The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1908-10-21
Raps Its Own Platform by Sc
vereIy criticizing Repub-
lican Tariff Plank.
MIR. L0NGw0RTH ON DYNASTY
Presidents Son. in Law Declares Eight
Years Taft---Then Roosevelt.
Republicans are Incensed at the Re-
marks Made by LongwOrth in His
Rock Island, ILL.,, Speech on the
Succession of Presidency.

The Omaha Bee, published by Vic
/ tor RoSewater, member OF the RepuD-
| lican national committee, and head or
| the Republican campaign publicity bu-
| reau, has made the blunder of criti-
cising vigorously part of the tarlT
plank of the Republican platform, the
writer being under the impression that
! he was really pouring hot SHOT into
! MI Bryan. The Democratic leader, III
a recent speech, had quoted that part
of the Republican platform which is
criticised.
The editorial in Mr.. ROsewater's pa
! per goes on the theory that this Ian
! guage was Mr.. Bryan's own, the
i writer failing to notice that the lam
guage was really part Of the platform
on which Mr.. Taft is running.
The consequence of this is that Mr..
Bryan and his friends have on broad
; grin and they think that the smiles
/ at Fairview are likely to spread TO all
| Democrats in the country.
The words complained of in the Bee
] editorial were these:
| I'm all tariff legislation the true
principle is best maintained by the i'm
/ position of such duties as will equal
the difference between the cost of
/ production at home and abroad, to-
gether with reasonable profit to Amer
lean industries"
The Bee went on to puncture this
language in the following style:
Nothing prettier in tie catch-all
line has been offered in this cam
paign. The most bound stand
patter in the country can accept that
as satisfactory and the rankest free
trader can find delight in it. The dec
laration means simply nothing. An at
/ tempt to legislate along that line
] would simply open the way to inter
! minable wrangling as to what cOnsti-
| tutes IA reasonable profit, for hair
splitting Oh wages on one industry,
price of raw materials in another. re-
! bates and drawbacks in third and
! so on through the list of thousands of
articles that are now on the tariff re-
vision, at Bryan's direction, would
: serve only to halt industrial and COM
! mercial progress and keep business un
settled during his term of office"
The Omaha World Herald shows
that the words complained of are not
a part of any speech of Mr.. Bryan.
! but part of the tariff plank of the
Republican platform.
! Mr.. Bryan had this to say when
the matter was called to his atten-
ton:
Il am very much surprised that Mr..
j RoSewater should have attempted to
miSrepresent my position. A good
! many unfair things have been said by
Mr.. ROsewater. To accuse me of
/ using the language of the Republican
| platform is an Outrage. He ought to
apologize for this injustice and ex-
| plain to his readers that the language
which be criticises was taken from the
Republican platform and not from any
! speech of mine.
This is rich find. 1t shaws how
absurd the Republican platform looks
to Republican when the Republican
has a chance to look at it in disin-
terested way. When MIR. ROsewater
thought that the language quoted was
taken from speech of mine he could
see how ridiculous the language was
l hope that his opinion of the language
will not change when he finds that he
was shooting at his own platform in
stead at me.
The amusing blunder Of the Omaha
Bee suggests Il new diversion for the
campaign. Let the Democrats accuse
me Of using various sections from the
Republican platform and from Mr..
Taft's speeches and see how the Re
publican editors will ridicule the Ian
guagc."