The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1909-05-22
Tariff Schedules and Legislation
Will Be as Dictated by
the Trusts.
AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE
NOT TO BE CONSIDERED
Tom, Platt's Successor. in Senate
a Sore Disappointment
to Reformers.
(Special to Labor World.)

Washington, MAY zO.>-Senator Ehha
Root, former secretary OF state, whose
coming to congress was heralded far
and wide as epochal in political sig
nlticance, made his first speech in the
senate in opposition to an income tax.
and his second in defense of Senator
Nelson A. Aldrich's finance committee.
In neither of them did Tom Platt's
successor show himself possessed OF
startling or unusual ideas of states
manship.
Indirect Taxation.
Mr. Root defended indirect taxation
He urged that no property now es-
capes taxation. He did not see fit to
explain that property and income are
or that tax on property may be very
burdensome to one man and trivial to
another.
OF course these big millionaires pay
indirect taxes. But J. P. Morgan pays
the same internal revenue tax on d
dollar cigar that his $1,000 clerk pays
on 5 cent cigar; Carnegie pays a
70 per cent tax on sugar, just as does
the $1.25 a day laborer in the Michigan
or Minnesota mines, but when Morgan
or Carnegie buy diamonds they pay
only 10 per cent duty, when they buy
expensive French automobiles they
z pay only As per cent duty, there is a
smaller per cent Of duty on their silk
en- hose than on the farmers or miners
15-cent socks, and Morgan is kicking
hard against having to pay any duty
on the expensive paintings and statu-
ary he buys out of his savings.
A Lame Defense.
Senator Roots defense of Aldrich's
refusal to give the senate reasons or
explanations for items in his tariff bill
was even more disappointing, it equal
ly orthodox.
l. According to the New York senator.
neither Aldrich or his committee is
under any obligation, constitutional or
? otherwise, to give reasons for anything
in tariff bill The senate, says MIR.
Root, is not responsible for the tariff.
Whatever the senate does to it, the
tariff bill remains the house bill, and
the responsibility is wholly on the
house. and a rebuke to such senators
as LaFollette, who insist on having
reasons for things.
A Significant Fact.
There is more than a little meaning
and significance in the fact that the
men who are leading the tariff insur-
gent movement in the senate are from
direct primary states-LaFo gillette O.
Wisconsin, Cummins and Dolliver O.
Iowa, Nelson and Clapp Of Minnesota
McCumber Of North Dakota, Bristov
sas, Crawford Of South Da
kota-all these and others, are showing
ind nf action a.
regard for rules and conventionalitie'
in legislation that is horrifying to th'
'NOld Guard" of the senate, with which
Root has allied himself.
The usual attitude of the "Ol
Guard'-Aldrich, Elkins, Hale, Calling
er, Crane, Lodge, Kean, Smoot, ct al
towards these insurgent Republican
senators, is one Of contempt. A dozel
times in the last few weeks ther
have been sneers, either open Or Gov.
ert, at some one or more of this new
er brand of senators.
The idea Of threshing things out il
the open is a new and rather startling
one in congress. For many years tn
idea has prevailed that all legisla
tion, always, must be the result o
compromise, and that compromis
means trading for votes.
Truthful TiIIman.
When the subject of naval yards ap
preparation was on the boards, Till
man, the Democratic fire-eater, blum
and truthful, admitted he was gettin
all he could for the two navy yards
his state.
If you are going to steal, I war
my share the South Carolina ma
mad previously declared in the senat
In this instance he as bluntly gay
his opinion that all legislation is mere
ly a matter of dividing the spoils.
1T comes with bad grace from me
on that side,' he said, who have bee
getting their share Of checks and eg<
from the national government, to ga
up and cautiously criticize the rest
US. who are only doing the SAN
thing"