Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1908-09-02
FROM TIE
COMMONEP
MIR. BRYAN'S PAPER
REVISION UPWARD.

In his speech of acceptance Mr..
Taft, speaking of the tariff, said:
On the other hand, there are some
few schedules in which the tariff is
not sufficiently high to give the meas
ure of protection which they should
receive upon Republican principles"
This is sufficient to prove that "re-
vision of the tariff as understood by
the Republican leaders does not mean
revision in the interests of the people,
but does mean that the protected in
terests will receive first consideration
It also demonstrates that the Indian
apolis News, a Republican newspaper
knew what it was talking about when,
in its issue of July 2, it said:
All that was needed to prove that
the Republican tariff plank is delu-
sion and snare, as far as the tariff
"eformers are concerned, was the COM
mendation of the American Economist,
the high tariff organ. This it now
has. The Economist is fairly jubilant
over the victory won in behalf OF ex-
IRENE protection. The Republican
party, it says, in national convention
policy of rotection-protection that
shall be adequate-and has rejected
the demands of the tariff agitators for
revision of the tariff downwards.'
Which, of course, means that the
party has declared, either in favor of
leaving the tariff as it is, or of revis-
ing it upward. We quote from the
Economist, which, be it remembered,
is the uncompromising champion of
Dingleyism:
The free traders and advocates of
tariff revision downward will not find
word or syllable in this tariff plank
that tends to furnish them the slight
est crumb of comfort. There is no
promise in the platform of tariff re-
vision downward After full
consideration of the whole subject, the
Republican party in convention as
sembled did not declare for revision
of the tariff downward, nor did it give
the slightest intimation that the be-
lief is entertained by the great body
of Republicans throughout the land
that the tariff rates of the Dingley law
are too high
Even the maximum and minimum
tariff plan which is advocated con-
templates, according to the Economist,
making the present rates-or other
adequately protective rates-the
minimum, and the imposition of still
higher rates to force fair treatment
from other nations. We do not often
find ourselves in agreement with the
Economist. But it seems to us that
what it says about the amazing plank
adopted at Chicago is true. Every one
knows that there are hundreds of
thousands of Republicans all over the
country demanding tariff revision in
the direction of lower rates. Manu-
facturers who are held up by the
trusts feel very deeply on this sub
ject. When the convention met it
knew just what this demand was, just
what it meant. 1t knew that it could
not be silent on the tariff question,
knew that it could not refuse to pre-
tend to promise a real revision
And yet this convention put itself
on record as favoring sufficient pro-
lection to put our manufacturers abb
sOlutely on a level with those of other
lands, and then to give them "a rea-
sonable profit besides. This can
mean nothing else than what the
Economist says it means. 1t is no
promise of revision dwonward. The
proposition is not to equalize condi-
lions here and abroad, not to make
up to our manufacturers the excess of
the wages they are supposed to pay
over those abroad, not to helm them
out in the matter of raw material. but
after having done all these things.
after having removed every obstacle,
and taken off every handicap. we are
to tax ourselves to give the manu-
facturers-such as the steel trust-'a
reasonable profit So it is a great
victory for the standpatters. The
Economist is quite right For once it
is absolutely right. The party has
thrown itself into the arms of the
standpatters. Taking this plank in
connection with the refusal of the con-
vention to demand publicity for
campaign contributions, and also
for campaign contributions, and also
in connection with the great activity
of the agents of the steel trust at Chi
cago, it is hard to see how any tariff
reformer can get much hope from the
tariff plank of the Republican plat
form. There is less comfort than
ever to be got from it now that the
American Economist, a besotted high
tariff organ, has commended it with
such touching enthusiasm