The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-02-06

for some time greeted this utterance.
1.-THE strongest reason impelling the re-
publcans to that declaration" he said,
will be the fact that we need a maxi
mum and. minimum tariff for the pur-
pose of negotiating proper trade agree
ments with the nations of the earth.
If" he said, I'VE have a minimum
and maximum tariff and the republican
party passes it. the minimum will be a
protective tariff to every American in
dustry and to every American laborer in
the United States
Mr.. Payne spoke for an hour and three
quarters and was roundly 3pplauded by
the republicans when he concluded
Thomas Returns Blows.
Mr.. Payne was followed by Mr. Thomas
of North Carolina, who devoted himself
to the subject of states rights and tariff
revision. He said that until recently no
one had dared to affirm that the scope of
the constitution could be extended by
judicial construction beyond Its plain
meaning and intent or that the general
government could exercise power not
granted in that instrument. President
Roosevelt and Secretary Root, however,
had declared and promulgated doctrines
new and dangerous and foreign to all
ideas of the founders of the republic"
The doctrine advocated by Mr.. Root that
the states must surrender more and mora
of their power to the national govern
ment, said Mr. Thomas, was prolific of
the greatest evil.
Strange Doctrine.
Mr.. Thomas said that the President had
announced a strange doctrine when he
declared in a speech at Harrisburg Pa,
that an inherent power rested in the
nation outside of the enumerated powers
conferred upon it by constitution. That
doctrine, he declared, was fatal to the
American form of government and full
of tremendous consequences. In the mat
ter of issuance of injunctions by federal
courts in North Carolina, Alabama and
other states in railroad rate cases be-
fore final hearing on the constitu-
tionality of the states law, he said, that
such action was an unseemly constitutor
of power by federal courts and created
dangerous conflicts. In the recent rail-
road rate controversy in North Carolina
Mr.. Thomas said that his state had vim
Dictated its rights to enforce its laws
THE action of North Carolina and other
states in the SOUTH" he said, following
the speeches of the President and Secre-
tary Root, coming closely after the Cali
fornia incident, makes the old question of
states rights of great interest not only
to the south but to the whole country
Mr.. Thomas said that the democratic
party did not stand for free trade. but
rather for revision and reduction of the
tariff. He declared that there was no
hope along these lines in any action of
the republicans.
MIR. Thomas predicted that upon the
issue of monopolies and lower traiff, par
ticulary trade relations and the preserva-
ton of local self government, democracy
would succeed. EITHER it must win,
he said, "or the country will become, not
a union of states, but a nation with state
lines obliterated and in the grasp of
special interests"
Mr. Cox of Indiana spoke of the New
York insurance investigation, saying that
they had revealed "a state of rottenness
that was absolutely appalling but enor-
nous as had been the insurance robberies
he quoted Governor Cummins of Iowa of
declaring that they had not in all time
equalled the money extorted from the
people through the Dingley tariff in one
year.
Tremendous Graft.
This graft he placed at 800, 900, 900. He
expressed belief in the efficiency of i'm
prisonment for wrongdoers, and said if
Rockefeller and Rogers could be indicted
these indictments would be followed by
conviction and he was satisfied that inn
prisonment of only one day would do
more to correct the evils than the biggest
fines.
Mr. Hardy of Texas in referring to Mr.
Payne's remarks said he could scarcely
tell whether they were a eulogy of the
republican party or a funeral Grafton for
its burial. The democrats, he said, had
long since become accustomed to denun-
citation as demagogues, but he asserted
that those who were such people were
always SO denounced by those who stand
for the classes as against the masses" He
provoked democratic laughter and ap-
plause when referring to the President, he
said addressing the republicans:
IF we praise him you growl; If we
criticise him you howl" At first, he said
the republicans wanted no one but them
selves to criticise or even praise him
I'VE criticise the President" he said
when we believe him wrong We praise
| him for all we believe is right and a.
| to those things we have leader who has
| taught him and who sheds a starry ligh
| where he has tried and floundered."
He then discussed the railroad rate leg
islation and vigorously attacked the con
| tention of the republicans that they wer'
| themselves responsible for it.