The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1909-07-15
GARDNER SEES A "PROGRES-
SIVE PARTY. TO BE COM
POSED OF DESERTERS
FROM THE TRUST CON-
TROLLED OLD PARTIES.
by ellison Gardner

WASHINGTON, d. c., July Is.
"A new party to bear the name
Progressive is taking shape.
Every day sees the old democratic
and republican lines more faint.
Every day sees the issue more
sharply drawn between bipartisan
self-interest, on the one hand, and
the peoples interest, on the other.
The vote on the tariff bill is
tremendously significant. That 10
republicans sixth of the party
strength in the senate-should
have voted against the party meas
ure, came as a shock even to AID
rich.
A few weeks ago Aldrich turned
with a sneer on Senator Beverage
and asked mockingly:
what is it that you and your
progressive friends would like?"
He used the term in ridicule.
On the evening of July 8, when
voted against the passage of the
the 10 progressive republicans
tariff bill, and used the name of
President Taft as their justifica-
ton, Aldrich took different tone.
He said:
"The republican party is party
of majorities. The senator from
Indiana does not speak for the re-
publican party. He has no right to
call here the name of the president
of the United States In support of
any of the suggestions he has
made. Those of us who are here
representing states and voting as a
majority in this chamber represent
the republican party" And so on.
The Rhode Island senator had
come down to an apologize and al
most whining tone. He was seri7
ously disturbed.
Another thing that disturbed the
senator from Rhode Island was the
rumor that President Taft had at
last voiced a sympathy for the
"progressives. He is quoted as
saying:
II hope all the progressive mem
bers of the senate will vote against
the bill. The moral effect of such
a vote will be tremendous. 1t will
help to get a better bill from the
conference. 1t will help the men,
bers of the house in fighting for
the reductions of the house bill"
The report spread rapidly and
was taken to mean that Taft had
quit his hard-and-fast alliance
with Aldrich. Those senators who
had helped to make up Aldrich's
3S votes, heard the news with
sorrow. They had supposed that
Taft was on their side to stay.
The words of Beveridge replying
to Aldrich in the senate. had a
solemn sound.
"That pledge (for revision
downward) he said. twas voiced
by our party's candidate and lead
err, In the party's name. That
promise and the peoples faith that
1t would be kept, was one of the
three principal reasons why the
people made our candidate their
president. To keep that pledge
has been the effort of those repub-
lican senators who have battled
against increasing rates. Our
votes shall be cast in harmony
with our party's pledge as voiced
by our party's leader-the ma
tons president"
So 10 republicans broke over
party lines. The states from which
they come are the states which
hold the balance of political power.
The progressive" members of the
senate-a group very likely destin-
ed to be the nucleus of progress
sive party"-are: La Toilette,
wisconsin; Beveridge, Indiana;
Dolliver and Cummins. Iowa;
Burkett and Brown, Nebraska;
Nelson and Clapp, Minnesota;
Crawford, South Dakota, and Bris-
tow, Kansas.
"Progressives" on the demo-
cratic side of the chamber who
have acted with the republican
"progressiyes" are Gore and Owen.
Oklahoma; Newlands. Nevada, and
Shively, Indiana.
In sympathy with the progress
sive" movement. but not bold or
strong enough to be with It In the
tariff fight, are several republic
can members OF the senate like