Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1908-08-28
UP TO THE VOTERS
CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS OF
VITAL IMPORTANCE.
Advice Of Trust Organ May Well Be
Studied by These Who Would
Find Relief from Trust
Rapaeleusness.

It 3 rather strange that the Bulle-
TIN OF the American Iron and Steel
association should be the first to dis
cover there Is Stree trade element
In the Republican party" Such good
authority upon the tariff policies with.
In the Republican party can hardly
De mistaken, yet 1t is, singular how
well the secret has been kept. There
are, 1t is true, some tariff reformers
In the Republican ranks, such as the
Iowa idea" men, who were led BY
Gov Cummins, ana who now appear to
be without leader, but they are not
free traders, they merely had some
how absorbed the idea that the tariff
s0elters the trusts. Then there was
Q band of Minnesota Republicans who
wanted reciprocity with Canada, but
their demand appears to have
dwindled since the flour milling trust
has been allowed TO import Canadian
wheat In bond and ship 1t abroad after
Its conversion into -four without nav.
Ing duty on the same. Those Mime
sofa Republicans were surely not free
traders. Then we have just heard the
demand for tariff reduction from the
American Manufacturers association.
who mainly want cheaper iron and
steel, but even the most radical of
them are not free traders.
OF course, we must bear In mind
that The Bulletin" is devoted to the
interests of the steel trust, and its
vision of the gulf between tariff reyi-
sion and free trade may be thus vast.
ly diminished. Il says that while
Taft's candidacy was engineered by
President Roosevelt" 1t is "eminently
true that it was acceptable to and
was supported by the free trade ele-
ment in the Republican party"
The Bulletin would undoubtedly like
the tariff to be let alone, or else re.
vised higher, and this may have
warped its ideas about what the free
trade" element In the Republican party
intends to do. II the Bulletin and the
interests back Of It will stand to its
guns and await events, it will find, II
the Republican party should be sue
eessful in electing a president and
congress, that Its free trade bogy will
prove to be nothing but Pigment of
Its own editors brain, caused proba-
bly, by thinking too much about the
enormous profits that the tariff CON-
pels the people to pay its friends, the
trusts, which would be abolished under
real tariff reform.
The situation 70 certainly exasperat-
Ing from the viewpoint of The Bulle-
tin" for 1t fears that Taft is not
sound on the tariff issue and it evi.
IDENTITY grieves over the fact of the
unsatisfactory record of the new
leader of the Republican party"
This organ Of the trusts finally re-
solves that the best must be made of
a bad situation" and the only thing
that can be done is to see to 1t that
the members Of congress to be elected
this year are pledged to resist all re-
ductions in duties that would carry
with them sharper foreign competition,
less work at home and lower wages
for American workingmen."
That's it! See that Uncle Joe and
the other stand-pat statesmen are
elected again to congress and rely
upon their Interpretation of the am
biguous tariff plank of the Republican
platform, that maximum tariff" and
reasonable profit" for the trusts,
means to revise the tariff higher.
There is food for reflection for Demo
Gratis in the reliance Of the trust organ
upon electing Q stand-pat congress,
which should urge them and all who
feel they are being plundered by the
tariff-protected trusts to "see to II that
the members Of congress to, be elected
this year are pledged" for tariff re-
form.