The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1909-08-01
AN OPEN LETTER
Judge Watkins Criticised for Voting
for Tariff on Lumber-His Atten-
ton Called to Democratic Platform.

| ICT VI july 1 u hCSSlS- j. l.. NLeduO"SJ
chairman, and E. H. Fortson, secretary
of the mass meeting at Homer, La.
Being a Democrat and one of your con-
stituents, [ claim the right to criticise
your letter For you to claim justihca-
ton for violating your obligation by
voting against one of the specific de-
clarations of your party because Bryan
did so fourteen years ago is childish.
The Democratic platform declares for
a revenue tariff, but excepts lumber by
name Therefore there is not two dis
tinct and conflicting pledges as you fall
laciously argue in your letter.
No tariff bill can tax everything
Every tariff bill has free list, and the
party simply promised to put lumber
on this free list instead of on the duti-
able list where the Republicans had
put it
You certainly can not be serious
when you say that your vote was not
to be governed by the Democratic plat
form because it was Republican tariff
bill. Do you mean to say that you
would vote for anything for the good
of majority of all the people simply
because a Republican introduced it?
Is that it, judge?
You say in your letter than twenty
seven Democratic senators voted on the
| +Ia nroooe;+io,, to D,,+ 1,,r,bar ~, tba
free list. Of these, seventeen voted
against putting it on the free list, and
only ten voted to do So Much obliged
to you judge, for calling my attention
to these seventeen senator's More than
half of the entire Democratic party in
the Senate of the United States repu-
dating, upon vital question, not only
the traditional policy, but the express,
official and specific declaration of their
Iparty, and following the most staiwart
Iof all the stalwart Republicans of the
Senate.
Il Do you think you are justi6able in
hiding behind these seventeen platform
regulators, and all of you exclaiming
in one accord: Il am not bound by
. my party platform You as we'll as
fifteen other Democratic representatives
together with the seventeen senators be.
hind whom you seek refuge, had the
, chance to vote as your platform bound
! you to do. All of you had the chance
to put into effect the Democratic de-
. mands for the immediate repeal of the
/ tariff duties on lumber, timber, and the
. logs. And what did you do with that
: chance which Democratic constituencie:
: had given you? Given you in the be-
= lief that you were Democrats? Voted
with the Republican leader, Aldrich
, and against the repeal of these duties
: Exactly the opposite to what the Dem
5 ocratic platform pledged you to do
] Had the Democrats been a unit voting
r for free lumber we would have got it
for there were enough Republican in
surgents to have enabled the Democrat
to beat the Republican machine Ii
Y other words, the Democrats had tn,
e chance to do what they in their plat
form promised to do.
Judge, do you remember what w
said in our national platform? Her,
lit is: "We demand the immediate re
Ipeal of the tariff on wood pulp, prin
; paper, lumber and logs, and that thes,
articles be placed on the free list.
That is what we said, judge.
t But within year since that platform
was adopted we furnished to the Re
publicans enough votes to prevent tn
Z tariff from being taken off lumber, tim
Der and logs. 1t is shamel A crime
I And the lumber trust, insolent an
7 ravenous, shut down one thousand mill
, in the South to force us to pay exor
: bitant prices
: You, judge, together with other:
loudly and repeatedly told your con
stituents how they were being robbie
by the trust under the Dingley law
Now you kindly help to furnish tn
8 votes that we're necessary to enable tn
lumber trust to continue to rob thos
constituents, under forms of law.
claim that without the aid of Deme
: cratic votes the Democratic platforr
: could not have been brought to sham,
Did you, Judge, or any of the plat
form repudiators say during your can
paign that the platform had any flaw
lin it?
Why didn't you, the seventeen ser
ators and fifteen other Southern repre-
f sentatives, including the whole Loui.
4 lana delegation, raise your eloquer
n voices in protest, when the Democrat
National Convention officially instructe
Democratic representatives and ser
ators to vote for the immediate repe;
lie lof the tariff duties on lumber?
Ip Did you, or any of you, say that tt
4 platform should not bind anybody?
at so, when and where did you do SO?
) you were silent then, are you M