The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1909-06-04

| 10 every senator and member OF the
House, when off duty, he is just
plain jim. | never heard him allud-
ed to us as Mr.. Sherman but once,
by an old lady from Dobb's Ferry,
N. Y, and at first I didn't know
who she referred to. When you
come to Washington and see a
thick, solid looking citizen with a
square head, spectacles, a little
bunch of hair in front of each ear
and red carnation in his button
hole, address him as Jim" He'll
answer. His large room in the rear
of the senate chamber is overrun
with visitors every day from home
and thereabouts and from all over
the country. They all want to see
"Jim," and he receives and shakes
hands with deelgation after delega-
ton. All these besides the contin-
ual scattering visitors. His secre-
tary usually waits until there is a
roomful, and then calls him out for
a few minutes while he does the
honors. He is one of the best parli-
mentarians and presiding officers in
the country, and has already made
himself immensely popular with the
senators.
The votes during the past week
on various items of the tariff bill
appears to have demolished the last
distinguishing principle Of the natl
onal democratic party 1t has
thrown overheard the last vestage
and relic of free trade, and in fact
is no longer tariff for-revenue
party except in name. Probably
even the name will 60, the tail with
the hide, and the so-called democ-
racy will remain only a name. SEN
ator Simmons of North Carolina set
the ball rolling by advocating a
tariff for revenue" of 81 a thous-
and on lumber, higher protection
than any republican asked for and
a higher rate than the committee
had in mind. Senator Bailey of
Texas contributed an important
speech in which he definitely threw
overheard everything by the name
of free trade or even free raw
materials Senator DAME! of Virgin
ia, likewise one of the intellectual
giants and great leaders Of the demo
cratic party squarely asked for a
sufficient duty to protect all home
products, whether you call it pro-
tective tariff or a tariff for revenue"
and both senators Foster and
McEnery of Louisiana made great
high tariff speeches in favor of
stiff protective duty on sugar. In
fact, their speeches were such adj
mirable high tariff arguments that
our old friend Col. Albert Clarke of
the New England Home Market
club, who happened to be present,
will circulate thousands of copies of
them as tending to show that even
honest democrats of national repu-
tation are acknowledging the ire
sistable force of the logic of protec-
ton 20 home industriss4.
In the vote on the lumber sched-
ule seventeen democratic senators,
a large majority of those present,
voted with the great majority of
the republicans against the amend
ment of senator McCumber of South
Dakota providing for free rough
umber All the so-cailed "insurg-
ents," with the exception of SEN
ator Deliver, voted for free lumber
with the few democrats. The vote
of the senate was 26 for free lumber
and SO against. This indicates that
about the only free traders left in
the country are the republican pro
gressists," who have deserted their
party under fire, and few scatter
ing remnants of the democracy. As
| write the question of a tariff on
hides has not been determined, but
it seems to be certain that the
proposition to place hides on the
free list will be defeated by a large
majority.
1t may be and probably is too
early to predict the future results of
this new cleavage, but it now looks
like the disruption of old party lines
and the formation of a new tariff
for-revenue faction comprised of
some relics of both the old parties.
If that is the final result it will in
clude the few democrats who will
yet cling to tariff-for- revenue name
a sagainst the evident party drift, |
and those few tall grass progress !
lists who yet insist that they are
but who would scale f.
down" protection until it would
cease to be protection at all. This
the cid ante-bellum democracy and
the "modern-philosophy- of-govern- /
ment" republicans could and would |
meet on common ground. In any |
event. it is certain that the vast .
bulk of the republican party, those /
which are at the helm and which .
insist on adequate protection TO
every needy and deserving home in
dustrv. will from now on receive
large accessions from those who
have heretofore called themselves
democrats but who now recognize
the propriety and necessity OF safe
protective tariff. This is
not only a sign of the times, but a
condition which Immediately con-
fronts us.
II is altogether probable that bv