The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1908-07-10
Why Fordney Was on Committee.


| From the National Farmer
Some of the state newspapers, not
ably the free trade organs in Detroit
have chosen Congressman Fordney al
a special object for attack aud fol
months he has been pilloried in those
columns. Months ago he was attacked
because of his sturdy advocacy of the
principles of the Republican party in
regard to the sugar industry, and while
many other congressman have skulked
and evaded the platform pledges of the
party Mr.. Fordney has stood out in the
open.
At the Chicago convention the same
line of attack was maintained and the
Michigan delegation was maligned be-
cause Mr.. Fordney was made mem
| Der of the committee on resolutions, the
most important committee of the con.
vention.
The action of the Michigan delega-
ton in making Mr.. Fordney mem
Der of that committee has been more
than justified.
These carping critics are not perhaps
aware of the fact that Mr.. Fordney
was placed on that committee to safe
guard the Republican platform.
When Joe Fordney went into COM
mittee he examined carefully the draft
of the platform which had been pre-.
pared and was ready for adoption and
at once discovered that the plank re-
ferring to the sugar beet is the identical
tariff plank which Mr.. Fordney has
for years fought in congress. He
at once took issue with it, and through
his representations of the situation he
caused the tariff plank to be changed
to read as follows
Between the United States and
the Philippines we believe in free
interchange of products with such
limitations as to sugar and tobacco
as will afford adequate protection
to domestic interests"
Does this look as If Mr.. Fordney had
failed in his charge" in the interests
of the sugar beet industry2 Does it
appear from the adoption of this very
strong plank that the delegation from
Michigan, the second largest beet sugar
producing state in this country, made
an error in selecting Mr.. Fordney,
member of the great house ways and
means committee, a man of national
prominence and influence, as its mem.
Der of the committee on resolutions2
Not on your life. 1t was the knowl-
edge that there might be some &C.
ton of the kind necessary tn at influ-
enced the Michigan delegation. in SO.
lecting Mr.. Fordney, The members
well knew that "Shgar Beet" Joe
would stand by and support the ticket
named by the convention, even If he
was partial to some particular candi-
date, and they knew that if the inter-
ests of Michigan were threatened
Fordney would make game fight to
the end for his home industry. And
his good work in the committee
brought about the adoption of the
policy that Michigan, with it's thous.
ands of farmers growing sugar beets.
thousands of capitalists and thousands
Of laborers in the sugar factories has
all along demanded.
The attempt to defeat the renomina-
ton of Joe Fordney on that issue in
the Eighth district may as we'll he
dismissed. The farmers who grow
oeets in that district, and all others
in the beet sugar industry
will not stand for theHdisplacement of
he representative in congress who,
more than any other, has consistently
TODD up for his own people and their :
Industries