS, more
OF less
The Baltimore News. in an editorial
showing why William H Jackson, the
Republican candidate for Congress in the
First district. should be defeated. dis
plays evidence Of the lack of unity Of the
Republican party in Maryland. Il says:
The News earnestly desires the cleo
ton Of AIr. Taft 20 the Presidency this
fail u would Ike 10 see a Congress
elected which vculd sympathize with him
iE the programme Of legislation which he
so ably outlined IN his speech Of accept
ance. But in connection wiki the Con-
gressIonaI elections q not infrequeutly
happens that the local issues overshadow
the national, so far as a particular dis
trict IS concerned-and one Of those dis
tricts is the First OF Maryland
More important 20 the people OF the
Eastern Shore than any other political
issue At this time IS the question Of the
attitude they are 10 take in connection
with the vote-DuyinE evil The whole
district stands dis=raced to-day in the
eyes Of the people Of the State and out
side OF the state wherever its unhoIy
notorieJy in this matter has gone Brib-
cry al elections has been carried TO such
a point on the Eastern Shore that the
fact itself and the cynical ws- Il is spok-
en- OF make decent NarylanGers vince.
The candidate for Congress on the
Republican ticket in the First district is
identified in the public mind with the ex-
peudiCUre OF large sums OF money in elect
tious- He has been very frank about the
matter himself in the past. The only
excuse given by himself or friends Is that
the other party has been rs bad or worse
than his own His attitude and that of
his managers in the present campaign IS
unsatisfactory; we are given 10 under
stard merely that they viii spend no
money improperly unless the opposition
does So
The St Louis Dispatch points out
what it deems a mistake OF 1Ir. Taft. II
says:
"One Of the principal arguments urged
by Mr. Taft against the Democratic plan
Of guaranteeing bank depositors IS that.
4 il adopted. it viii promote reckIessness
and dishonesty on the part Of bankers,
because they would be relieved of re-
sponsibility TO depositors, whose deposits
would be guaranteed BY a fund 10 which
all the banks would contribute
Without discussing the merits of the
plan. w may question the soundness OF
Mr.. Taft's logic. Wherein would a guar
antee Of bank deposits by all the banks
collectively release any bank or lndIvid-
ual banker of responsibility2 Dishonesty
and recklessuess would be as costly Ia the
banker. under the guarantee plan as Il
Is now. He would be relieved Of no Grim
inal responsibility for criminal acts. Nor
would the resources of the bank be pro-
tected by the guarantee fund. They would
be used to their fun extent to pay depos-
itors and only the balance Of losses would
be paid from the fund Failure through