The Colville examiner. [volume] (Colville, Wash.) 1907-1948, 1908-05-30
"The Full Dinner Pail"


troublein getting plenty of men to work this spring.
Every morning scores of foreigners and many
Americans apply for positions at many of the farms
in this vicinity They are paid only rs cents a
week and are glad to work at that Well-to-do
farmers have hired four or five men at this wage
and are not doing any work themselves merely over
seeing This is the lowest rate of wages paid farm
hands in recent years. Newcastle pa Herald
s~a
The question of tariff reform is one of the two
great issues before the American people upon
which President Roosevelt has shown no capacity
or courage for leadership The other is financial
reform. He is in favor of both. But he has never
made fight for either. When he first came into
the White House one of the first plans he formed
was to force reform of the tariff but as soon as he
ran against the formidable entrenchments of the
stand-patters he abandoned all serious efforts to
secure action and has never renewed them He
has been busy in other directions and it is not
probable the people will blame him for not making
fight which would involve him in such bitter war
fare with the congressional leaders that probably
nothing else would have been achieved
The fact that as brave fighter as President
Roosevelt, thoroughly believing in tariff reform,
knowing the niquity of parts of the present sys-
tenn, realizing how great an obstacle it is to the
progress of American commerce. how unjust it is
IN spots to the millions of consumers has never
theless not dared to break ances with the defenders
OF it, shows how hard the people will have to cry
for this reform and how hard they will have to vote
for it before they get it.
The danger of the republican party is that many
OF the people will come to the conclusion that the
only way in which genuine tariff reform can be
ic
this plight the reactonary and insolent leadership
in congress has brought the republican party =
Walter Wellman.
Newspaper readers who have pursued the COL
umns OF the county papers for the last few weeks
have noted that an unusual element of discord is
gradually creeping into the republican ranks. For
several years the Statesman-I Index, paper pub
lished at Colvle has been the official organ of the
republican rotation-in-office ring A little over
year ago, during the heat of the political campaign
the present editor of the Index was secured from
the democratic ranks and placed in charge of that
paper, leaving the edtorship of democratic paper
but still holding the ownership. Some of the really
real republican papers of the county did not take
kindly to this invasion, but for the sake of har-
mony in the party smiled as best they could and
said nothing.
Over year has passed. A year is not very
long time, but it is long time to be a republican,
and the editor of the Index has evidently felt it..
Knowing what it means to be traitor to political
party, he has commenced making allegations against
several OF the county papers that they not true
the republican cause. The most noticeable of these
accusations was that against the Springdale Re-
former and it's editor Elmer Burrows There may
or may not be good and sufficient reason for this
attack upon the Reformer. To this paper it can
make no possible difference. But that the public
may not judge any county newspaper too harshly
let it be remembered that Mr. Burrows and his
paper are situated a considerable distance from the
courthouse, which fact might make it somewhat
difficult for them to keep in touch with the varying
brands of republicanism used at the courthouse
from month to month.
The Index has no apparent standing on questions
Of republican politics. National questions are never
discussed in its columns perhaps from the fear OF
saying the wrong thing as present republican,
but probably from inability to produce anything of
value. The only important matter of state polity
which has been handled was TRADE against the
direct primary law, passed by the republican leg
isature and since ndorsed by the republican state
convention Since the Index is supposed to be a
republican leader in this county, other papers have
no opportunity to keep in line when no line is
established.
The most vital question to the people this year is
the election of president and congress who will
be in sympathy with the people in preference to
Wall street. But the only matter of Importance as
seen by the Index so far is the election of set of
courthouse officials who will continue to favor the
Index with the county printing. This is not tended
to bring a warm feeling of brotherhood from other
republican papers of the county, and it seems the
last straw to get called down for attempting to