Evening star., 1909-05-23
Bryan and the Tariff.
SAYS the Philadelphia Press:

says Tie iSSo'
Democratic senator's are giving dem
ocratic papers a heap OF trouble just
now.
THE democratic party pledged 1tseir
to the reduction of duties and to certain
free raw materials. No promise could
he more explicit. Many OF the demo-
cratic senators voted for this pledge at
Denver. All of them supported 1t on
the stump during the campaign.
Half the democratic senator's have cast
this pledge to the winds. They nave
voted for higher duties and a tariff on
free raw materials. The platform pledges
of their party are nothing TO them.
How wise Mr.. Bryan was when he
refused to put the tariff to the front In
his campaign when half the southern SEN
ators and half their constituents believed
at heart in a high tariff"
Mr. Bryan was wise because he knew
the record. He had helped prepare a
tariff bill, and was familiar with all the
difficulties inhering in revision. AS a
young member of the House he had ex-
perienced the storm and stress of the
contest over the German Wilson bill. and
now that he was his party's leader, with
the power to emphasize this and subordi-
nate that issue, he drew upon his expert
ence for guidance.
But the division Of the democratic party
on the tariff question was not then, as it
is not now, confined to the southern MEM
bers. The Senate's part in the revision
of 1894 was the work of northern men.
Mr.. German was classed as southern, but
was northern in his business connec-
tions and ideas. His assistants were
northern men. Smith of New Jersey,
Murphy of New York and Brice of Ohio
had all participated in the campaign of
1892, when protection was hayed from
one end of the country to the other in
the name of their party. But not one
had assented to the sentiments spoken
They found their voices when the cam
paigr CUFF was presented for redemption
in legislation, and frankly repudiated all
of it,
The only reason why there are no north
ern democrats voting in the Senate now
for protection is there are no northern
democrats there. Free trade, free silver
and Organism have emptied the chamber
of all democrats but >the southern mem
bers and one or two from the west. Mr..
Shively from Indiana is there, but repre-
sents not tariff but a liquor sentiment
in his state.
Mr. Bryan has sometimes been accused
Of recreancy to the tariff cause. His dem
ocratic opponents have complained that
after making his reputation in the House
as a tariff reformer he switched to free
silver and let the tariff go hang. II 1t
is true that, he played politics with the
two issues IN 1896, did he blunder In his
choice? Had he emphasized the tariff
instead of silver in his campaign That
year would the result have been different? :?
The party was divided on both issues. and
a democratic campaign on the tariff SO
soon after the party's legislative fiasco
would have ended disastrously. And Mr..
Bryan might have polled fewer votes for
a tariff for revenue only than he did for
free silver.
The peerless leader is probably as much
of tariff reformer today as he was fif-
teen years ago, and as senator would
obey the Denver platform. But as his
party's leader he is more than senator
and in framing up national campaign
must consider more than one issue.