The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-04-19
REPUBLICAN TESTIMONY.

Even the Republican press Of the
country. or the more intelligent por-
ton of it at least, is satisfied that there
is no intention on the part of congress
to revise the tariff in accordance with
the promises of the Chicago platform
and the speeches of President Taft dur
ing the campaign. Consequently more
or less is being said in the columns Of
these papers concerning what has hap
pened and what is about to take place
in Washington in the way Of fixing the
schedules with the double purpose of
deceiving the people and at the same
time continuing the golden stream
which has been pouring into the Golfers
of the trusts and other highly protected
interests of the United States.
The Philadelphia North American.
ultra radical in its Republfcanism, sees
no hope of the party pledges being re-
deemed, and is outspoken in its denun-
citation Of the men in control of the
legislative machinery Of the govern
ment. 1t says:
It is not necessary to recall in detail
the record Of Implicitly and ignorance. de-
ceit and incompetence that constitutes the
Payne tariff bill
II is not necessary now to dwell upon
the snakes and ''jokers' in the oil and
tea and coffee and gloves and other du-
ties and the shameful bargain of the beer
tax. The house atrOcity was $50 soon
done for" that we can wonder only what
il was begun for.
Every student Of past tariff bills knew
from the start that the tentative abor-
tive thing would be kicked aside by the
senate bosses. For ever since the Cleve-
land epoch the constitutional provision
that revenue measures must originate in
the house has been a dead letter.
The really interesting development is
that the substitute. the real bill. repre-
sents an innovation. Connection of a ia
riff bill in the senate committee rooms
is an old story. Aldrich presents the nov
city Of a national measure with every
internal evidence of its having been die
tated in the secret council rooms of the
office building that stands at No. IS
Broadway.
In other words, the Aldrich bill Of to-
day is the Dingley law already existing
in effect and purpose. and the policy of
tariff revision upon which President Taft
made his campaign and for which he
called the present extra session of con-
gTess has been utterly and arrogantly ig-
nOred by the senate boss.
The whole thing is a retention Of the
tricks. receptions and evasions Of the
Payne bill. with no announcement Of the
administrative features which. when in
/ troduced al the eleventh hour may make
an absurdity Of any seemingly fair pro-
vision.
And the proof that cheating is the in
/ tentfOn is that there IS preserved in this
| senate measure treachery and duplicity
/ resorte6 to by the house bosses to safe
guard the special privileges they obtained
Z for the STANDARD Oil company.
The blunt truth is that there was lying
I in the house to protect Standard Oil and
/ since that lie was detected Aldrich has
acted so that the lie shall become the law
[ of the land
/ The Chicago Tribune's correspond
ent. Raymond" says there is a sig
/ nifcant story afioat now to the effect
that the increases in the house bill on
/ gloves. hosiery and some other things
were part Of a clever plan to prevent
/ a decrease in the customs rates on the
same articles. It was observed by every
careful student OF the tariff situation
that neither the senate nor the house
] has promised TO reduce rates of duty on
cotton, wool or silk goods by a fraction
of a cent"
In other words, the leaders agreed to
make a show Of revising the tariff so
that the Dingley rates would be but
slightly altered. if at all. The sequel
will show whether William H. Taft has
the backbone of a Grover Cleveland.