The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1909-07-26
CONGRESS AND
THE TARIFF
Thos. H. Clark IS Inter-
viewed.
WILL BE HIGHLY PROTECTIVE
President Taft WIN Not Veto
Measure.
ways and Means Committee of House
stresgiy Protectionist, While
Protectien Is strongly En-
treschea In senate.


Thomas H. Clark, who has spent sew
eral months recently in Washington.
Is at home at present. He has given
1he Advertiser general statement OF
the tarin outlook at Washington, as
this appears to him. He 10 we'll
known as student OF public affairs,
and for number of years had oppor-
tunities to watch at close range that
great political play, Congress- at work.
He was living In washingtonwhen
the Dingiey bill became law.
Mr.. Clark said:
when 1t Is certain we shall know
very shortly, what the outcome of the
present extraordinary session OF Con-
gress Is to be, there Is. to say the least
Of 1t. temerity in forecasting the re-
suit. A prediction may be hazarded
with confidence. nevertheless. The
bill to emerge from the conference VIII
be a highly protective measure In
character and IL will not be vetoed by
the President.
What is the plain truth about the
recent election when Taft defeated
Bryan? Apart from any and all issues
mooted in the respective platforms of
the two great parties. the American
people cast casual glance at Bryan
and his following, including myself,
infinitesimally, there--and then turned
with seeming entire satisfaction to
Taft and his following. That election
determined nothing more than that the
American people continued to distrust
the Democratic party as then organ
ICED. and led. They preferred the Re-
publicans. In spite of the disastrous
panic that had been visited upon them
under Roosevelt. It was an unprece-
dented thing. SO far as ! know. In the
history of parliamentary institutions
for ruling party, panic-occurring,
not to be thrown out by the heels,
by way of retaliation. The Republi-
can party, In 1908, stood firm as
rock in the midst OF the storm that
wasted public and private credit. 1t
was undoubtedly a great tribute paid
Theodore Roosevelt, that he was em-
powered to lead throughout that panic
to decisive triumph for his party at
the polls. He did so lead. and the
fact that he dearly wanted to continue
his lead and would love as dearly to
resume It, Is the key to the Washing
ton situation. Roosevelt Is to TAFT
what Blaine was to Harrison. He
must be friendly with Roosevelt and
yet deeply distrusts. IL he does not
tear, him.
Now there was last year no very
general demand In the country for a
revision of the tariff. Certainly, the
Democrats did not conduct their can
vass as IL there was such q demand.
1t is a mere pretense to say that the
Republicans promised In their plat
form revision downward. Their
promised revision was to take into ac-
count the difference in cost Of produce
ton at home and In competing coun-
tries and furnish besides reasonably
fair profit ON his investment to the
m a M, ia cft The Fnnat hide hOnnd
of protectionists could not ask for
more Of a subsidy than that. The
ruling spirits in the Republican ranks
dreaded a new tariff agitation-well
they might-but President Taft was
compelled to find omething to turn his
hand to, and promptly Old Spectacles.
with his grin and his screech. was
faring about the world. leaving a
great school of petty fish, like Albert
Shaw, Lyman Abbott, Pinchot and
Jimmie Garfield. to whistle my poll
cies' This predecessor had, in fact.
tried, by smooth methods, at least, to
settle every problem we have except the
tariff he had screamed about the
race question. the railroads. forest
conservation, our food supply. and the
like. on one hand; and, on the other,
about every imaginable matter, such
as the family birthrate. spelling re-
though, this meddIer never touched.
not daring to. He was conspicuously a
coward when he got near the tariff
question. And SO 1t has CHANGED that
quitting ONCE he has left nothing but
a deficit and the tariff with which
President Taft must deal in any effort
he would put forth to show himself
equal to his new and great post.
Congress came reluctantly In ex-
0f q hhAAfnor nf
Mr.. Taft. to take up the work OF re-
vising the taxation system Of the
country. Most reluctantly Congress
has busted itself in pretending to con-
form to the Presidents wishes and to
what has quite naturally grown to be,
since the body convened, a strong pop
ular demand for genuine downward
revision of our tariff taxes. The Ways
and Means Committee of the House is
strongly protectionist, while protec-
tion is strongly entrenched In the Sen
ate Finance Commute, having there.
too, an assured and substantial Demo-
cratic support. The first open declara-
tion of the real intention Of the lead
ers of the majority party was found
in the Payne bill. This was more
highly protective in its general char
acter than the Dingley law itself. The
Senate went still further. In a bill
ticles, and ranging over the whole
field of human wants, they have tried
to make 1t nearly certain that no
American can wear anything or con-
sumo anything. except II be air, with
out paying an enhanced price foT the
article. This bill, Senator Aldrich is
now engaged in driving through the
conference committee. President Taft
may extract a few concessions from
Aldrich. Hale. Gallinger, Lodge, War
rem, Smoot, and the rest, enough. per-
haps, to have his face. In his own opin-
ion, but the Aldrich bill, in very much
the shape Aldrich wishes It to remain,
will become the law.
The President threatened through
Secretary Macveagh. at Chicago. to
establish "a new majority and control"
IL the tariff was not soundly revised.
II he vetoed the bill, he would get a
new majority. a majority so new, that
1t would probably embrace nearly the
whole of the Democratic party. Has
he the courage to veto it, 1t is no
violent presumption to say he knows
the Senate has thrust a bad bill on
him. But there is need here for a
savage determination such as Jackson
had, or Cleveland. Does the inveter-
ate love of golf or the persistent prac-
tice of the game to keep ones fat down,
hold out any promise to us of the
happy warrior the country must have
when it engages in deadly conflict
with the subsidized manufacturers of
the United States, the most powerful,
the most cunning, the most unscrupu-
lous combination of selfish creatures
on the globe? When Cleveland throt-