Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-18

1t extremely difficult to carry out the prom
Uses so freely made in the course Of a cam
paign. The president is the executive Of
the nation and while in the White House
is rightly regarded as the head of his party,
for In the campaign which follows his
term of office he is in a sense made re-
sponsible for what has happened during the
party's administration. Yet when we come
to the selection of a candidate and the
adoption of a platform declaring the prin-
ciples of the party this work is left to a
convention Of men gathered from all of the
states of the union.
Platform a Contract.
"Once the party has adopted it's platform
in convention and has successfully gone be-
fore the people on that platform it becomes
the sacred duty of the executive, a sacred
duty of the leaders of the senate and of
the house of representatives, to carry out
the policies thus declared. Hence It is
that in respect to the planks in the Chicago
platform, the strongest obligations rest upon
the many heads of the party, as It soon will
come into power, and they should respond
and see to it that the mandate of the peo-
Pile is carried out.
1.-THE principal plank in the Chicago plat
form was the one which declared for a
icNlSlOh u lHS ldIlll at an tNlld oCSSiOh
of the congress to be called as soon as
possible after the 4th of March, next. on
that plank the standard by which the re-
vision could be made was plainly laid
down. 1t was agreed that the revision
should be made on the principles of pro-
lection and that principle was defined fur
Their by the statement that the rates to
be fixed should be a measure of a differ
ence. of the cost of production here and
abroad, with a reasonable profit to the
manufacturers This declaration devolved
upon the party the duty of determining
what is the difference in the cost of pro-
duction here and abroad and fixing a rate
which would provide a reasonable profit
to the manufacturer It did not provide
for the taking of a decree proconfesso
against those in the community who could
not appear before a committee of congress
and be heard. 1t is the duty of the COM
mittee to make an affirmative effort to
find out the cost of production here and
abroad and to revise the tariff accord
ingly.
Principles Of Protection.
"I am a protectionlst, but I am not one
Of those who believes that the policy of
protection does not in large degree make
trusts and monoplies easier of existence.
But the way to stamp trusts and monopo-
lies out is not by destroying the whole pro-
tective system. We should not have ex-
cessive tariff rates so as to tempt monop-
olies and give the trusts an opportunity
to take advantage of those excessive rates.
There nave been those in our party who
did not care how high rates were fixed,
but the Chicago platform showed by its
new definition of a protective policy that
the majority of our party believes in a
daffpita rayiaiOn Of Onr tariff as ~ nOu
exists.
of we do not fulfil the promise made
in the Chicago platform and make only a
surface revision, we will be mad account
able by the intelligent American people,
and will suffer the consequences with
which failure to keep promises usually is
visited by the American people.
'It Is better to have no revision at all,
better that the new tariff bill should die.
unless we nave revision of an honest and
thorough sort on the basis explained by
me and promised in the party platform.
It is with the utmost pleasure that I state
my sincere confidence that there is nov 60
ing on in Washington, and will go on, an
honest and thorough attempt to find the
difference In cost of production here and
abroad and to FIX the tariff accordingly.
TIL task is merely one OF evidence and
judgment. We must honestly try to do
our duty and then we Will receive the
commendation Of the American people"
Mr.. Taft then took up the Sherman anti
trust law and said it was one Of the Roose-
welt policies which the party had pledged
itself to carry out.
I'VE must enforce the Sherman act" he
said, cor such modification OF it as will
| carry out the purpose of those who adopted