Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-06-26

D. Aldrich senior United
' M.ite. senator from Rhode Island. AS
shairn,an of the senate finance COM
si,e, he has charge of the tariff bill
INV being considered by the senate
-, oytro session. II there Is any one
..,hiect that has reached every nook
ri corner Of the country it Is the
tariff j.,
tho lower house OF congress-. No mat
az how much the bill may be emas-
.n,ated by tho senate or how much 1t
nav be dlsfgured by the joint con-
ference committee. it bears the name
of the chairman of the finance COM
mittee of the house. There is no law
FIR this. 1t Is just common courtesy.
Thus the present generation, to go
hack no farther, is familiar with the
Morrison tariff bill, because the chair
Nan of the house finance committee
which framed the bill was William
harrison. more commonly known as
horizontal Bill" The country is also
familiar with the Mckinley bill. the
wilson bill. tho Mills bill. and the last
was The Dingley bill. When the pres
eut iii becomes n law 1t will go down
m the list as the Payne bill, because
Tho Hon. Serene Payne, chairman OF
tha house finance committee. intro
5uced II in the house. When the sem
ate gets through with it. under the
sk,llful management of Senator AL
dricb it will have to be identified be-
fore it will be recognized by Mr..
Payne.
No chairman of tho senate finance
committee was ever more masterful in
defending tariff bill than has been
Senator Aldrich. Not only has he had
to face tried and determined opposi-
ton in the minority party, but he has
been hampercd and heckled by able
and stubborn senator's of his own
party. AS chairman of the committee
which revamped the house bill and as
member OF other important commit
tees, such as corporations organized in
the District OF Columbia, Cuban rela-
tons, interstate commerce, rules and a
member of the select committee on in
dustria expositions Senator Aldrich
has stood in the arena of debate PEE
culiarly equipped for the fight which
will probably be his last. for he an
nounced some time ago that when his
present term expires. March 3. 1911,
he will retire from politics.
Senator Aldrich is one of notable
group that stood shoulder to shoulder
in many spirited debates. The group
was composed of Aldrich. Allison, Hale.
Spooner and Plat OF Connecticut.
Aldrich and Hale remain. Senator
Aldrich will be siXty-cight years old
next November. Possibly he could re-
turn when his present term expires il
he signfed q wish SO t. do, but the
absence of his old supporters has left
him with most of the burden. and he
knows the demand for new blood. He
must know that during recent sessions
his majorities in the senate have been
dwndling. III the matter Of the cur
rency bill he found himself obliged to
fight and fight defensiyely. So far.
however. he has never been defeated
by the younger element. He is an aris-
tocrat in the best definition of the
word and he prefers to retire while |
still in the flush of victory.
All in all he is a unique public
figure, Utterly lacking in personal
magnetism as the term was applied to
men like Blaine. Daniel. Vest. Douglas
and others OF that school, he has al
ways had the most respectful consid-
GRAFTON from tile answering. persist
ent and pertinacious leaders who OPP
posed him. They knew he believed
what he advocated. They met him
knowing that he was a mental arsenal.
Facts, described by Emerson as the
horror OF the intellectual domain, are
his buwark. Confident as he always
is of his position he holds 1T without
bravado. He never resorts to subter-
fngc, He makes his fight in the open.
Al n time wlleE most of the country
looked askance at protection as po-
iitical tenet Aldrich stood by it and I
proclaimed boldly that it was the sal
Walton of the industries of the coun-
try. In 1883 he spoke before the board
of trade of Providence. r. l., his home
town. on the proposed revision of the
tariff. How consistent he has been In
what he advocated then reference to
his talk at that time will show. He
favored disposing Of the surplus by
the purchase of bonds or by preparing
the interest on the bonds. due in 1907.
Turning to the question OF the reduc-
ton Of the revenue. the senator said
that he knew of no protectionist or
Republican who was not in favor of
reducing the revenue to the current
requirements and obligations of the
government. Any disposition OF n
surplus by extraordinary expenditures
or division among the states was in
oetensible. The revenue must be re-
ouced, and only the manner is in dis
pute.
Now" said the speaker. ct am not
only in favor Of reduction OF the
revenue. but a revision OF the tariff. E
am in favor OF revision of the
tariff for the Strengthening and pre-
serving of the protective principle 1t +
IS battle for freedom or slavery, and
enter it as protectionist. believing
IN the preservation and Strengthening
OF our protective principles
Since the utterance quoted Senator
Adrich has not deviated a single jot 3
from his stand on protection. The
irazzled adage that wise men some
times change their opinions does not
always hold out. Right or wrong, for
better or worse. the principles of pro-
lection remain the same Not only
mas Senator Aldrich been the strong
arm of his party in the senate when
! ne tariff was the question of the day,
but on all matters he has been looked
10 Tor counsel 1t Is recalled that when
me announcement was made in 1905 r
mat he was going abroad for six
weeks. the last six OF the session, the
question was asked all over the floor
.. the chamber and in the corridors
OF the capitol, What will the senate
= no without Aldrich?" 1t was an ac-
OF mis- leadership That
was a curious admission. for he had
never aspired to be a leader, and he
was not elected on that issue. TN r.
consciously almost by common con-.