The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1909-11-11
DEMOCRATS READY
FOR TARIFF FIGHT.
HitchcOck's Decision to Make
Missouri Pivotal State in
Campaign is Welcomed.

@1cSOSAA AA'OSnA 0soSS Al
Campaign is Welcomed.
Republic
| Postmaster General Frank Hitch
cocks decision to make Missouri the
pivotal State in the next campaign,
with the revised tariff as the issue,
was welcome news to the members
of the Executive Committee of the
Democratic State Committee, who
metin the Commonwealth Trust Com
pany building headquarters.
| In addition to holding a cabinet job,
Mr.. Hitchcock retains the chairman
ship of the Republican National Com
mittee, and word from him that a
tariff campaign is to be waged in Mis-
souri,, with $4,000 contribution
from the National Committee to start
things, therefore, is considered Off
cial.
Democratic leaders express will
ingness to contest on the tariff. They
are itching to prove to the voters that
the Republicans violated their plat
form pledge to revise the tariff down.
ward and to circulate President
Taft's Winona, Mimi, speech, in
which he Endorsed the Aldrich-Payne
bill and read out of the party those
Republicans who fought it in Con-
gress.
Leading Republican newspapers
throughout the country have repu-
dated Taft's recent tariff utterances,
and have been free in criticising his
Endorsement of what Democatic lead
ers in Congress called an iniquitous
measure.
Missouri to Be Center. of Tariff Fight.
Missouri is believed to have been
selected by Chairman Hitchcock for
the center Of the tariff because of the
residence here of Champ Clark, the
Democratic congressional floor lead
er, Mr. Clark has been persistent
opponent of the Aldrich-Payne law,
and will find at his back the other
Democratic Congressman of Missou-
ri, as well as the State and congress
sional committees.
Governor Hadley, it is known, does
not favor a tariff issue in Missouri.
He wants to bring State matters into
the campaign. In this regard the
Democrats are willing to accommo-
date him also. The Federal crowd in
Missouri, however, which will sup
port Senator Warner for reelection,
will follow Hitchcock's instructions,
for the very good reason that they
are in the main postmasters or postal
employees, and Hitchcock, as Post
master General, is in position to
force obedience to his demands.
Hitchcock was made Postmaster
General because of his proved ability
as machine builder. To make his
work more effective he was permit
ted to stay at the head Of the Repub-
lican national political organization.
His corps of postmasters steamroller-
ed the presidential nomination for
Taft, and he will be expected, by |
similar tactics, to obtain an indorse-
ment at the next election of Taft's
tariff policies.
Senator Warner Hitchcock's Ideal.
Senator Warner is an ideal candi-
date, from the Hitchcock standpoint. |
He voted consistently about III times
with Aldrich when the insurgents
were hammering the Aldrich tariff |
bill the hardest in the Senate. This
parrotlike performance has endeared
Warner to Hitchcock, and there is |
little likelihood of the Postmaster |
General permitting such a faithful fol-
.
lower to be sidetracked, even by the |
Republican leaders in Missouri.