Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1909-07-29

l
sectional viewpoint will result in
some revision downward. 1t will
not be as much as the president had
hoped he might get, but he will
accept what he can get. As this
newspaper has remarked frequently
the completed tariff bill will be the
best the republican party can offer
under existing conditions in redemp-
tion of its platform pledge. Presi-
dent Taft is not the man to turn
such an offering, more particularly
as he will have had his chance at
lettering il and will have something
to show for his efforts. The senate
and house leaders gave the presi-
dent free hand to settle the dis
puted schedules as best he could,
keeping in mind, of course, the
absolute necessity of retaining
enough votes to pass the bill. After
about week of hustling the presi-
dent handed the job back to the
conferees. In the face of the log
rolling essential to the passage of
any tariff bill even the powerful
prestige and influence of the presi-
dents Office proved ineffective in
overcoming the selfish interests of
the men behind the votes needed to
pass the bill.
May this be interpreted as an
admission that the Payne bill will
be bad bill? 1t is not so intended.
1t is meant to be only frank admis
sion that the Payne bill will not be
an ideal measure, and that all of it's
schedules will not measure up
exactly to the definition of protec-
ton set forth in the republican tariff
plank. The ideal cannot be attained
by any law, least of all a revenue
law. While the new tariff law will
not be perfect, it will be the best
approximation to perfection that the
republican party can attain. This
means that it will be the best tariff
law that could be passed at this time
and under the existing circumstances
by any political organization. The
faults in it will not be due TO the
system of protection, as the demo-
Gratis will allege, nor to the evil
Vaccinations of Aldrich and Cannon
as the insurgents may insist. They
will be due to human fallibility and
selfishness. They would exist in
equal or larger measure in tariff
bill prepared by the insurgents, If
they had been successful in domi-
mating their party in congress. The
faults would exist in much larger
measure. ii is asserted confidently,
in measure prepared by the demo-
Gratis If they had a chance to try to
approximate'their ideal of tariff for
revenue with only incidental pro-
lection For an illustration that
the democracy is less efficient than
the republican party in tariff max
Ting we have only to go back to the
days Of the log rolled Wilson law.
That they have not improved since
then is suggested by the fact that
they have not now attempted to pre-
pare bill of their own to offer as a
better bill than the ones framed by
the republicans. That the insurg-
ents would have to do as much log
rolling as the regulars is suggested
by the fact that the socalled insur-
gent group has not been able to
agree upon similar rule Of revision
save that the other fellows protec-
ton ought to be reduced.
How does log rolling interfere
with the attainment Of tariff ideal :
II interiors through force as inevi-
table as the law Of gravitation the
law Of human sel6shness. The pro-.
tective principle as set forth ID the
platform is an ideal, and all repub-
licans ''ubscribe 70 il. All interests
agree 20 be bound BY The measure
|of protection as set forth. No inter-