The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1909-07-28
TAFT TRAPPED ON
TARIFF by AIDRICH

L
They are closing In at Washington
ION the tariff bill and It looks now as
Though the quarry is down. President
Taft has been called in by Speaker
Cannon and Senator Aldricb to be
present at the killing, and meekly he
has consented in fact, the President
has already met with the leaders of
that congressional night-riding force
and they have his assurance that he
will be present at the division of the
spols. The vicious betrayal OF the
consumer contained in this tariff bill
forces the conclusion that II all Gaul
were to be divided by the Congress OF
1.-THE United States a piece would be al
lotted to each of the protected inter
tests. We trust that President Taft
will make thorough explanation of
his position throughout this whole tar
iff farce, and in that explanation it
would be matter of great pleasure to
the country were he able to say some
thing to offset the popular conclu-
lsion that he has abandoned the public
to the tender mercies OF Joseph Can
I'non and Nelson w. Aldrich. Hoping
he will. we fear he cannot, for the
president has acted so far apparently
lunder the complete domination of the
Headers in the two houses of Congress.
ION July 18th last when asked IL he in
tended TO meet again with Mr.. Can
Inon in consideration of the conference
report on the tariff bill, the President
ktenderly replied:
81 hope so, for | cannot see enough
Rof Uncle Joe"
l. Now Mr.. Roosevelt had somewhat
different opinion of Uncle joe" for
lwhen Cannon was defeated for Con-
gress in 1891, the former President
said:
I'VE cannot escape from the fact
that It was no credit TO the Republican
tparty OF the House that Mr.. Cannon of
The Roosevelt policy covering
Uncle Joe," has evidently been dit
liched. And If the health of anyone
twas drunk at the White House con-
ference on the tariff bill we hazard the
lguess that 1t was not the health OF
Bwana Tumbo. Perhaps 1t was the
shealth of the lions he is following
through the African jungles. Roose-
welt was a brave and as daring as any
President the White House has held In
the last half century. And, yet Roose-
welt, believing in tariff reform, never
pressed the battle. He knew II meant
Ia bitter struggle with the Congresslon-
al ring. Have we been expecting too
much from Mr.. Taft? There should
be no doubt as to the position of Mr..
Cannon or of Mr.. Aldrich on this
question OF tariff revision. The po-
pular hope was solely in President
Taft, and IL the White House occupant
has. as his meetings and public ut
terances indicate, accepted the finished
product OF A'drich as a fit tariff law
the public has again been feeced by
tariff highwaymen. What Mr.. Can
non really thinks of tariR revision
may be obtained by the following
statement made by him when the agi-
tation for a tariff revision began
three or four years back. He then
said, as reported in the New York
Tribuune
IF some fellow did introduce
tariff bill and II was argued and ar
gued, and at the end of twelve months
its advocates could gather together
enough votes TO pass Il, the country
being held up by the tail in the mean
time, | think you would find that the
new law would have just as many
outrageous things in II as we found in
the Dingley tariff act"
And Mr.. Cannon then spoke the
truth. The new tariff measure in con-
ference at the present time is filed
with more outrageous things than are
contained in the Dingley tariff. II
that Is the bill President Taft is to
accept, 1t would be far better for the
country were the Dingley act not to
be disturbed. The situation makes
most interesting tariff article of
waiter Wellman, the able Washing
TON correspondent of the Chicago Re
cord Herald. Writing to his paper
from Washington last May, prior TO
the nomination of the candidates for
the Presidency. he said
The Republican leaders now in the
saddle are determined to fool the
people again as to the whole matter
'of revision. There will be Just enough
lof promise of revision In the action of
Congress and In the National platform
to tide over the exigencies of the cam
paign, and after the election some ex
cuse VIII be found to break the pro-
mise, or postpone it again. II the Re-
pubilcans are put back in power in the.
|lower branch Cannon will again be
lspeaker. There Is no way of stopping
IT. And with Cannon as Speaker, the
people are beginning to fear tariff re-
vision that means anything of actual
reform will be impossible.
There may possibly be some at
tempt at revision. Just enough to
make a record and a pretense of re-
demption OF the anti-electlon pledges.
But 1t is much more likely to be a re-
vision upward than n revision doun