The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1909-06-17
LOST OPPORTUNITY
Democratic Spectacle in Con-
gress Worse Than
Incompetency.
SHOULD REVISE DOWNWARD

Congress Realizes That President
Taft Has the Last Say and There
is Yet Hope That the Tariff May
BE Revised Downward--D Democrats
Advocating an Income Tar Which
VIII be Unnecessary IL the Tariff Is
Properly Revised.
Special to the Caucasian:
Washington. d. c.. June 16. 1909.
The spectacle which the Democrat
ic party presents in Congress. espe-
cially in the Senate, during the pres
ent tarif discussion is worse than In
competency.--iti is truly pitiable.
1t has always been recognized as
absolutely essential that under a Re-
publican form of government, where
the administration of the government
must be conducted by one party for
another, that a stron, virile and ag-
gressive minority party had functions
and duties to perform in the interests
of good government that were no
less useful and important than duties
of the majority or controlling party.
The Democratic party when entrust-
ed with power, it Is true, has proven
it's absolute incompentency to sue
cessfully conduct the affairs of the
government. Yet there was no reas-
on to believe until now that the Dem
ocratic party was impctent and
worthless even as a party of oppo-
sition.
The Republican party promised in
the last campaign to revise the tariff
downward so as to lower the cost of
living and to some extent break the
power of the trusts, which, by re-
bates in conspiracy with the rail-
roads, had succeeded in breaking
down all healthy competition at
home. The Democratic party declar-
ed for practically similar revision.
The Republican party in reply point
ed to the miserable failure of the
Democratic party to carry out its
pledges when it had the President,
sides contended that the tariff should
be revised by it's friends and not by
it's enemies. President Taft promis-
ed the people that If the Republican
party should be put in power that
this revision should be honest revis-
ion downward, and the people accept
ed him at his word.
The House tariff bill made some
pretense at carrying out these prom
ises by reducing many of the duties
on the necessaries of life in the
pending law, but when the bill
reached the Senate it fell into the
hands of the standpatters and the up
ward revisionists and the ultra pro-
tectionists who are in favor of revis-
ing upwards instead of downwards;
and so for two months the country
has witnessed the spectacle of pres
ent high rates being raised still high
er on sugar, cotton and woolen
goods, on iron, steel, wire fencing,
etc., on paper, and on other neces-
saries of life.
What a magnificent opportunity
this situation presented to the oppo-
sition party, not only to show
the injustice of increasing these
rates but to show to what ex.
tent they could and should prop
erly be revised downward. This
presented not only great opportunity
for the Democratic party to perform
its great duty as a minority party
but indeed an opportunity to sweeI
the country at the next election II
the Republican party should fail tc
keep its pledges. Has it risen to the
| situation and performed its duty and
| taken advantage of it's opportuni
ties? No; it has practically sat si
lent and voted whenever the votes oi
Democrats were needed to help the
standpatters to keep the duties higl
or to raise them still higher. The
Democratic Senators have not onl.
| thrown away this opportunity ant
failed to perform this duty, but the!
have besides squarely and unblush
| ingly violated their campaign pledg
es. The only voices that have beel
raised with vigorous and intellieen
protest against this revision upwar'
have been from those Senators VIII
have become to be known as pro
gressive Republicans"
Thus the Democratic party ha
proven not only it's incomptency t.
govern, but it has proven its abso
lutte unfitness and uselessness as evel
la party of opposition. In short, i
has proven that it has no longer an
right to live and cucumber the earth
In short, 1t stands out before tn
). American people self-branded, no
lonly with incompetency but with hy
lpocracy and qualification, to say tn
least OF the Democratic Senator
who have thus branded themselve
and their party pledges, Senator Sim
mons, of North Carolina, attempte
to out-Herod all the rest.
President Taft Has the Last Say.
Il There is hope. however, that tn
Republican party will yet keep II
pledges to the American people b
revising the tariff downward. Pres
dent Taft has let 1t be known tha
/ under the Constitution he Is a pal
, of the law-making power and has tn
, last say and knows how to exert thi
, power both with Language and tn
| big stick" This means that Pres
dent viii yet force revision dowr