The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-08-23
FINISH OF
TARIFF RACE
Continued from Page Nine

AGt 4ACzs -14h44 * LIZ tdAlA law ANdAAf
means. During the autumn and winter
and during another summer there viii
be ample opportunity to observe how
the new law operates. No tariff law
has ever been more carefully framed,
more thoroughly debated and no more
comprehensive effort, from the Repub
lean standpoint, was ever made TO
make II 1t the manufacturing and
ether industries OF the country.
Knowing this the Republican leaders
in Senate and House are very confident
that il viii in the end prove very
Acceptable law They are not worry
ing a bit about the future of it. The
President Is Of the same attitude Of
mind. In the course of a few weeks
be viii make The country ring with his
statements abont the measure. In the
cool retreat OF his summer residence
al Beverly, he viii soon be preparing
speeches TO be delivered on his western
tour He viii make It plain what the
bill really accomplishes and how 1t
effects the producer and the consumer
the length and breadth of the land
The politicians are all specializing
over what the Presidents experience
Is TO be ultimately with the tariff. 1t
IS bound TO be very paramount topic
for the next few months. No other
matter of administration and legisla-
ton has given 50 many presidents IN
recent times anxiety and apparently
President Taft is not to escape Har-
rison had his great worries over the
Mckinley bin and, because of it, saw
the House Of Representatives con-
tsolled by the opposite political party
dnring the last half Of his four years
term. Cleveland is supposed to have
lost a reelection in 1883 because of a
tariff message. The experience of Har-
rison was duplicated with Cleveland in
his second term. when the enactment
OF the Wilson law brought about a
most sweeping Republican victory in
1894 and delivered the control of the
National House over to the Repub-
lieans during the last two years of
Mr.. Cleveland 5 tenure
Mckinley had his troubles over tariff
bat they were chiefly before he be-
came President He was chairman of
the WAYS and Means Committee that
framed the Mckinley law and that
law brought about his defeat for re-
election to Congress in the Canton,
Ohio. district A Democratic trick
was responsible for it in good part.
Pedlers were sent through some local
tiles IN his district asking very high
prices for articles and claiming that
the increased cost was due to the Nc
Kinlev law. But his defeat led TO his
election as Governor of Ohio and then
as President Of the United States The
Dingley law enacted at the threshold
of his first administration was popu-
lar and the clamor for its revision had
not grown at ali strong up to the time
of his death.
President Roosevelt, with rare
prescienee for avoiding troublesome
things, refused TO have anything to
do with tariff revision, although two
or three times he was on the verge
of calling Congress to consider tariff
He accepted good advice and left il
for his successor in Office.
Now, with the great ruction inside
the Republican lines over revision, the
prophets are busy predicting what
President Taft s fate viii be- One
can hear eminent Republicans in
Washington almost any day say the
new tariff bill IS likely to lose them
the next House of Representatives II
may. Probably it will not. This is
the time OF year when pessimistic Re.
pubheans are drawing doleful pictures
| and the Democrats are buoyed up with
| great hopes Of winning long expect
ed victory. Evidently the President
| IS to be criticized much by Western
Republicans for his course with the
tariff. Whether they win go out into
the open and tell their constituents ii
| is a bad law remains to be shown The
| President and the leaders In Congress
| hoped TO get a bill that most of the
| insurgents would vote for on the last
rolleaH Having voted for it they
could go home and defend it on the
stump. But il Is far from likely that
/ the Republican insurgents who voted
! against the bin in the House and
thereby reduced the normal Republican
ma ioritv Of 1t then down to a major
ity OF l. viii have very much to SAY
| al home in favor of the measure. They
may keep quiet during the next cam
paign and refuse to be drawn into
discussion of tariff, but that will be
| an embarrassing position for a Re
| publican candidate for the House OF
Representative especially when the
I Democrat against him viii be making
The most Of that issue.
Senator Bristew, of Kansas. for in
stance. who has been a very determin
ed opponent of the new tariff, because
Il does not reduce duties on manu-.
| featured articles which his constitu
ents use in large quantities, is in
| elined 10 believe that he viii remain
IN his tent and not engage in the fray
Of the next campaign. But he ad
n1its that may be embarrassing. How
ever he is elected for a six-year tern
and there IS some excuse for him keep
/ ing ont Of such a contention. Tbs
developments If the last two week:
/ are likely 70 make the situation al
| the more embarrassing for the West
| ern Republicans. who have voted
/ against the tariff.
| BY taking hand in the conference
| and asking the conferees to redue.
| certain rates, the President has giver
| Republicans an excuse for character
izing II rs his hill Democratic ora