The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1909-05-26
BY ellison Gardner.

WASHINGTON. d. c., May 26.
What do / think of the tariff"
Senator La Toilette looked at
his questioner and was silent.
Then he looked about the room
his study-piled with open books,
Uttered with pamphlets, strewn
with corded-up manuscript and
typewriter copy.
| That's what you Think" was
suggested. "Volumes?"
He nodded.
1.-THE Aldrich bill is
Dad"
why? In what respect more
than anotherf"
II can't at the moment think of
any respect in which 1t isn't bad"
(Which way does 1t revise-up
or DOWN."
upward. have the figures.
shall make it a matter of mathe-
NAUTICAL demonstration before this
business is over"
isn't that what the people
want?"
do the people want the bur-
den of taxation laid more heavily
on their backs?"
But the people asked a revi-
sion Of the tariff, and the republi-
can party promised that"
Revision downward. That is
what the people asked. And that
is what the platform makers pre-
tended they were pledging. And
that is what was - in fact =
pledged by every candidate and
party man who made a speech on
this subject. 1t is nonsense to
pretend that this is not true"
Then somebody is guilty of
bad faith?"
every man who supports the
Aldrich bill is guilty of bad faith"
But they say the bill Will be
improved in conference"
II have seen bills improved in
conference before. remember
how Mr.. Aldrich sent the emer-
gency currency act to conference
with five improvements which had
been added in the senate. And I
remember how 1t came back
stripped of all of them, including
that for strengthening bank re
serves, and then-in the rush and
urgency of winding UP the bust
ness of the senate-it was ap-
proved. This Is the Aldrieh way"
"You don't think tariff laws
should be made behind closed
doors?"
Nor any other kind of laws.
Publicity Is the one great safe
guard to the peoples liberties.
propose to fight the effort to sup
press debate"
Are there efforts of that
sort?"
There are. Every day the in
terests which Aldrich represents in
the senate are trying to bring the
tariff matter to the closed-door
conference committee stage. They
don't like this talk. Mr.. Root
sneers at senator's who talk-'for
home consumption I talk for
home consumption--and for the
consumption of all the homes in
the United States. The people
ought to understand that they are
being robbed--that they are being
taxed, though poor, to add to the
swollen fortunes of the idle rich;
would like to talk to them un-
til they understand that they. are
being fooled; that they are being
lied to by Aldrich; that they are
standing like patient pack-mules
while the Aldriches, Roots and
Gallingers of the senate add more
pounds to the burden of taxation
more dollars to the poor mans
cost of living, more inequalities
between the rich and the poor,
more difficulties to the man who
is struggling for his opportunity,
more hours to the workman's day,
more sweat the farmers brow,
more perjury among the very poor,
more class hate, more discomfort,
more oppression, more government
by the dollar sign, more obeisanceI
before wealth, more distrust of
government, more danger to the
country from the spirit in the
free man which is patient for a.
long time, but not forever"
us Aldrich a great tariff ex-
Ipert?"
Il venture to assert that Aldrich
cannot supply the fundamental
data necessary to defend the
schedules which he has prepared.
BY that / mean that he cannot
defend his bill even according to|
the standards laid down In the
lparty platform. He does not know
1.-THE simple fundamental things
essential to be known In framing