The Topeka state journal., 1908-06-16
BURROWS SPEECH.

SENATOR BURROWS SPEECH.
Inasmuch as plenty of evidence can
be adduced to prove that the state
ments made by julius Caesar Bur-
rows, United States senator from
Michigan, in his speech of today as
temporary, chairman of the Repubh-
on fact, it must be admitted that the
rule of the Republican party during
the last four years under the leader
ship of Theodore Roosevelt, has been
a beneficent one. AS detailed at great
length by Senator Burrows. it is
record of varied achievements that
any party could we'll be proud of.
1t must be confessed, however. that
the people generally will give the
credit for the accomplishment of these
things to Theodore Roosevelt. rather
than to the Republican party. but Mr..
Burrows is particular to give it to the
party rather than to the president and
one of the conspicuous features Of the
speech is his failure to laud and extol
Mr.. Roosevelt and his policies as 1t
was expected that the temporary
chairman of the convention would do.
In fact he makes little mention of the
president except to speak of his great
work in bringing the Russian-Jap-
anese war to a close and also his fine
action in refusing to accept a presi-
Dental nomination for a third term.
He does not say a word pledging the
party to support the policies of Mr..
Roosevelt which have not been accom-
plished as yet. But he does say that
the nominees of the convention will
have to stand erect and firm upon a
platform which will voice the domi-
nant thought of the people and. ad-
vance the glory and stability of the re-
public. AS 1t is known that the plat
form will strongly endorse the policies
of the president, perhaps Mr.. Burrows
took this rather roundabout and in
definite way to give the president and
| his policies an endorsements.
On the interesting question of tariff
| revision Senator Burrows declares that
the Republican party stands for a re-
vision and readjustment of the custom
laws as changed Industrial conditions
at home and abroad may have made
necessary. He points to the direction
| given by congress to it's proper COM
mittees to investigate Immediately this
question Of tariff revision as solemn
assurance on the part of the Republi-
can party that the work of revision
will be speedily undertaken and press
| ed to an early conclusion.
| OF course, as heretofore firm
"standpatter'' Senator Burrows can
not talk of tariff revision without
| clothing his remarks with the time
worn qualification which is SO dear to
| the Republican tariff revisionists. He
does this when he says: "In this con-
nection it can be safely promised that
| whatever revision or readjustment
takes place under the control of the
Republican party. it will give just and
adequate protection to American in
dustries and American labor and de-
fend the American market agaf.st the
unjust and unequal aggression from
whatever quarter they may come" On
this sort of an argument, it is easy to
see how the Republicans might IN
vestigate the revision of the tariff until
doomsday without suggesting any ma
terial changes on the theory that they
would be inimical to American indus
tries labor and markets.
All of the rest of Mr.. Burrows
work accomplished by the government
during the past four years through its
various departments and in the man.
agement Of it's colonial possessions
which he declares has been remark
ably successful. He touches the rail-
road question by saying that the regu-
lation of commerce presented to the
last few congresses some perplex1ns
problems, the solution of which were
attended with no little difficulty and he
says that the abuses complained OF
are fast disappearing under the action
that congress took in giving the inter-
state commerce commission adequate
= power to regulate the common car
riers. He also declares that the re.
cent financial panic furnishes evidence
that there is something Inherently de.
fective in the banking and currency
system Of the country and that Il
needs a thorough overhauling. Te