Judith Gap journal. [volume] (Judith Gap, Mont.) 1908-19??, 1909-09-24
Is PRESIDENT TAFT A DOWNWARD REVIS.
l0NlST?


The gist of the president S defence
of the tariff bill as found in his Wi
mona speech is that the bill was
good one, it was the best we could get
and that, that being the case, it was
the duty Of every Republican to sup
port it.
If either of his two premises, so to
speak, is accepted, says the st. Paul
Dispatch, the conclusion might fol-
low. AS to the first, his own analysis
do not show that the bill was what
was promised, and his statement
made at the time of signing it was All
admission of that fact.
As to the second assumption, it is
not admitted, and by very many who
have followed the history of the
measured it is not believed that this
bill was the le It t hat could have been
obtained.
Two courses were open to the presi-
dent: Either he could have contented
himself with the recommendations he
made to congress at the beginning of
the session, keep his hands off and
sign or veto the unintluenced product
of the Legislative depaltment-that
would have been consistent with one
theory as to the proper attitude OF the
three different departments of the
government towards each other Or
he could take hand i'm shaping the
result. He chose the lat CT course.
But he did not work at it until it had
become too late too accomplish any
thing without having fight with the
high protectionists, who had already
written into the bill what they
wanted. lie did get from them Il
number OF concessions, just about
enough to demonstrate that, if he had
interested himself in the matt i
earlier and seriousl.,, he might have
secured many more.
SO thoroughly convinced is the gen
eral public of this latter fact that it
claim that the bill was the best that
could have been framed under all
circumstances.
But the key to Mr.. Taft's easy sat
isfaction with the result is not to be
found in the bill itself, in his analy-
sis of it's schedules, or his defensive
statement when it was presented to
him for his signature, or even in his
mora ciOpc traatuapt nf tha G Al, .., II ~.
''insurgen.s" to whom, whatsoever he
may say o. their conduct with respect
to maintaining party solidarity, he
owes whatever of reduction down
ward there is in the Aldrdge- Payne
tariff.
1t is necessary to 60 further back in
to the history of this measure, begin
ming with the construction Of the
platform in the convention at
Chicago. When the platform had
been written along the lines hereto
fore followed in the construction Of
Republican national platforms, the
trainers of that document, or ut least
some OF them lprobably not alb were
surprised to find presented for incor-
pOration, and with Mr.. Taft's appro-
val, still further pledge of protec-
ton beyond any which had ever been
made before. 1t provided that the
wall OF defense against foreign COM
petition should be raised still higher
by guaranteeing to American capital
"a reasonable profit This new
feature of Republican protection doc
trine naturally excited surprise.
What is reasonable profit? How is
this new pledge of protection to be
construed?
1t was apparent to the trainers of
the platform, at least to some of
them, that this elastic, ambiguous
phrase was calculated to make trou-
BILE. 1t was referred back to Wash
ingtOn, from whence came the answer,
distinct and unequiyocal, that that
was Mr.. Taft's conception of what
the platform should contain and that
he insisted upon it's incorporation in
the tariff plank. 1t was thus ut his
alictation that it was placed there.
That the incorporation of this pecu-
liar phrase was miscellaneous and
dangerous, rs had been anticipated