The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1909-07-10


of the senate, servant Of
the trusts. brains OF financial legisla-
tion, man of the hour--these are few
Of many titles bestowed upon Nelson
wimarth Aldrich. senior United
States senator from Rhode Island. AS
chairman of the senate finance COM
mittee he has charge of the tariff bill
now being considered by the senate
In extra session. II there n any one
subject that has reached every nook
and corner of the country 1t Is the
tariff.
The tariff oil always originates In
She lower house OF congress. No mat
Ger how much the bin may be emas-
Sulated by the senate or how much It
tnay be disfgured by the joint con-
ference committee, II bears the name
Of the chairman of the finance COM
mittee Of the house. There is no law
for this. 1t Is just common courtesy.
Thus the present generation. to go
back no farther. is familiar with the
Morrison tariff bill. because the chair
man of the house finance committee
which framed the bill was William
Morrison, more commonly known as
familiar with the Mckinley bill. the
Wilson bill. the Mills bill. and the last
was the Dingley bill When tho pres
ent bill becomes law It will go down
on the list as the Payne bill. because
the Hon. Serene Payne. chairman Of
the house finance committee. intro
duced IL in the house When the sem
ate gets through with II. under tho
skillful management OF Senator AL
drich. II will have to be identified be-
fore II VIII be recognized by Mr..
Payne.
No chairman OF tho senate finance
committee was ever moro masterful In
defending a tariff bill than has been
Senator Aldrich. Not only has he had
to face tried and determined opposi-
ton IN the minority party. but he has
besn hampered and heckled by able
and stubborn senator's of his own
party. As chairman of the committee
which revamped the house bill and as
member of other important commit
tees. such as corporations organized In
the District Of Columbia. Cuban rela-
tions. interstate commerce, rules and
member of the select committee on in
tduGtrial expositions. Senator Aldrich
has stood in tho arena OF debate pc
culiarly equipped for the fight which
will probably be his last. for he an
nounced some time ago that when his
present term expires. March 3. 1911.
he win retire from politics.
Senator Aldrich Is one of a notable
group that stood shoulder to shoulder
In many spirited debates. The group
was composed OF Aidrich. Allison. Hale.
, Bpooner and Platt of Connecticut
J Aldrich and Hale remain. Senator
Aldrich will be sixty eight years old
: next November. Possibly he could re-
turn when his present term expires II
he signihed wish 50 TO do, but the
absence of his old supporters hns left
him with most OF the burden. and he
knows the demand for new blood. He
N,must know that during recent sessions
his rnaJorities In the senate have been
bYindlirg. In the matter of the cur
I1Sey bill he found himself obliged to
nsnr ana fight defensively. SO far.
however. he has never been defeated
by ghe younger element He is an aris-
foctst In the best definition OF the
word, and he prefers to retire while
It'll IN ete flush of victory.
Y All IA all he fs unique public
Ggare Utterly lacking In personal
magnetism as the term was applied to
men Ike Blaine. Daniel. Vest. Douglas
a0d others of that school. he has al
ways mad the most respectful consid-
egal5or from tho unswerving, persist
/ acc arl5 pertinacious leaders who OPP
poesd hiin. They knew he believed
wS,s0 ks advocated. They met him
HSVwSng tnat he was mental arsenal.
k1hctA described by Emerson as the
phoCTC5 of the intellectual domain. are
kf10 tuiwEr Co.ifiae.s az he always
t2s or his position. no holds II without
Ebr1Yado. He never .sDOrts to suhter-
fuge. He makes h.s dsht In the open.
AT time when nio.. of the country
Hooked askance at o.JlJSAvn as a po-
eitical tenet AlIlich COsod by II and
kprociaimed bolas, AJAX II WAS the SAL
(vation Of the inotshies IF the coun-
Stry. In 1883 he ,i'SAe be.o-S the hoard
LOT trade of Provid1isse. ~ j.. his hvme
hown. on the prs,pcsed 20 Jis"h IF the
kfariff. How oonsistens "a. LaL oesl In
kwhat he advocated then fefers,..s I.
Mis- ealle at that time Will snow .1s
favored disposing Of the surplus by
[1hc purchase vf honda Or by pr-pay-re a
tho interest on the &idJ due IA lsyT.
lNUSning to tho question Vt the resL.-
LeioD of the revenue. the senatof said
,fhat he knew OF no protectioniJ. or
reducing the revenue to the current
requirements and obligationU If the
I government. Any dispositiof Of a
surplus by extraordinary exyenaitures
AeS division among the state VAS in
| 6sfensible. The revsnue must We re-
euoed, and only the gaaiher ID IA dis
pute.
Now" said the speDser 'T an. not
only In favor of redLef,Dn VI the
LTevenue, but q revision of me iarifT.
IL am in favor OF a revision. of the
ktariff for the strengthening aid pre-
kssyving of the protective principle. u
Its bettle for freedom or slavery. and
IA enter II as a protectionist. believing
| in the preservation and strengthening
I Of our protective principles"
gipce tho utterance quoted Senator
/ Aldrich has not devtated "A single Jot
hfrom his stand on protection. The
kfraxzlad adage that wise men some
Atimes change their opinions does not
always hold out. Right or wrong. for
1better or worse. the principles of pro-
lection remain the same. Not only
has Senator Aldrich been the strong
arm OF his party In the senate when
tho ,tar,ff was the question of the day.
but on all matters he has been looked
TO for counsel. 1t is recalled that when
ths announcement was made In 1905
that he was going abroad for six
weeks. the last ak " the session, the