Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1909-10-27
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easier Of solution.
Still more significant is the ultimate
drift Of the securities into the hands
of smaller investors. With thousands
Of Americans directly interested in.
the prosperity of the roads, form
of public ownership will have been
achieved that is far more likely to
produce salutary results than the
chimerical dream OF taking over these
properties by the government.
Mr.. Taft-and Mr.. Roosevelt.
Theodore Roosevelt was the first
man to apply the principles of the
circus ring to the Presidency of the
United States. His seven years in
the White House were one continuous
wild west show. Like Buffalo Blu,
his noise and smoke attracted great
attention, keeping the audience intent
on the show-besides covering up any
little flaw that might detract from
the general effect
Mr.. Roosevelt's broncho-busting
style gave him personal popularity
which enabled him to permit Ameri-
can forests to be destroyed by lum-
Der barons greedy for the unearned
extra premium given them by a RI
d1culous protective tariff and then
calmly propose to spend $15.000,000
OF the peoples money planting trees.
Mr.. Taft should not deceive him
self in this matter. He should con-
slider carefully whether he Is as pop
ular as Mr.. Roosevelt. whether his
personality will enable him to play
fast-and-loose with Western people and
Western resources.
The tariff puts premium on the
destruction of American forests. The
removal of the tariff would have open.
ed Canada's unlimited timber tracts
to American consumers at reasonable
prices, and would also have removed
the Incentive for lumber kings to
hasten forest destruction.
Mr.. Taft permits the tariff to de.
stroy our forests, and in the same
breath proposes a $10,ooo,00O bond is
sue to tax the American people to
plant new forests.
Does he believe himself as popular
with the West as Mr.. Roosevelt? Or
is he merely making fat mistake?
Chicago Journal.
Tarln and Pnnics.
President Taft has a good deal to
say in his present experimenting tour
Of the bounding prosperity of the west
Rightly so. Not only do government
records show stupendous advances In
western agricultural wealth. but Mr..
Taft. being observant, can see plenty
Of evidences at first hand. He would
be obtuse indeed II he failed to note
signs of confident prosperity all
through the west.
There was time when Republican
spell-binders attributed increasing
prosperity to high tariff. But not now
Records of national tariff history are
all against them.
For instance, the 1907 panic, came
along when Americans were enjoying
the highest tariff ever known up tc
that time This was quite a setback
for the Republican orators who had
been preaching that panics always re
suited from low tariffs.
A recent economic writer points out
that, in general terms, all the CONNER.
cial panics since the war period have
resulted from high tariff rather than
low tariff. This was certainly SO in
1873 and also in 1S93-the lattar com.
Ing during the operation of the Nc
Kinley tariff, about year and half
before the Wilson law took effect.
The panic argument, as buttrkss
for high tariff, has done Its full duty
and has gone into the discard. We even
find supporters of the Aldrich-Taft bill
admitting that the nation can be pros,
porous from natural causes. and that
the tariff only helps.
The vests prosperity is in spite Of
high tariff. such as the Aldrich-Taft
bill levies.