The Penn's Grove record., 1908-02-21
FOR TARIFF REVISION,
Newspaper Men Want Duty Re-
moved From Paper.
TEST FOR REPUBLICAN PRESS

the Free Admission of All Raw Ma
terials-Democratie Vice Presidential
Timber-Some Possible Nominees.
Mistakes of Former Conventions.
Resignation of Bill Chandler.
By WILLIS j. ABBOT.
The power of the press irrespective
Of political affiliations on the part OF
any newspaper seems likely to be Civ.
en- an interesting test in the next six
months. Aside from the power Of the
press, the sincerity and the unsel6sh-
ness of newspaper owners and editors
are likely to be given a like test.
Among the many trusts existing and
1o%urishing in the United States today
is the paper trust. That of course is
not its name. It may be the General
Paper company or the International
Paper company or the Manufacturers
Paper company or half a dozen other
companies differing in names, but all
alike in their purpose, which is to mo.
nopolize the supply of paper or of the
material out of which paper is made
and to compel newspaper publishers te
pay the highest prices that can be *
torted.
At New York the newspaper owners,
members Of the American Publishers
association, who control Republican OF
Democratic papers, recently adopted
nroa fiaa11u with q I1noninn1Jc unf0 fhio
resolution:
Resolved, That it is the sense Of this
meeting that the duty on printing paper,
wood pulp and all material entering into
the manufacture of printing paper be m
mediately repealed.
1t would take too much space to give
the names of the owners, publishers
or editors of Republican newspapers
who voted in favor of this resolution
Enough it is to say that practically all
who attended the meeting did SO.
Now, it will be interesting to observe
what they are going to do when the
SiXtieth congress meets and their idol,
Joe Cannon, returns with his determi.
nation that the tariff must not be
touched and his gavel to enforce that
determination.
If wood pulp is to be taken off the
list of protected material for the benet
fit Of newspapers, why shouldn't lum.
Der be taken off for the benefit of the
people in the untimbered plains of Ne
braska, Kansas and North and South
Dakota? If that which is necessary
only to newspapers is to be thrown
open to the competition of the world,
why shouldn't the goods, whatever
they may be, that are necessary to the
health, comfort and even livelihood OF
the people who subscribe to these
newspapers also be made free Of dutyi
1t is very we'll to say and it is absolute.
ly true that the paper trust, founded
upon an ubiquitous tariff, is practical.
ly destroying the profits of the news
paper business in this country. The
Democratic papers can logically insist
upon this fact, but what are the Re
publican papers going to do?
When any Republican newspaper
or any editor of a Republican newspa.
per denounces the duty on printing
paper, wood pulp and all material en-
tering into the manufacture Of print.
ing paper" as all the Republican ed.
itors or proprietors did in New York.
they are morally bound to denounce
every other form of tariff on raw ma.
terials that affects an American in
dustry.
In brief, it is fair to ask whether
the action Of the American Newspaper
Publishers association represents only
the desire of it's members to revise the
tariff for their own benefit and to let
it stand as it is for the injury of other
industries. This cannot be charged
against Democratic editors, for the
Democratic press stands pledged to tar.
if revision, but the Republican press
does not today offer any candidate for
any Office from that of president to
that of representative in congress who
has not pledged himself either to the
policy Of stand pat or to that Of an in
definite postponement Of any sort Of q
vision of the tariff.
The Vice Presidency.
1t seems to be well assured that Mr..
Bryan will be the nominee for presi-
dent at the next national convention
of the Democratic party. Only his
own refusal can avert such action. ]
happen to know that within three or
four weeks he will make a statement
OF the subject and outline the issues
OF which he would be willing to be a
candidate, if at all.
I do not speak for him, nor do I be.
lieve there is any man in the United
States authorized to speak for him.
Yet 1 individually believe that MI.
Bryan will be q candidate before the
1908 convention and that without very
much delay he will announce definite
ly the platform on which he stands and
will ask the support Of the Democratic
voters prior to the convention more
for the issues in which he believes than
for himself. Probably in that event
he will be nominated. Probably, too,
there will be a fine fight in the conven-
ton, and no Democratic convention or
any other convention should be adj
journed without a hearty discussion
both of candidates and Of issues. A
cut and dried convention has always
been disastrous. We need not look fur
Their back than st. Louis in 1904 to dis
cover that. 1 hope and expect to see
many candidates for the presidential
nomination, and the indications are
that this expectation will not be disap-
pointed.
Yet if recent political history, which
I recall, shall be repeated the conven.
ton after a hard fight for the first
place will toss the vice presidency to
almost anybody. This was done In
1896, when Mr.. Bryan's nomination
and his candidacy were hurt immeas-
urably by the nomination for the vice
presidency Of an utterly unknown
man and n who had not given any
great proof of devotion to the Demo-
cratic cause. In 1900 a wearied con-
vention was led by a delegation which
to my certain knowledge was hostile
to the head of the ticket to nominate
Adlai Stevenson, whose estimable and